Watch Paparazzi

Cricketer Virat Kohli spotted wearing Rolex

Virat Kohli, photographed recently and instantly recognisable to his 260-million-plus Instagram followers, was wearing what is arguably the most coveted production Rolex in the current market: the Cosmograph Daytona 116595RBOW in 18KT Everose gold. The sighting confirms Kohli's reputation as one of cricket's most watch-literate celebrities, a collector whose wrist choices consistently reflect genuine knowledge of the market.

The Rolex Daytona 116595RBOW is built around Rolex's proprietary Calibre 4130, a column-wheel chronograph movement with a vertical clutch and a 72-hour power reserve — a significant in-house engineering achievement that replaced the Zenith El Primero base used in earlier Daytona references. The case and three-register dial are rendered entirely in 18KT Everose gold, Rolex's own patented rose-gold alloy formulated to resist fading. What defines this reference absolutely is its gem-setting: 36 baguette-cut sapphires encircle the tachymeter bezel in a deliberate chromatic gradient — violet through indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red — while 11 further baguette-cut rainbow sapphires serve as hour markers on the dial. Each stone is individually sourced and sequenced by Rolex's in-house gem laboratory, making every example subtly unique.

Among collectors, the Rainbow Daytona occupies a category of its own. First introduced in Everose gold around 2012 and subsequently refined, the 116595RBOW has never been easy to acquire through authorised dealers; waitlists run to years, and many clients never receive an allocation at all. That scarcity, combined with the genuine complexity of its manufacture, has cemented its status as a grail piece rather than a fashion accessory.

Kohli, whose brand partnerships and personal style place him at the intersection of elite sport and luxury lifestyle, has long demonstrated a preference for watches with substance behind the spectacle. The Rainbow Daytona is precisely that — a technically serious chronograph that happens to be encrusted with precious stones.

On the grey market, the Rolex Daytona 116595RBOW trades at a significant premium over its already substantial retail price. With a UK list price of £92,100, secondary-market examples regularly change hands at multiples of retail, reflecting both the genuine difficulty of acquisition and sustained global demand from collectors who simply cannot wait.