Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Drake spotted wearing Rolex

Drake has never been subtle about his relationship with fine watchmaking, but his latest wrist sighting removes any remaining ambiguity. The Toronto rapper was recently photographed wearing a Rolex Sky-Dweller reference 326259TBR — a fully diamond-set, meteorite-dial variant in 18k white gold that sits firmly at the summit of the Sky-Dweller range.

The Sky-Dweller itself is Rolex's most complicated production wristwatch, first introduced in 2012 after years of quiet development. Its calibre 9002 — a self-winding movement beating at 28,800 vph — incorporates a patented annual calendar based on the proprietary Saros system, which uses the twelve off-centre months display around the dial periphery, and a two-timezone function operated via the distinctive Ring Command bezel. The 42 mm Oyster case is one of Rolex's larger sport-dress forms, and in reference 326259TBR it is rendered entirely in 18k white gold. The bezel and case are set with 84 baguette-cut diamonds, a labour-intensive configuration that demands individual hand-setting for each stone. The dial itself is sliced from genuine Widmanstätten-pattern meteorite, meaning every example is unique — the crystalline iron-nickel structure formed during the cooling of parent asteroids over billions of years before being harvested, cut, and stabilised for horological use.

Among collectors, meteorite dials occupy a peculiar and coveted niche. Rolex has deployed the material across Day-Date, Daytona, and Sky-Dweller references for over two decades, but the combination with a full diamond setting on the Sky-Dweller elevates the 326259TBR to trophy-piece territory. It is the kind of watch that appears rarely on the secondary market and commands serious attention when it does.

Drake's horological collection is well-documented — he has been spotted wearing everything from vintage Patek Philippe to highly customised Audemars Piguet Royal Oaks — but the Sky-Dweller 326259TBR signals a deliberate move toward Rolex's most luxurious and technically substantive tier rather than pure gem-set flash.

At an estimated grey-market value of $700,000, the reference 326259TBR is not a watch one acquires from an authorised dealer on a casual visit. It represents the intersection of Rolex's engineering credibility, its high-jewellery division, and the kind of extraterrestrial material provenance that no amount of brand prestige alone can manufacture.