Footballer Enzo Fernández spotted wearing a Rolex

Enzo Fernández, the Chelsea FC and Argentine national team midfielder who lifted the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, was recently spotted wearing one of the most recognisable references in contemporary watchmaking — the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116500LN in stainless steel with a black Cerachrom bezel and black dial.

Introduced at Baselworld 2016, the Daytona ref. 116500LN replaced the long-running 116520 and marked a pivotal moment for Rolex. The most significant upgrade was the adoption of a black or white ceramic (Cerachrom) tachymetre bezel, replacing the aluminium insert of its predecessor. Beneath the 40mm Oystersteel case beats the manufacture calibre 4130, a column-wheel, vertical-clutch chronograph movement that Rolex developed entirely in-house. With a 72-hour power reserve, a 28,800 vph beat rate, and a Parachrom hairspring, it represented a substantial step forward in both robustness and precision over the ébauche-based calibre 4130's forerunners.

Rolex officially discontinued the ref. 116500LN in 2023, transitioning production to the updated ref. 126500LN, which features a slightly larger 40mm case with refined proportions and an updated movement. The 116500LN's discontinuation immediately crystallised its collector appeal — a watch already near-impossible to source at retail now carries the additional allure of closed-chapter status. The black dial, black bezel configuration spotted on Fernández is widely considered the more desirable of the two dial options, consistently commanding a premium over the white "panda" variant on the secondary market.

Fernández, 24, has rapidly established himself among football's elite since his record-breaking £106.8 million transfer to Chelsea in January 2023 — the largest transfer fee ever paid by a British club at the time. His taste in watches aligns with a generation of footballers who gravitate toward references that carry genuine horological credibility alongside cultural cachet.

On the grey market, the ref. 116500LN with black dial continues to trade at a meaningful premium to its original retail price of $14,550. Demand has remained resilient since discontinuation, with authenticated examples in full set condition regularly achieving figures well above list — making it not only a statement on the wrist but one of the more defensible recent acquisitions in the stainless steel sports watch segment.