Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Jimmy Butler spotted wearing Rolex

Jimmy Butler has been spotted wearing one of the most coveted and hardest-to-acquire references in the Rolex universe: the Daytona 116598RBOW in 18kt yellow gold, set with a 36-stone multicolour baguette bezel. The sighting adds another headline chapter to Butler's well-documented watch journey, confirming his taste runs well beyond the obvious.

The Rolex Daytona 116598RBOW is built around the in-house Calibre 4130, a column-wheel, vertical-clutch chronograph movement that Rolex introduced in 2000 and which remains the technical benchmark for integrated chronograph design at this price tier. It offers a 72-hour power reserve, operates at 28,800 vph, and is housed inside a 40mm oyster case in solid 18kt yellow gold. The dial on the RBOW variant is itself set with baguette diamonds, complementing the cascade of colour on the bezel. Water resistance is rated to 100 metres — functional rigour despite the jewellery-level finishing.

The bezel is what defines this reference in the collector community. Rolex's gem-setters hand-select each baguette stone for colour graduation, moving through the spectrum from warm yellow sapphires and orange sapphires through rubies, pink sapphires, and tsavorite garnets. No two examples graduate identically, giving each watch a degree of individuality rare for Rolex production pieces. The result is a reference that straddles haute joaillerie and serious sports chronograph — a combination Rolex executes with a discipline that standalone jewellers rarely match.

Jimmy Butler's interest in fine watches is well established on and off the court. He has appeared publicly with references spanning Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and multiple Rolex configurations, but the 116598RBOW signals a collector moving deliberately into jewellery-complications territory rather than simply acquiring trophy pieces.

On the market, the Rolex Daytona 116598RBOW commands significant premiums over its already substantial list price. UK retail sits at approximately £150,000, translating to roughly $190,000 USD at current rates. On the secondary market, verified examples regularly trade at multiples of retail, with grey-market prices frequently exceeding $350,000 USD depending on condition, papers, and box completeness. Supply remains extremely constrained, and authorised dealer access is effectively non-existent for walk-in clients.