Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Michael Vorm spotted wearing Rolex

Michael Vorm, the Dutch goalkeeper who served Tottenham Hotspur with quiet distinction across several Premier League seasons, was photographed wearing a Rolex GMT-Master II reference 116718LN — the full 18kt yellow gold variant of Rolex's dual-timezone icon, finished with a black Cerachrom bezel insert.

The GMT-Master II 116718LN sits at the top of the GMT family's precious-metal hierarchy. Introduced in its current ceramic-bezel form around 2007, the reference pairs a 40mm 18kt yellow gold Oyster case with Rolex's scratch-resistant black ceramic bezel — a significant engineering step over the aluminium inserts used on earlier GMT references. The movement inside is the Calibre 3186, a COSC-certified automatic beating at 28,800 vph with a 48-hour power reserve, fitted with a Parachrom hairspring for improved resistance to magnetic fields and shocks. The Jubilee bracelet in solid gold adds both comfort and a dressy finish that sets this variant apart from its steel siblings.

Among collectors, the 116718LN occupies an interesting position. It delivers genuine sport-watch functionality — a bi-directional 24-hour bezel for tracking a second time zone, 100m water resistance, the full Oyster Perpetual architecture — wrapped in a material that nudges it firmly toward luxury territory. The black ceramic bezel ages exceptionally well compared to earlier anodised aluminium inserts, which were prone to fading. Pre-owned examples in strong condition have held value steadily, with the grey market consistently pricing them above retail.

Vorm's taste here reads as considered rather than flashy. A gold GMT-Master II is a known quantity in football circles — established, legible, dual-purpose — without crossing into the more ostentatious territory of diamond-set or high-jewellery pieces increasingly common in the sport. For a goalkeeper accustomed to precision under pressure, a precise Swiss dual-timezone instrument carries its own logic.

At UK list price the 116718LN was positioned around £24,450 during its production run, with USD retail sitting in the mid-to-upper $30,000 range depending on configuration. On the secondary market, clean examples with box and papers routinely command a meaningful premium over that figure, reflecting sustained collector demand for gold sport references across the Rolex catalogue.