Actor Russell Crowe spotted wearing a Rolex

Russell Crowe made a quietly spectacular wrist statement at the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne, attending the Grand Slam tournament with a Rolex Yacht-Master 42 reference 226679TBR locked to his wrist. The setting — one of the Southern Hemisphere's most watched sporting events — gave the piece exactly the kind of public stage it deserves.

The 226679TBR is a 42mm case built entirely in 18k white gold, housing Rolex's calibre 3235 automatic movement — a manufacture workhorse offering a 70-hour power reserve, Chronergy escapement, and COSC-certified precision. But the movement is almost secondary to the spectacle of the case. Rolex deployed baguette-cut diamonds across the entire Cerachrom-free bezel, reserved brilliant-cut diamonds for the lugs and case flanks, and finished the dial in a full pavé-diamond configuration. The result is a watch that carries the Yacht-Master 42's 44mm-adjacent sporting proportions while functioning, aesthetically, as a jewellery object.

Released in 2021 as an out-of-catalogue reference — meaning it does not appear in standard Rolex commercial literature and is allocated only to select authorised dealers — the 226679TBR occupies a rarefied stratum even within Rolex's own hierarchy. Off-catalogue diamond-set references like this one are typically acquired by clients with established relationships with Rolex ADs, and their limited visibility makes reliable production-figure data essentially nonexistent. That opacity only amplifies collector interest.

Crowe, a known watch enthusiast who famously auctioned a significant personal collection in 2018 under the headline "Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce," has demonstrated consistently eclectic taste across brands and complications. The Yacht-Master 42 226679TBR aligns with the more expressive, high-value end of his collecting history — a piece chosen for presence rather than restraint.

At an official retail price of $115,000, the Rolex Yacht-Master 42 reference 226679TBR is among the most expensive non-complication references the brand produces. On the secondary market, the combination of 18k white gold, full diamond coverage, and off-catalogue status typically sustains strong premiums over retail, though precise grey-market benchmarks fluctuate given the reference's limited transaction volume.