Actor Tom Hanks spotted wearing a Rolex

Tom Hanks has never been one to wear a watch as a status signal, which makes his Rolex Milgauss 116400GV all the more telling as a sighting. Photographed in what appears to be an editorial or promotional setting, Hanks pairs the 40mm steel sports watch with a check-patterned shirt and tailored glen-plaid suit — a combination that reads as a seasoned collector's understated confidence rather than deliberate flex.

The Rolex Milgauss 116400GV sits within the current-generation Milgauss family, introduced in 2007 following Rolex's revival of the anti-magnetic reference after a near-20-year production hiatus. The reference 116400GV — the 'GV' denoting verre vert, French for green glass — houses Rolex's calibre 3131 automatic movement, itself fitted with a paramagnetic blue Parachrom hairspring and a ferromagnetic inner shield that collectively resist magnetic interference up to 1,000 gauss. Case diameter is 40mm in Oystersteel, water-resistant to 100 metres, with a smooth tachymetre-free bezel and the signature Z-blue or black dial depending on variant. The example on Hanks's wrist shows the black dial with orange baton indices and that immediately recognisable orange lightning-bolt seconds hand — the model's most iconic visual signature.

Among collectors, the 116400GV occupies an interesting position: it is simultaneously one of Rolex's more affordable references and one of its most scientifically credible, yet it never achieved the speculative frenzy of the Daytona or GMT-Master II. That has kept it accessible and, arguably, more interesting as a genuine tool-watch choice. The green sapphire — unique in Rolex's catalogue — adds chromatic distinctiveness without gimmickry.

Hanks is known to collect typewriters and reportedly approaches personal accessories with the same curatorial seriousness. A Milgauss aligns well with that sensibility: historical provenance, technical specificity, and zero need for external validation.

On the secondary market the 116400GV trades at modest premiums over retail, a rarity in the current Rolex landscape. Official retail stood at approximately $8,500 USD before the reference was quietly discontinued in 2023, making existing examples increasingly sought after by collectors who missed it the first time.