Rapper Dappy spotted wearing a Rolex

Dappy, the British rapper and N-Dubz frontman whose profile has remained a constant in UK entertainment circles, was recently spotted wearing one of Rolex's most enduring sports-luxury references — the Submariner Date 116613LB, the yellow gold and Oystersteel variant distinguished by its vivid blue dial and matching blue ceramic bezel insert.

The Rolex Submariner Date 116613LB was introduced in 2009 as part of a broader overhaul that brought Cerachrom ceramic bezels to the two-tone Submariner line for the first time. The reference replaced the older 16613 and represented a meaningful technical leap: the blue Cerachrom insert resists fading, scratching, and UV degradation far more effectively than its aluminium predecessor. Beneath the Oyster case — water-resistant to 300 metres — beats the calibre 3135, Rolex's workhorse automatic movement featuring a Parachrom hairspring, Paraflex shock absorbers, and a 48-hour power reserve. Case diameter sits at 40mm, a proportion that has defined Submariner ergonomics for decades.

Among collectors, the 116613LB occupies a particularly strong position. The blue-on-blue dial and bezel configuration — colloquially known as the "Bluesy" — has long attracted premium interest on the secondary market. When Rolex retired the 116613LB in 2020 in favour of the larger 41mm 126613LB, grey-market demand for the outgoing reference tightened considerably. The 40mm case size, now discontinued, adds a layer of collector appeal that the newer generation does not yet carry.

For Dappy, a rapper whose style has consistently leaned into high-visibility luxury, the Submariner Date 116613LB makes sense as a statement piece. It reads as serious horology to those who know, and reads as undeniable status to those who do not — a dual register that suits the watch's own character perfectly.

At retail, the 116613LB was listed at approximately £11,250 in the UK before its discontinuation. On the grey market, surviving examples in good condition now command meaningful premiums over that original retail figure, reflecting both the Bluesy's enduring desirability and the collector interest that discontinuation reliably generates.