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Footballer Edin Dzeko spotted wearing Rolex

Edin Dzeko was photographed wearing a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona ref. 116520 at the time his transfer from Manchester City to AS Roma was confirmed, with the deal valued at £14 million. The 40mm stainless steel chronograph on his wrist is precisely the kind of understated yet high-status choice that resonates across professional football's dressing rooms.

The Rolex Daytona 116520 debuted at Baselworld 2000 and represented a pivotal moment for the Swiss manufacture. For the first time, Rolex replaced the proven but outsourced Zenith El Primero-based movement with a fully in-house calibre — the 4130. That self-winding chronograph movement operates at 28,800 vph, delivers a 72-hour power reserve, and uses a column wheel and vertical clutch mechanism, yielding cleaner chronograph starts and stops than its predecessor. The case, at 40mm in stainless steel with either a black or white lacquer dial and matching subdials, carried no date complication — a deliberate purist decision that collectors appreciated.

The 116520 remained in production until 2016, when Rolex introduced the ceramic-bezel 116500LN. That transition instantly elevated the 116520 to discontin­ued-reference status, and the market responded accordingly. The steel black-dial variant in particular became one of the most liquid and recognisable references in the secondary market, a benchmark piece for serious collections. Its combination of in-house manufacture credentials, motorsport heritage, and clean dial architecture made it a reference point for the entire sport chronograph category.

Dzeko, who would go on to have a distinguished career at Roma before later spells at Inter Milan and beyond, has long been associated with considered off-pitch style. A Daytona 116520 during a high-profile transfer window reads as composed and confident rather than ostentatious — appropriate for a striker with Champions League pedigree making a major league move.

At its original UK RRP of £7,950, the 116520 was already a significant purchase. On the grey market today, clean examples in stainless steel with original papers routinely trade between $18,000 and $24,000 USD depending on dial colour, box and papers status, and service history — a return that reflects both the reference's enduring desirability and the broader demand for discontinued steel Daytonas.