Pilot Earl Bamber spotted wearing a Rolex

Spotted in the pit lane of an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round, New Zealand racing driver Earl Bamber was wearing one of the more technically audacious watch modifications currently circulating among the motorsport elite: the Skeleton Concept Rolex Daytona Carbon Concept, paired with a vivid red nylon strap that mirrors the color scheme of his Porsche Motorsport race suit.

The piece begins life as a standard Rolex Daytona Ref. 116500LN — itself one of the most sought-after references in modern watchmaking — before the Geneva-based atelier Skeleton Concept undertakes a radical transformation. The Oystersteel case is replaced with a forged carbon shell, dramatically reducing overall weight. The caliber 4130 automatic chronograph movement, Rolex's proprietary column-wheel movement featuring a vertical clutch, is then hand-skeletonized, revealing the gear train, bridges, and oscillating weight in an open-worked display. The finished movement weighs just 44 grams — a remarkable figure for a chronograph of this complexity. Orange accents on the sub-dial counters and red-tipped hands animate the anthracite architecture of the movement.

From a collector's standpoint, the Skeleton Concept modification occupies an interesting niche. Purists may object to the irreversible alteration of a factory Rolex, but the execution is genuinely high-end: Geneva-trained craftsmen perform the skeletonization by hand, and the forged carbon case construction is on par with the best independent watchmakers working in the material. The resulting piece is arguably more technically expressive than the base Daytona while retaining its 4130 movement architecture and Rolex provenance.

Earl Bamber's horological taste aligns naturally with this watch. A two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner and Endurance World Champion competing for Porsche Motorsport, Bamber operates in an environment where lightness, precision, and engineering ambition are non-negotiable values — exactly the attributes this modified Daytona is engineered to project.

The Skeleton Concept Rolex Daytona Carbon Concept carries a retail price of approximately $72,000 USD, reflecting the cost of both the donor Daytona and the extensive modification work. Grey-market positioning varies, but finished examples are scarce and trade at premium levels among enthusiasts who want a Daytona that makes a statement beyond the factory specification.