Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Son Heung-min spotted wearing Rolex

Son Heung-min, captain of the South Korea national football team and one of Tottenham Hotspur's most celebrated players, was recently spotted wearing the Rolex Submariner Date 126613LN — the two-tone stainless steel and yellow gold variant that sits at the heart of Rolex's professional dive watch lineup. It is a choice that reflects both personal taste and an eye for lasting value.

Introduced in 2020 as part of Rolex's generational update to the Submariner family, the 126613LN represents the most comprehensive overhaul the model has received in decades. The case grew from 40mm to 41mm — one millimetre that required an entirely new case architecture — and the lug width widened to 21mm. The black ceramic Cerachrom bezel remains, its 60-minute graduated insert virtually scratchproof and UV-resistant. Water resistance holds at 300 metres, backed by the Oyster case's screw-down crown and caseback construction.

At the movement level, the 126613LN made the leap to Rolex's Calibre 3235, one of the manufacture's most accomplished ebauches. The movement features the Chronergy escapement — a nickel-phosphorus lever and escape wheel system that improves energy efficiency by roughly 15 percent — and delivers a certified 70-hour power reserve, up from 48 hours in the previous Calibre 3135. It also carries COSC chronometer certification and Rolex's own Superlative Chronometer standard, rated to ±2 seconds per day.

Among collectors, the two-tone Submariner occupies a specific cultural position. Nicknamed "Kermit" variants aside, the yellow Rolesor combination of Oystersteel and 18-carat yellow gold has long signalled a certain confident nonchalance — dressy enough for formal contexts, robust enough to wear through anything. The 126613LN replaced the beloved 116613LN, and while initial reactions among purists were mixed over the size increase, the market has absorbed the new generation enthusiastically.

On the grey market, the Rolex Submariner Date 126613LN consistently commands a premium over its $14,500 USD retail price, reflecting ongoing demand that outpaces authorised dealer supply. For Son Heung-min, whose global profile spans Asia, Europe, and beyond, the choice of the 126613LN reads as deliberately understated — a sports icon wearing a sports watch, executed at the highest level.