Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Giorgio Chiellini spotted wearing Rolex

Giorgio Chiellini, the Juventus and Italian national team captain, was photographed on his return to Turin wearing a Rolex Sky-Dweller reference 326934 — the stainless steel and white gold model on a five-link Jubilee bracelet, a configuration that entered the catalogue in 2021 and immediately became one of the reference's most sought-after executions.

The Sky-Dweller ref. 326934 sits at the top of Rolex's technical hierarchy. Its movement, the calibre 9001, is a self-winding manufacture movement beating at 28,800 vph with a 72-hour power reserve. What sets it apart is the combination of a Saros annual calendar — which distinguishes between 30- and 31-day months automatically, requiring correction only once a year, in February — and an off-centre 24-hour disc for tracking a second time zone. The current month is indicated by a red indicator appearing in one of twelve apertures arranged around the dial, a system that is both functional and visually distinctive. The Ring Command bezel, a Rolex patent, allows the wearer to switch between the three adjustment modes — time, annual calendar, and GMT — by rotating the bezel before engaging the crown.

Launched in 2012, the Sky-Dweller was Rolex's most ambitious complications debut in decades. The ref. 326934 in particular — steel case with white gold fluted bezel — represents a deliberate tension between the brand's sports and dress identities. The Jubilee bracelet, historically associated with the Datejust, lends it a refined character without sacrificing the robust feel of the Oyster case. Among collectors, this configuration is regarded as the most wearable and versatile of the Sky-Dweller family.

Chiellini has long demonstrated an appreciation for substantial, serious watches befitting his on-pitch persona — composed, dominant, with no need for unnecessary flourish. The Sky-Dweller ref. 326934 maps precisely onto that character: a watch that carries genuine mechanical depth beneath a controlled, elegant surface.

On the grey market, the ref. 326934 commands a meaningful premium over retail. Official list price sits at $15,750 USD, but secondary market demand — driven by the model's complexity, versatility, and the difficulty of obtaining it at authorised dealers — pushes transaction prices considerably higher.