Watch Paparazzi

Singer Elton John spotted wearing Rolex

Elton John was recently photographed sporting one of the most visually arresting references in the current Rolex catalogue: the Yacht-Master 40 in 18k Everose gold, reference 116695SATS, distinguished by its multi-coloured sapphire rainbow bezel and full diamond pavé dial. For a musician whose stage costumes have occupied museum exhibitions, the watch reads less like an accessory and more like a natural extension of his aesthetic vocabulary.

The Rolex Yacht-Master 116695SATS is built around a 40mm Oyster case crafted entirely in Rolex's proprietary 18k Everose gold — an alloy developed in-house to resist fading over time. The bidirectional rotatable bezel is set with 26 baguette-cut sapphires arranged in a deliberate chromatic gradient, running from violet through blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The dial beneath is fully paved with brilliant-cut diamonds, leaving virtually no metal surface visible. Power comes from the Calibre 2235, a self-winding movement with a Parachrom hairspring offering enhanced resistance to magnetic fields and shocks, delivering approximately 48 hours of power reserve. The bracelet is Rolex's Oyster, also in Everose gold, secured with the Crown Clasp.

The rainbow sapphire bezel configuration debuted on the Daytona before migrating to the Yacht-Master family, and collector appetite for these references has never cooled. The 116695SATS occupies a specific niche: it is an official, in-catalogue Rolex, not a custom aftermarket modification, which matters considerably to serious collectors. Rolex applies the gem-setting in-house and subjects these pieces to the same COSC-adjacent standards as any production reference. That institutional provenance separates it from the flood of third-party jewelled Rolexes on the market.

Elton John's affinity for bold jewellery and high-complication aesthetics makes the 116695SATS a logical fit. The Rocket Man has never been shy about luxury — his art collection, his wardrobe archive and his reported watch cabinet all reflect a collector's instinct combined with a performer's appetite for the theatrical.

At UK list price the Rolex Yacht-Master 116695SATS is positioned at approximately £95,000, placing it firmly in high-jewellery watch territory. On the grey market, demand for rainbow-bezel Rolex references consistently pushes prices above retail, and the Everose Yacht-Master variant is no exception, with secondary market transactions regularly exceeding list. Availability through authorised dealers remains extremely limited.