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Footballer Memphis Depay spotted wearing Rolex

Memphis Depay has never treated watch selection as an afterthought, and his appearance at the pre-match press conference ahead of the Netherlands clash with Argentina was no exception. On his wrist: a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 116519 in 18K white gold, fitted with a pink mother-of-pearl dial and a matching lizard strap — a combination that turns heads in any room, let alone a tournament press theatre.

The Daytona 116519 occupies a fascinating corner of the Daytona family. Introduced as part of Rolex's precious-metal Daytona expansion in the early 2000s, the reference uses an 18K white gold case and is driven by the Calibre 4130, Rolex's wholly in-house flyback-capable column-wheel chronograph movement. The 4130 replaced the earlier Zenith-based Calibre 4030 and represented a landmark moment for Rolex's manufacture credibility. It runs at 28,800 vph, offers approximately 72 hours of power reserve, and is widely regarded as one of the most reliable and serviceably elegant chronograph movements in the industry.

The specific dial configuration — pink mother-of-pearl with matching subdials and a coordinating lizard strap — belongs to the so-called 'Beach' Daytona subset, a nickname collectors apply to Daytona 116519 variants featuring exotic dials and colour-matched straps clearly intended for warm-weather leisure. These references were produced in relatively limited numbers compared to steel Daytonas, and their unusual aesthetic means they tend to polarise purists while attracting strong demand from fashion-forward collectors and high-profile athletes.

Depay's personal style has always leaned expressive. The Barcelona and Dutch national team forward has been photographed wearing a range of high-complication and statement timepieces, and the 'Beach' Daytona fits his profile precisely — it is technically serious underneath a surface that refuses to be invisible.

On the grey market, the Rolex Daytona 116519 with exotic mother-of-pearl dials commands a significant premium over already-elevated steel references. Current market estimates for this specific configuration sit around the $85,000 mark, reflecting both the intrinsic value of the white gold case and the collector appetite for unusual Daytona dial variants. Official retail for the 116519 configuration varied by dial and period, but listed in the range of approximately $38,000–$42,000 before its discontinuation.