Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Michael Jordan spotted wearing Rolex

A 2011 photograph of Michael Jordan brought one of Rolex's most opulent and least-seen references briefly into the spotlight: the GMT-Master II 116758SANR, a piece that turns the workhorse pilot's watch into something closer to high jewellery without abandoning its functional roots.

The GMT-Master II lineage traces back to 1955, when Rolex developed the original GMT-Master in collaboration with Pan American World Airways to give long-haul pilots a reliable dual-timezone instrument. The ref. 116758SANR belongs to the generation introduced in the mid-2000s, built on the calibre 3186 automatic movement — a 28,800 vph, 48-hour power reserve movement featuring Rolex's proprietary Parachrom hairspring for superior shock and magnetic resistance. The case measures 40mm, the pre-2019 standard diameter before the line moved to 40mm on the 126710 series with the newer calibre 3285. Crucially, the bidirectional 24-hour graduated bezel — normally the watch's most functional element — here becomes the centrepiece of the jewellery statement: 112 round-cut diamonds and 12 black sapphires set directly into the gold frame, replicating the two-tone day/night colour logic of the classic black-and-gold "Root Beer" palette in gemstone form.

For collectors, the 116758SANR occupies a peculiar and compelling niche. Rolex produced it in limited quantities over a relatively short window before discontinuing the reference, and it has never been a watch that appears frequently at auction or in dealer inventory. It is not a sport watch in the traditional sense, nor is it a dress watch — it exists in its own category, and that ambiguity has historically made it undervalued relative to its scarcity. Serious Rolex collectors and jewellery watch enthusiasts have both begun to recognise it.

Michael Jordan's relationship with fine watches is well documented. One of the most prominent watch collectors among professional athletes, Jordan has been photographed over the decades in everything from stainless steel sports references to high-complication dress pieces. The 116758SANR fits his documented preference for bold, gold-heavy statements that still carry mechanical credibility.

On the grey market, the ref. 116758SANR trades around $85,000 when examples surface — which is rarely. No current retail price applies as Rolex has discontinued the reference. Given its scarcity trajectory and the broader appreciation of gem-set Rolex pieces among a new generation of collectors, that figure appears conservative rather than inflated.