Watch Paparazzi

Pilot Alain Prost spotted wearing Rolex

Before Richard Mille claimed Alain Prost as a brand ambassador, the four-time Formula 1 World Champion quietly wore one of Rolex's most underappreciated modern references: the Cellini Date in 18k Everose gold, ref. 50515, with a silvered guilloché dial and the model's signature double-domed, fluted bezel. The sighting offers a rare window into Prost's pre-partnership horological tastes — and they skewed classic.

Rolex relaunched the Cellini collection in 2014 with three references — the Time (50505), the Date (50515), and the Moonphase (50535) — repositioning the line as its formal dress offering in direct contrast to the Oyster family. The ref. 50515 measures 39mm in diameter and houses the calibre 3165, a self-winding movement with a date complication, Parachrom hairspring, and a 48-hour power reserve. The case design draws consciously from 1960s and 1970s Cellini pieces, with a rounded lug profile, domed sapphire crystal, and a leather strap secured by an 18k Everose gold pin buckle — no Oysterlock, no bracelet option.

The silvered guilloché dial on Prost's example is among the more restrained executions Rolex offers: the hand-engraved sunburst pattern catches light without announcing itself, and the applied hour markers in Everose gold maintain coherence with the case metal. The double-domed bezel — both bombé in profile and finely knurled at the edge — is a detail that rewards close inspection and separates the 50515 from more generic dress watch offerings at the price point.

For collectors, the Cellini Date occupies an interesting position. It has never generated the secondary-market frenzy of the sports references, which makes it accessible but also overlooked. Among those who appreciate formal Rolex pieces, the 50515 in Everose is considered the most wearable configuration — warmer in tone than white gold, less ostentatious than yellow gold.

Prost, nicknamed 'Le Professeur' for his strategic, measured approach to racing, suits the Cellini Date's personality precisely. Where rivals like Senna wore their emotions openly, Prost calculated. A restrained gold dress watch from Geneva's most famous manufacture reads as entirely consistent. His subsequent move to Richard Mille's hyper-technical, motorsport-coded universe marked a deliberate brand alignment — but the Rolex Cellini Date ref. 50515 captured something more personal.