Footballer Reece James spotted wearing a Rolex

Reece James, the Chelsea FC and England international widely praised as one of the best right-backs in world football, was recently photographed wearing the Rolex GMT-Master II reference 126720VTNR — a watch that has proven just as hard to acquire as a place in a Champions League squad.

The 126720VTNR is the standout novelty from Rolex's Watches & Wonders Geneva 2022 presentation, and for good reason. It is the first-ever left-handed GMT-Master, with the winding crown repositioned to the 9 o'clock position. This is not an aesthetic choice: the configuration allows a left-handed wearer to set and wind the watch without removing it from the wrist, a long-overdue acknowledgment of a demographic Rolex had largely ignored across the GMT-Master's near-70-year history. The watch is presented on a five-row Jubilee bracelet with an Oysterlock clasp — a bracelet option first reintroduced on GMT references in 2018 and now firmly associated with the sportier side of the collection.

Power comes from the calibre 3285, Rolex's in-house movement featuring a Chronergy escapement, Parachrom hairspring, and a 70-hour power reserve — a significant upgrade on the older calibre 3186. The bidirectional independently adjustable GMT hand allows a second time zone to be tracked without interrupting the running of the main time display. The 40mm Oystersteel case houses the instantly recognizable black and green 'Sprite' Cerachrom insert, a colour combination that appeared on the aluminium-bezel 'Sprite' of the 1980s before returning in ceramic on this generation.

For collectors, the 126720VTNR occupies rare territory: a reference that is simultaneously a technical first and a visually compelling piece. The left-crown configuration means secondary-market demand is driven not just by aesthetics but by genuine horological novelty, and Rolex authorized dealers have maintained waiting lists stretching years since launch.

At a UK list price of approximately £9,000 and a US retail equivalent around $11,200, the 126720VTNR looks almost modest on paper. On the grey market, however, the reference commands multiples of retail — currently trading around $62,000 — reflecting a supply-demand imbalance that shows little sign of correcting. For Reece James, wearing it speaks to both an eye for the technically significant and an understanding of what the watch community is paying closest attention to.