Watch Paparazzi

Football manager Alex Ferguson spotted wearing Rolex

Sir Alex Ferguson, the 81-year-old managerial legend who guided Manchester United to 13 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies, was recently caught on camera wearing one of the most coveted sport watches in production: the stainless steel Rolex Daytona reference 116500LN with a black dial and matching black Cerachrom bezel.

Introduced at Baselworld 2016, the Rolex Daytona 116500LN represented a landmark moment for the chronograph line. It was the first Daytona to feature Rolex's proprietary Cerachrom ceramic bezel, replacing the aluminium insert used on the outgoing reference 116520. The 40mm oyster case houses the Calibre 4130, an in-house movement Rolex developed entirely to reduce the component count and improve reliability. The cal. 4130 features a column wheel, vertical clutch, and a 72-hour power reserve — specifications that put it among the finest chronograph movements in the world at any price point.

From a collector standpoint, the black-dial 116500LN occupies a particularly firm position. When Rolex unveiled the ref. 116500LN, both the white and black dial variants generated immediate waiting lists that stretched years at authorised dealers. The black dial configuration — with its tachymetric scale rendered in platinum on the ceramic bezel — is widely considered the cleaner, more legible execution of the two. The model's status has only strengthened since Rolex introduced the updated Daytona 126500LN in 2023, making the 116500LN a transitional grail for a generation of collectors.

Ferguson's taste in watches has been documented on several occasions, and his choice of the Daytona 116500LN is consistent with the profile of a man who spent four decades operating at the absolute summit of professional sport. The Daytona's racing heritage — conceived as a tool watch for endurance drivers — aligns naturally with a competitor of his temperament.

At retail, the Rolex Daytona 116500LN carried a list price of approximately £11,600 / $14,300, figures that feel almost theoretical given actual market conditions. On the grey market, the reference has consistently traded between £28,000 and £37,000 depending on box, papers, and dial condition — a premium that underlines just how far demand has outpaced supply since day one.