Watch Paparazzi

Singer Ed Sheeran spotted wearing Rolex

Ed Sheeran has never been a predictable watch choice. The British singer-songwriter has built a quietly serious collection over the years, and this latest sighting confirms he has a taste for the genuinely rare. On his wrist: the Rolex Daytona reference 116599RBOW in 18kt white gold, one of the most visually dramatic — and technically demanding — watches Rolex has ever produced.

The 116599RBOW sits within Rolex's high-jewellery Daytona lineage, built on the calibre 4130 automatic movement — a column-wheel chronograph with a vertical clutch, offering 72 hours of power reserve and COSC chronometer certification. The 40mm white gold case houses a dial set with eight diamond hour markers, while the defining feature is the bezel: 36 baguette-cut sapphires arranged in a carefully graduated rainbow spectrum, transitioning from deep violet through blue, green, yellow, orange and red. The precision of the stone selection and channel setting represents hundreds of hours of work by Rolex's in-house gem specialists.

Rolex formally discontinued the 116599RBOW, which has sent demand sharply upward in the secondary market. It was never a volume piece — authorised dealers received limited allocations, and the combination of gem-setting complexity and white gold construction made waitlists essentially meaningless for most retail clients. Among collectors, the Rainbow Daytona in any configuration is treated as a trophy piece, but the white gold variant carries a particular premium over its yellow and Everose gold counterparts due to the contrast it creates with the polychrome sapphires.

Sheeran photographed wearing this reference is entirely consistent with his collector profile — someone who buys watches he genuinely wants rather than chasing the obvious safe choices. The 116599RBOW is a bold statement piece that rewards close inspection, which fits a musician known for craftsmanship in his own medium.

The last known official list price for the Rolex Daytona 116599RBOW was approximately £80,000 in the UK market. On the grey market, discontinued status and sustained celebrity visibility have pushed authenticated examples considerably higher, with strong sales regularly recorded well above original retail in both auction rooms and private dealer transactions.