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Pilot Valentino Rossi spotted wearing Rolex

At the conclusion of his final MotoGP race, nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi was photographed wearing a yellow gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116508 with a green dial — a piece that has become one of the most aggressively traded references on the secondary market, and one whose color-driven price anomaly has generated significant controversy among collectors.

Rolex introduced the Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116508 in 2013 as part of a broader overhaul of the precious-metal Daytona lineup. The 40mm case is crafted in 18k yellow gold and houses the manufacture caliber 4130, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch that delivers improved precision and a more responsive pusher feel compared to the earlier cam-actuated ébauche. The movement offers a 72-hour power reserve and operates at 28,800 vph. The green lacquered dial features tonal subdials in a slightly darker shade, creating a subtle but unmistakable sunburst effect under direct light.

What makes the ref. 116508 green dial particularly remarkable from a collector standpoint is its disproportionate market premium over the same reference fitted with a black dial. On the grey market, green-dial examples consistently trade at roughly double the price of black-dial equivalents — a gap that has no parallel in movement, case, or construction, and is attributable entirely to the dial's color and its relative scarcity. This disparity has unfortunately fueled a secondary problem: the proliferation of aftermarket and swapped dials, with unscrupulous sellers attempting to pass off modified black-dial references as genuine green examples. Buyers in this segment are strongly advised to insist on full documentation and independent authentication.

Rossi's connection to yellow gold is almost biographical. His racing career was defined by the color yellow — his helmet, his team livery, his fanbase identity — making the yellow gold Daytona a curiously coherent choice for the day he closed that chapter. The ref. 116508 on his wrist reads less as a luxury accessory and more as a personal punctuation mark.

At retail, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116508 in yellow gold carries a list price in the mid-to-upper thirty-thousand dollar range, though like most Rolex precious-metal references it is virtually unobtainable at authorized dealers. Grey-market values for the green-dial variant have been recorded well above $80,000, reflecting sustained demand and the dial's cult status among serious Daytona collectors.