Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Gué Pequeno spotted wearing Rolex

Milan street-style and watch culture collided when Gué Pequeno was photographed sporting one of Rolex's most visually arresting recent releases: the Oyster Perpetual 41 in Candy Red dial, reference 124300. The sighting underlines how the Italian rap scene has developed a genuine appreciation for serious watchmaking, moving well beyond pure status signalling.

Rolex introduced the 124300 at Watches & Wonders 2020 alongside a palette of bold dial colours — Candy Pink, Turquoise Blue, Yellow and Coral Red among them — marking a deliberate tonal shift for a reference that had long lived in the brand's shadow. The 41mm Oystersteel case houses the Calibre 2232 self-winding movement, which beats at 28,800 vph and delivers a class-leading 70-hour power reserve. A bidirectional Perpetual rotor, Rolex's Syloxi silicon hairspring and Chronergy escapement round out a technical package that punches well above the reference's entry-level positioning within the catalogue. Water resistance sits at 100 metres courtesy of the screw-down Twinlock crown.

For collectors, the 124300 Candy Red became an unlikely grail almost overnight. Rolex's decision to fit vivid lacquered dials to an otherwise tool-watch-spec case created immediate tension between accessibility and desirability. Grey-market premiums spiked to two or three times retail within months of launch, and authorised dealer allocations remain extremely tight years later. The reference has since been recognised as a pivotal moment in Rolex's modern design language — proof that the brand can generate cultural heat without complicating a movement or inflating a case.

Gué Pequeno occupies a singular position in Italian music. As a founding member of Club Dogo and a solo artist with decades of influential output, Cosimo Fini has long used personal style as an extension of his artistic identity. Choosing the 124300 over more obvious flex pieces — a Daytona, a Sky-Dweller — reads as a considered move: the Oyster Perpetual is recognisable to insiders, quietly subversive to outsiders.

At retail the Rolex Oyster Perpetual 41 Ref. 124300 in Candy Red lists at approximately $6,150 USD. On the secondary market, demand continues to push transaction prices considerably higher, reflecting both scarcity at authorised dealers and the reference's established collector momentum.