Watch Paparazzi

Athlete Lindsey Vonn spotted wearing Rolex

Lindsey Vonn turned heads at the US Open — not only for her presence as one of the most decorated alpine ski racers in history, but for the watch on her wrist: a Rolex Rainbow Daytona in 18KT Everose gold, reference 116595RBOW, one of the most visually arresting and technically complex timepieces in the current Rolex catalogue.

The 116595RBOW is built around Rolex's in-house Calibre 4130, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch that delivers clean, instantaneous chronograph starts. The movement beats at 28,800 vph and offers a 72-hour power reserve — serious engineering beneath serious jewellery. The 40mm Everose gold case houses a black dial, but the real story is the bezel: 36 baguette-cut sapphires, individually matched and set in a continuous chromatic sequence from deep violet through to red, demanding extraordinary gem-setting precision to achieve the seamless rainbow effect. Eleven baguette sapphires mirror the spectrum as hour markers within the dial itself.

Rolex introduced the Rainbow Daytona in yellow gold (116598RBOW) at Baselworld 2012, then expanded the family with this Everose variant. From the outset, collectors recognised that the combination of the Daytona's foundational desirability with the sheer material cost and hand-labour of the gem-setting made these references genuinely scarce. The 116595RBOW has never been easy to acquire at retail, and authorised dealers have historically reserved allocations for their most established clients — making a boutique purchase nearly impossible for the casual buyer.

Vonn's affinity for high-complication luxury watches is well established. The most decorated female ski racer of all time — 82 World Cup victories, four overall World Cup titles, and an Olympic gold — she has consistently chosen pieces that reflect competitive rarity rather than mere logo recognition. The Rainbow Daytona on the wrist of an athlete who spent a career chasing margins measured in hundredths of a second carries a certain coherent logic.

On the market, the 116595RBOW tells its own story. Rolex lists the reference at approximately $126,750 USD. On the grey market, confirmed sales have reached and in some cases exceeded $440,000 USD — a premium of roughly 3.5x retail that underscores just how far demand has outrun supply. For collectors, this is not a decorative outlier; it is a core trophy reference that has appreciated consistently since release and shows no meaningful signs of softening.