Watch Paparazzi

Television presenter Ellen spotted wearing Rolex

Ellen DeGeneres was recently photographed wearing what is immediately identifiable as one of the most coveted vintage Rolex references in existence: the Submariner reference 6538, known universally among collectors as the 'James Bond Big Crown.' The sighting is notable not just for the celebrity wrist it occupies, but for the sheer rarity of the object itself.

The Rolex Submariner 6538 was produced in relatively limited numbers between approximately 1954 and 1959. Its defining characteristic is the oversized 8mm crown — dramatically larger than those found on contemporary Submariner references — which gave the watch its enduring nickname. The 38mm stainless steel case houses a cal. 1030 or cal. 1036 movement depending on production year, both manual-wind ebauches built for reliability under pressure to 200 meters. The black baton dial DeGeneres is wearing represents one of the cleaner, more legible dial configurations of the reference, paired here with an Oyster bracelet that was period-correct for the era.

The reference 6538 entered popular culture permanently when it appeared on the wrist of Sean Connery's James Bond in Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Goldfinger (1964). That on-screen legacy transformed an already desirable vintage dive watch into a true grail piece. The 'Big Crown' designation distinguishes it from the slightly later reference 6538 variants and the related 6536, and originality of components — crown, crystal, dial, and case — is everything when assessing value.

DeGeneres has long been known as a serious collector of antiques and rare objects, and this sighting suggests her eye extends to vintage horology at the highest level. Wearing a reference 6538 daily, rather than keeping it in a safe, reflects either remarkable confidence or genuine enthusiasm for the watch as an object to be used.

Market context underscores just how significant this piece is. A Rolex Submariner reference 6538 sold at Phillips Watches' New York auction last month for $178,000 USD, a figure consistent with recent strong results for clean, honest examples of this reference. There is no official retail price — these watches exist only on the secondary and auction market — and condition, provenance, and originality of parts drive values considerably higher or lower than that benchmark figure.