Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Raphael Varane spotted wearing Rolex

Raphael Varane, World Cup winner and four-time UEFA Champions League champion with Real Madrid, was photographed sporting a Rolex Sky-Dweller reference 326139 in 18K white gold on a black leather strap — a pairing that signals quiet confidence over flash, entirely in keeping with the defender's measured, professional persona on and off the pitch.

The Sky-Dweller ref. 326139 is among the most technically ambitious watches in the entire Rolex catalogue. At its heart beats the manufacture calibre 9001, a 42-jewel, self-winding movement operating at 28,800 vph with a 72-hour power reserve. The complication package is genuinely impressive: a Saros annual calendar — which automatically distinguishes between 30- and 31-day months, requiring manual correction only once a year in February — and an off-centre 24-hour disc for a second time zone. The bidirectional ring-command bezel, a Rolex patent, allows the wearer to interact with all three functions through the crown alone, a feat of ergonomic engineering rarely appreciated at a glance.

The 42mm white gold case houses a black dial in this reference, creating a high-contrast aesthetic that works equally well beneath a suit jacket as it does on a matchday watch rotation. White gold elevates the Sky-Dweller above the steel and Rolesor variants, positioning it firmly as a collector's piece rather than an everyday tool watch. Among Rolex aficionados, the Sky-Dweller in precious metal is often underrated relative to the Daytona or the GMT-Master II — which arguably makes it a more discerning choice.

Varane has long cultivated an image of understated class, and his horological tastes reflect that precisely. A Rolex Sky-Dweller in white gold is not a watch that shouts — it rewards those who know what they are looking at. For a footballer who has lifted La Liga, the Champions League, and the World Cup, subtlety is perhaps the ultimate flex.

On the current market, the Sky-Dweller ref. 326139 in white gold with a black dial commands significant grey-market premiums. Buyers should be aware that precious metal Rolex sports-dress pieces like the 326139 hold value robustly, with demand from both collectors and high-profile athletes keeping secondary market prices well above retail.