Singer Nick Jonas spotted wearing a Rolex

Nick Jonas took to the outdoor stage of NBC's Today Show in a striped shirt and tinted rounds, but the real headline sat on his wrist: a Bamford Watch Department x Dr. Romanelli Rolex Yacht-Master 40 'Popeye', one of only 29 examples produced. The piece was immediately recognisable to sharp-eyed collectors for its muted titanium-coated case and the unmistakable cartoon sailor rendered directly on the dial.

The base for this collaboration is the Rolex Yacht-Master 40, reference 116622, originally conceived as a sportier counterpart to the Submariner with its distinctive bidirectional rotatable bezel in Rolesium — Rolex's proprietary combination of Oystersteel and platinum. The calibre 3135 automatic movement inside delivers approximately 48 hours of power reserve and features Rolex's Parachrom hairspring for enhanced shock and magnetic resistance. Bamford Watch Department, the London-based customisation house founded by George Bamford, applied a military-grade titanium DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating over the entire Oyster case and bracelet, replacing the original platinum bezel and dial elements with a uniform gunmetal tone that serves as the canvas for Romanelli's artwork.

Darren Romanelli — known professionally as Dr. Romanelli or DRx — is a Los Angeles-based designer and artist celebrated for reimagining archival and luxury goods through a pop-culture lens. His collaboration with Bamford introduced Popeye the Sailor Man, rendered in full cartoon colour at roughly the six o'clock position on the grey dial, creating a deliberate tension between the watch's military-serious DLC finish and its playful iconography. The edition number 29 is widely understood as a nod to Popeye's first comic-strip appearance on January 17, 1929.

Nick Jonas has cultivated a reputation as one of the more watch-literate performers of his generation, regularly rotating through serious references from multiple maisons. Choosing this particular piece for a high-visibility live television appearance signals genuine enthusiasm for the collector market rather than simple brand placement.

On the secondary market, the Bamford x Dr. Romanelli Yacht-Master 'Popeye' commands significant premiums. With only 29 units in existence and no prospect of re-edition, recent private sales and auction estimates have placed the watch well above its original release price. The $20,500 figure circulating represents a conservative grey-market floor; pieces with documented provenance or celebrity association routinely exceed that benchmark.