Watch Paparazzi

Footballer Neymar Jr spotted wearing Rolex

Neymar Jr made a subdued public appearance at Santos FC's training ground in Brazil while recovering from ankle surgery, but the Brazilian forward's wrist ensured the visit did not go unnoticed. On it sat a discontinued Rolex Day-Date 36 in 18-carat yellow gold, reference 128158RBR-0001, with factory diamond-set case, bezel, and dial — one of the most comprehensively jewelled configurations Rolex offered on this reference line before quietly pulling it from the official catalogue.

The Day-Date 36 ref. 128158RBR sits within Rolex's current-generation Day-Date family, which moved to the calibre 3255 movement — a significant in-house upgrade featuring a Chronergy escapement, 70-hour power reserve, and improved resistance to magnetic fields and shocks. The 36 mm Oyster case in 18-carat yellow gold is paired here with a President bracelet, itself a hallmark of the Day-Date since its 1956 debut. What distinguishes the 128158RBR-0001 is the factory-applied diamond setting across the lugs, bezel, and dial, executed entirely by Rolex's own gem-setting workshops in Geneva — a detail that matters enormously to serious collectors.

Factory provenance is the operative phrase. Rolex-set diamonds carry a categorical premium over aftermarket work, both in resale value and collector credibility. The 128158RBR was already a top-tier configuration within the Day-Date 36 range, and its discontinuation has made surviving examples — particularly unworn or lightly worn pieces with original papers — increasingly sought after in secondary markets. The full-set yellow gold variant occupies a niche that blends jewellery-watch territory with the institutional gravitas the Day-Date has accumulated over nearly seven decades.

Neymar has long favoured statement Rolex pieces, and this sighting fits his established pattern of gravitating toward high-jewellery factory references rather than sportswear complications. The Santos visit carried obvious emotional weight for the footballer — the club where his professional career began — and the choice of a discontinued, fully diamond-set Day-Date reads as characteristically unbothered luxury.

On the grey market, discontinued full-diamond Rolex Day-Date 36 references in yellow gold have held firm. The 128158RBR-0001 trades meaningfully above its original retail position, driven by scarcity following discontinuation and sustained global appetite for factory-set Rolex jewellery watches among high-net-worth collectors across the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America.