Tennis player Roger Federer spotted wearing a Rolex

Roger Federer touched down in London ahead of the Laver Cup — the team tennis tournament he co-founded in 2017 — and sharp-eyed spotter @alilo97 caught the Swiss legend with a very deliberate wrist choice: the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 126720VTNR, the 'Sprite,' on its Jubilee bracelet. For a man whose sponsorship deal with Rolex dates back to 2006, the selection still manages to feel considered rather than contractual.

The 126720VTNR debuted at Watches & Wonders Geneva in April 2022 and immediately rewrote the GMT-Master II playbook. Rolex moved the winding crown to the left side of the 40 mm Oystersteel case — a practical concession for left-handed wearers, but also a bold visual statement that no previous GMT-Master II had made at retail. The bidirectional 24-hour graduated ceramic Cerachrom bezel deploys a green-and-black color split — a nod to the original 1950s 'Pepsi' concept, reinterpreted in the brand's signature contemporary idiom. Inside sits the calibre 3285, Rolex's in-house movement featuring a Chronergy escapement, 70-hour power reserve, and GMT complication that allows the wearer to track a second time zone independently of the local hour hand.

From a collector standpoint, the 126720VTNR occupies a uniquely pressured position in the market. Authorized dealer wait lists for this reference stretch into years in most markets, and grey-market premiums have held stubbornly above two and a half times retail since launch. The Jubilee bracelet variant — softer in feel than the Oyster, more formal in aesthetic — adds a further layer of desirability for collectors who remember the original Jubilee-clad GMT references of the 1980s.

Federer's relationship with Rolex is one of the longest-running and most natural brand-ambassador pairings in luxury sports. He has worn everything from the Daytona to the Day-Date in public appearances, but catching him in a sport reference with genuine grey-market heat, rather than a dress piece, is the more interesting sighting.

List price for the Rolex GMT-Master II 126720VTNR sits at approximately $11,250 USD. On the secondary market, current grey-market valuations are running around $30,800 USD — a premium that reflects both genuine scarcity and the enduring cultural weight the GMT-Master II carries among serious collectors worldwide.