Singer Bad Bunny spotted wearing a Rolex

At the GLAAD Media Awards, Bad Bunny arrived with more than a fashion moment on his wrist. The Puerto Rican artist and global pop phenomenon was wearing a vintage Rolex Day-Date reference 18038 in 18k yellow gold, fitted with one of the model's rarest and most visually arresting dial configurations: a wood dial. The setting was fitting — an event celebrating authenticity, and a watch that is, by definition, one of a kind.

The Rolex Day-Date 18038 was produced from 1978 through the mid-1980s, succeeding the reference 1803 and preceding the 18238. It houses the calibre 3055, a self-winding movement with a 36-hour power reserve and Rolex's proprietary Quickset date mechanism — a meaningful functional upgrade for its era. The case measures 36mm, the Day-Date's long-standing standard diameter, and is crafted entirely in 18k yellow gold, as the model has always mandated: the Day-Date has never been produced in steel. The President bracelet — so named after the watch's association with heads of state — remains exclusive to this reference family.

The wood dial is where this particular example earns its collector credentials. Rolex sourced natural wood — species have included onyx-grained ebony and rich-toned citrus woods — and cut them into wafer-thin slices to be applied to the dial surface. Because each piece of wood carries its own grain pattern, no two dials are identical. Combined with the gold applied hour markers and Rolex's cyclops lens magnifying the date, the effect is a study in contrasts: organic material, industrial precision.

Bad Bunny has demonstrated a consistent and knowledgeable approach to watches, gravitating toward pieces with genuine horological substance rather than simple luxury signaling. Choosing a vintage Rolex Day-Date 18038 over a contemporary equivalent suggests an awareness of what the secondary market values — patina, rarity, and discontinuation.

On the grey market, the Rolex Day-Date 18038 with a wood dial commands approximately $27,500, a figure that reflects sustained collector demand for exotic-dial Day-Dates from this generation. The reference no longer carries an official retail price, having long since exited production, which makes every example a finite commodity.