Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Koke spotted wearing Rolex

Atlético Madrid's long-serving captain Koke — Jorge Resurrección Merodio to give him his full name — was recently photographed sporting one of Rolex's most enduringly popular two-tone dive watches, the Submariner Date in Yellow Rolesor, reference 116613LB. It is a fitting choice for a player known as much for his composure and class in the middle of the park as for his loyalty to a single club across more than a decade of elite football.

The Rolex Submariner Date 116613LB was introduced in 2010 as part of a comprehensive refresh of the Submariner family, replacing the previous 16613 reference. The watch is built around Rolex's in-house Calibre 3135 automatic movement, a self-winding workhorse offering approximately 48 hours of power reserve, running at 28,800 vph, and certified as a Superlative Chronometer to ±2 seconds per day. The case measures 40mm in diameter — the classic Submariner dimension before the 2020 update to 41mm on the successor 126613LB — and is rated water-resistant to 300 metres. Its defining visual feature is the combination of 904L stainless steel with 18ct yellow gold applied to the case mid-lugs, crown guards, bezel, and Oyster bracelet, giving the 116613LB its unmistakable two-tone character. The blue sunburst dial and matching blue Cerachrom ceramic bezel insert, graduated from 0 to 15 minutes, unify the colour story cleanly.

Among collectors, the 116613LB occupies a genuinely interesting position. It carries a premium over the all-steel 116610LN but stops well short of the all-gold 116618LB, making it an accessible entry into precious-metal Rolex territory. The Cerachrom bezel upgrade over its 16613 predecessor was widely praised. Production of the 116613LB effectively concluded when Rolex launched the updated 41mm 126613LB in 2020, which means the 116613LB is now a discontinued reference — a status that quietly underpins grey-market pricing.

Koke has been at Atlético Madrid since the age of nine and remains one of LaLiga's most decorated one-club players. His off-pitch taste, evidenced here, leans toward recognizable luxury without ostentation — the Submariner 116613LB is precisely that kind of watch.

On the secondary market the 116613LB trades above its original retail price, buoyed by its discontinued status and persistent demand for the yellow Rolesor configuration. It remains one of the more liquid pre-owned Rolex references, attractive to new buyers and seasoned collectors alike.