Footballer Radja Nainggolan spotted wearing a Rolex

Radja Nainggolan was recently spotted wearing one of the most opulent references in the entire Rolex catalogue: the GMT-Master II 'SARU' in 18k white gold, reference 116759SA. For a player whose on-pitch intensity is matched only by his off-pitch personality, the choice is entirely coherent.

The Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116759SA sits at the absolute apex of the GMT-Master family. The 40mm case is crafted in 18k white gold and set with 23 diamonds across the lugs and case flanks. The bezel insert — where the original GMT-Master II uses ceramic or acrylic — is here replaced by a mosaic of 18 rubies and 18 sapphires, the alternating red and blue stones replicating the iconic two-tone 'Pepsi' colour scheme in gemstone form. The calibre 3186 movement inside beats at 28,800 vph, offers a 48-hour power reserve, and drives the independently adjustable 24-hour GMT hand that made this reference a professional instrument long before it became a collector trophy.

The GMT-Master II debuted in 1954 as a co-development with Pan American World Airways, engineered to track two time zones simultaneously. The reference 116759SA, introduced in the mid-2000s, takes that utilitarian DNA and projects it through an entirely different lens — high jewellery meeting tool watch, a tension that gives the piece its genuine collector interest. It is not a dress watch pretending to be sporty; it is a sports watch dressed in extraordinary stones, and the distinction matters.

Nainggolan, who built his reputation at Roma before stints at Inter Milan and Anderlecht, has long cultivated an image as football's most uncompromising character — tattooed, direct, and indifferent to establishment approval. The 116759SA reflects that same refusal to occupy the middle ground. It is maximum or nothing.

On the secondary market, the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116759SA commands significant premiums when examples surface. Grey-market values regularly exceed the $88,400 USD retail figure, with well-documented full-set examples trading considerably higher among serious collectors. Production numbers remain limited, and the combination of Rolex's sporting pedigree with certified gemstone setting makes the SARU a legitimate crossover piece between the watch and jewellery markets.