Watch Paparazzi

Singer AP Dhillon spotted wearing Rolex

AP Dhillon, the Indo-Canadian singer and producer who has redefined Punjabi pop for a global generation, was recently spotted wearing one of Rolex's most serious statements in precious metal — the Day-Date 40 Platinum, reference 228396TBR-0030. In a market flooded with gold sports watches, the choice of a full platinum dress piece signals both confidence and genuine horological taste.

The Rolex Day-Date 40 ref. 228396TBR-0030 is built entirely from 950 platinum, a material Rolex reserves exclusively for the Day-Date line. The 40mm case houses calibre 3255, Rolex's in-house movement featuring a Chronergy escapement, 70-hour power reserve, and a certified chronometric precision of -2/+2 seconds per day. The dial on this specific reference presents Rolex's signature ice-blue lacquer finish — a colour achievable only on platinum, as the metal's natural hue reacts uniquely with the lacquer — framed by a bezel set with 36 baguette-cut diamonds. The President bracelet in platinum completes the configuration, with that bracelet being the original namesake link introduced in 1956 for Dwight D. Eisenhower.

From a collector's perspective, full platinum Day-Date references with baguette bezels occupy a genuinely scarce corner of the Rolex ecosystem. Platinum production is volume-limited by nature, and the labour-intensive baguette-set bezel — requiring each rectangular stone to be individually fitted and calibrated — drives manufacturing complexity significantly above that of a standard brilliant-cut configuration. Waiting lists at authorised dealers are measured in years, not months.

Dhillon's taste in timepieces aligns with a new generation of South Asian artists who treat fine watchmaking as seriously as fashion or music. His global streaming numbers and crossover collaborations with mainstream Western artists have elevated his profile well beyond the Punjabi diaspora, and a ref. 228396TBR-0030 on the wrist reads as entirely credible rather than performative.

At an official retail price of $110,000, the Rolex Day-Date 40 Platinum ref. 228396TBR-0030 is already a substantial investment. On the grey market, premiums have pushed current valuations to approximately $130,000, reflecting both genuine scarcity and sustained collector demand for full platinum Rolex configurations — numbers that show no meaningful sign of correcting.