Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Jimmy Butler spotted wearing Rolex

Jimmy Butler has built a reputation as one of the most credible watch collectors in professional basketball — not a celebrity who simply wears logos, but someone who gravitates toward technically significant references. His latest sighting puts that reputation in sharp focus: the Miami Heat forward was spotted wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 126755SARU, an 18K Everose gold piece set with a diamond pavé dial, 29 brilliant-cut diamonds on the case, and 30 blue sapphires forming the signature Pepsi bezel.

The 126755SARU sits at the absolute apex of Rolex's GMT-Master II collection. Introduced as part of Rolex's expanded precious-metal gem-set lineup, it measures 40mm in 18K Everose gold and is driven by the Calibre 3285 — a movement Rolex developed in-house featuring the Chronergy escapement, a paramagnetic hairspring, and a 70-hour power reserve. The bidirectional independently adjustable 24-hour GMT hand allows travelers to track a second time zone without stopping the minutes hand, a practical complication that made the original GMT-Master the preferred tool of Pan Am pilots in 1955. The 126755SARU keeps that functionality intact while wrapping it in one of the most labor-intensive gem-setting jobs in Swiss watchmaking.

For collectors, the reference occupies a specific and rarified niche. The sapphire Pepsi bezel alone differentiates it sharply from the standard 126710BLRO with its BLRO ceramic insert — here, Rolex's gem workshop hand-sets each stone to approximate the same color contrast, a process that makes every example subtly unique. Combined with the diamond pavé dial and case diamonds, this is a watch that demands significant production time, contributing to its genuine scarcity in the market.

Butler's choice is consistent with his known taste for Rolex's upper tier. The five-time All-Star has previously been spotted in complicated and precious-metal Rolex references, and the 126755SARU fits his aesthetic — high-impact without abandoning horological substance. For a player who has publicly discussed his passion for watches in interviews, this is a considered choice rather than a stylist's decision.

At UK list price of approximately £85,000 — translating to roughly $108,000 USD — the 126755SARU is among the most expensive references in the standard Rolex catalogue. On the grey market, extreme scarcity and consistent demand from high-net-worth collectors push prices significantly above retail, making authorized dealer access the real challenge. For most buyers, this is a watch that exists primarily in sighting reports and auction results.