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Entrepreneur Amina Muaddi spotted wearing Rolex

Amina Muaddi, the Jordanian-Romanian shoe designer who built one of fashion's most coveted footwear labels from the ground up, was recently spotted wearing a yellow gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona reference 116508 with a champagne dial — a combination that reads less as excess and more as a deliberate exercise in monochromatic luxury.

The ref. 116508 sits at the apex of the steel-and-gold Daytona family. Its case and integrated Oyster bracelet are crafted entirely in 18k yellow gold, measuring 40mm across with the Daytona's signature screw-down pushers and tachymetric bezel. The champagne dial — featuring subsidiary counters at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock in a slightly darker tone — creates a tonal depth that the more contrasting black or white dial variants simply don't offer. At the heart of the watch beats Rolex's manufacture Calibre 4130, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch, offering approximately 72 hours of power reserve and COSC-certified precision. Rolex introduced this movement in 2000, replacing the Zenith-based Calibre 4030, and it remains the definitive benchmark for in-house chronograph engineering at the brand.

Among collectors, the yellow gold Daytona with a champagne dial occupies a particularly desirable niche. It channels the spirit of the vintage "Paul Newman" Daytona references in material language while delivering thoroughly modern performance. Authorized dealer waitlists for any gold Daytona reference are measured in years, not months, which has pushed grey-market premiums to extraordinary levels — often two to three times the official retail price.

Muaddi's aesthetic has always trafficked in bold, architecturally considered choices — her signature feather-embellished heels and sculptural mule designs reflect a designer who understands how materials and proportion communicate status without needing to shout. Wearing a monochrome champagne-on-yellow-gold Daytona is entirely consistent with that sensibility: it is maximalist in material, restrained in palette.

At retail, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116508 in yellow gold lists at approximately $36,550 USD, but finding one at that price through official channels remains nearly impossible. On the secondary market, expect to pay north of $55,000 to $65,000 depending on condition and completeness of papers — a premium that shows no sign of softening given sustained global demand.