Watch Paparazzi

Singer Adam Levine spotted wearing Rolex

Adam Levine was recently spotted wearing the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 'Rainbow' reference 116599RBOW in 18k white gold — a watch that stops conversations in any room, celebrity-filled or otherwise. For a musician whose aesthetic has always leaned toward the expressive, the choice tracks perfectly.

Introduced at Baselworld 2012, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116599RBOW immediately rewrote what a sports chronograph could be in terms of gem-setting ambition. The defining feature is its bezel, paved with 36 baguette-cut sapphires arranged in a precise chromatic progression — red, orange, yellow, green, lime, blue, violet — that gives the piece its 'Rainbow' nickname. Achieving seamless colour graduation across individually sourced stones requires extraordinary lapidary and gem-setting expertise, and Rolex controls this process entirely in-house. The black dial is set with brilliant-cut diamond hour markers, and the 40mm white gold case extends the jewellery treatment to the lugs, which are also diamond-set. Beneath the caseback sits the calibre 4130, Rolex's self-winding chronograph movement with a vertical clutch and column wheel, offering a 72-hour power reserve and COSC-certified precision — ensuring the 116599RBOW is as serious mechanically as it is visually.

Among collectors, the Rainbow Daytona occupies a category of its own. Grey-market premiums of three to four times retail are not anomalies — they are the baseline. The 116599RBOW has become one of the most reliably appreciating references in the entire Rolex catalogue, driven by genuine scarcity, the cost and complexity of its stone-setting, and a cultural cachet that crosses over from horology into fashion and entertainment. Allocation through authorised dealers is essentially non-existent for civilian buyers.

Adam Levine's watch wardrobe has always reflected his comfort with high-visibility pieces. The Maroon 5 frontman and multi-Grammy winner has been spotted in serious references before, but the Rainbow Daytona 116599RBOW is a statement of a different order — equal parts connoisseur pick and rock-and-roll bravado.

At an official retail price of $89,100, the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116599RBOW is already a significant investment. On the secondary market, however, verified examples regularly transact around $350,000, underscoring just how far demand has outpaced supply since its 2012 debut.