Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Warren Buffett spotted wearing Rolex

Courtside at a basketball game, Warren Buffett — one of the wealthiest and most studied investors in history — was photographed wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date on the President bracelet. The sighting is notable precisely because Buffett is famously frugal in his public persona, making any luxury watch on his wrist a genuine statement rather than a habitual flex.

The watch in question appears to be the Rolex Day-Date 40, reference 228238, cased in 18k yellow gold with a fluted bezel and white Roman numeral dial — a configuration that has remained virtually unchanged in spirit since the model's 1956 debut. The 40mm case (up from the classic 36mm of the earlier ref. 118238) houses Rolex's in-house Calibre 3255, a movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, Parachrom hairspring, and a 70-hour power reserve — a significant technical leap over the prior 3155 movement. Chronometer-certified to ±2 seconds per day, it represents some of the finest industrially produced automatic watchmaking available.

The Day-Date's collector significance is deeply entrenched. Nicknamed the "President's Watch" after Dwight D. Eisenhower wore an early example, the reference has graced the wrists of Lyndon B. Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and countless global leaders. The President bracelet — a three-link semi-circular design exclusive to this model — remains one of the most recognisable bracelets in fine watchmaking. In yellow gold, the combination reads as institutional confidence rather than ostentation.

Buffett's choice of this specific configuration — yellow gold, fluted bezel, white Roman dial — aligns with the most traditional and historically resonant expression of the Day-Date. For a man who has held Coca-Cola stock since 1988 and lives in the same Omaha home he bought in 1958, the preference for a classically configured, time-tested instrument tracks perfectly with his known philosophy: buy quality, hold forever.

On the secondary market, the 228238 in yellow gold with white Roman dial trades firmly above retail, reflecting persistent Rolex supply constraints. Grey market premiums on President-bracelet Day-Date 40 references have remained elevated since 2020, making this a watch that appreciates alongside the portfolios of those who wear it.