Watch Paparazzi

Model Gabrielle Caunesil spotted wearing Rolex

French model Gabrielle Caunesil was recently photographed wearing the yellow gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116508 with an emerald green dial, a watch that tells one of the more interesting redemption stories in modern Rolex collecting. At its 2016 Baselworld debut, the green-dialed Daytona barely registered on the enthusiasm meter — a reminder that the market does not always recognize a future icon on first introduction.

The ref. 116508 is built around the caliber 4130, Rolex's in-house column-wheel chronograph movement featuring a vertical clutch and a power reserve of approximately 72 hours. The 40mm case is crafted in 18-karat yellow gold, paired with a matching yellow gold Oysterflex-style bracelet or oyster bracelet depending on configuration. The emerald green dial — lacquered and deep in tone — sits beneath a sapphire crystal with Rolex's signature Cyclops lens over the date aperture. Subsidiary dials for elapsed minutes and hours are rendered in a complementary dark hue, maintaining legibility without disrupting the dial's visual drama.

From a collector standpoint, the 116508 green represents a case study in sentiment reversal. Initially dismissed as a bold aesthetic choice that felt slightly out of step with the more restrained tastes of 2016, the reference has since become one of the most requested in Rolex's current catalogue. Rumors — repeatedly denied and never officially confirmed — of an impending discontinuation drove grey-market prices sharply upward, with many buyers unwilling to call the bluff. Whether those rumors had any factual basis is almost beside the point: the psychological effect on secondary market pricing was very real.

Gabrielle Caunesil, one of France's most recognized faces in high-fashion modeling with campaigns for major luxury houses to her name, wears the piece with the ease of someone who chose it for reasons well beyond resale arithmetic. On the wrist, the combination of yellow gold and emerald green reads as confident and unapologetically luxurious — entirely consistent with her public aesthetic.

At retail, the ref. 116508 in yellow gold with green dial carries a list price in the region of $39,650 USD, though obtaining one at that figure through an authorized dealer remains largely theoretical for most buyers. On the grey market, examples have traded well above $70,000, with some peak transactions exceeding that figure significantly. Whether prices continue their ascent or correct depends on secondary market sentiment — but the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116508 green has already secured its place as one of the defining collector pieces of its generation.