Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Lionel Messi spotted wearing Rolex

When Lionel Messi stepped off the plane in Paris to finalise his transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, the world's cameras were trained on him. Sharp-eyed watch spotters clocked something more interesting than the football headlines: a solid 18K Everose Gold Rolex Yacht-Master 40 on an Oysterflex bracelet, reference 126655, riding comfortably on his wrist as he waved to thousands of fans lining the streets.

The Rolex Yacht-Master 126655 is a purpose-built luxury sports watch introduced in its current generation form in 2019. It centres on a 40mm Everose gold case — Rolex's proprietary 18K rose-gold alloy that incorporates a small percentage of platinum to stabilise the colour over decades of wear. The bidirectional rotatable bezel is set with a matte Everose gold insert rather than ceramic, giving it a warmer, more precious character than the steel Yacht-Master variants. Inside sits the Calibre 3235, Rolex's high-specification self-winding movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, a 70-hour power reserve, and a Superlative Chronometer certification guaranteeing accuracy to +/-2 seconds per day. The Oysterflex bracelet — a black elastomer strap with a titanium and nickel alloy longitudinal blade — bridges the gap between a rubber sports strap and a formal precious-metal bracelet, making it both secure and surprisingly dressy.

Among collectors, the 126655 occupies a specific niche. It is not a complication, and it will never attract the frenzied grey-market premiums of the steel Daytona or the GMT-Master II. What it offers instead is a cohesive, all-precious-metal sports watch with genuine technical credentials and a monochromatic warmth that few competitors match. It tends to attract buyers who want substance behind the gold, not merely the status of it.

Messi has long favoured Rolex across his public appearances, and the Yacht-Master 126655 suits his profile well — understated enough for a man who rarely courts ostentation, yet unambiguous about his position. Arriving in Paris for what the global press called the transfer of the century, wearing a solid gold sports watch without a single diamond in sight reads as confident restraint.

At list price the 126655 sits at approximately $30,315 in the United States, with grey-market values tracking closely around the $31,150 mark — modest premiums compared to steel sports Rolex references, which reflects steady rather than speculative demand. For collectors looking at long-term wearability in precious metal, it remains one of the more coherent propositions in the Rolex catalogue.