Watch Paparazzi Logo
Watch Paparazzi
influencerSpotted June 2023

Influencer Cristiano Ronaldo Junior spotted wearing a Rolex

influencer Cristiano Ronaldo Junior spotted wearing a Rolex 116769TBR
Who & what: Rolex GMT-Master II 'Ice' White Gold Full Pavé Ref. 116769TBR

Cristiano Ronaldo Junior, the influencer son of the world's most followed athlete, was recently spotted wearing a Rolex GMT-Master II Ice ref. 116769TBR — a piece so lavishly jeweled that it occupies a category entirely its own within the Rolex catalog.

The GMT-Master II 116769TBR is constructed entirely in 18k white gold and undergoes an exhaustive diamond-setting process at Rolex's in-house gem lab. The Oyster case, the iconic bidirectional 24-hour rotatable bezel, the Jubilee bracelet, and even the crown and crown guards are pavé-set with VS quality diamonds — totaling approximately 1,520 stones across the watch. The black dial features baguette-cut diamond hour markers set in a sunburst arrangement, and the bezel insert itself is set with princess-cut diamonds rather than the ceramic Cerachrom found on sport-oriented GMT variants. Powering the watch is the Rolex Calibre 3186, a COSC-certified automatic movement with a paramagnetic Parachrom Hairspring and a 50-hour power reserve.

First introduced in the mid-2000s, the 116769TBR represents Rolex's haute joaillerie interpretation of the GMT-Master II — a line originally developed in the 1950s for Pan Am pilots needing dual-timezone tracking. The contrast between that utilitarian origin story and this fully iced-out execution is part of what makes the reference so fascinating to collectors. It is, in every practical sense, unwearable as a pilot's instrument, and yet it retains every mechanical specification of its workhorse siblings.

Cristiano Ronaldo Junior, still in his teens, has cultivated a social media following in the millions and regularly appears alongside his father at public events and brand activations. His wrist real estate is already well-documented, but the 116769TBR raises the stakes considerably. Whether the piece is a gift from his father — himself an obsessive Rolex collector with multiple ice references — or a personal acquisition, it underscores the family's appetite for the extreme end of Geneva's output.

On the secondary market, the Rolex GMT-Master II Ice ref. 116769TBR trades at a significant premium given its rarity and the intrinsic value of its diamonds and white gold construction. Grey-market prices have been observed north of $550,000, depending on condition and provenance. For a watch that Rolex produces in very limited quantities, demand among ultra-high-net-worth collectors remains consistent.

More watches like this

Other celebrities spotted with the same brand, model or star