Watch Paparazzi

Basketball player Stephen Curry spotted wearing Rolex

Stephen Curry made his entrance at the 2021 NBA All-Star Weekend arena in style, wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 in 18k yellow gold on his wrist — fitting attire for a man who had just claimed the three-point contest title at the 70th All-Star Game. The sighting offers a clean look at one of the most historically significant dress watches in horology, chosen by a player whose precision on the court mirrors the mechanical exactitude of the piece itself.

The watch in question is the Day-Date 40, reference 228238, introduced in 2015 when Rolex expanded the case diameter from 36mm to 40mm — a meaningful update that brought the president's watch into the modern era without abandoning its classical DNA. The champagne-toned dial features applied Roman numeral hour markers in 18k gold, a fluted yellow gold bezel, and the instantly recognizable apertures at 12 o'clock for the day display and 3 o'clock for the date. The caliber 3255 movement inside is one of Rolex's most advanced in-house mechanisms, offering a 70-hour power reserve, Chronergy escapement, and a Paraflex shock absorber — 14 patents in total.

The Presidential bracelet remains among the most copied bracelets in watchmaking and yet impossible to replicate with authenticity. Launched in 1956 specifically for the Day-Date, it has since become a cultural shorthand for achievement. Three-piece links in solid 18k yellow gold give it a weight and fluidity that no steel or two-tone alternative can reproduce.

For Curry, the Day-Date 40 is a coherent choice. The Golden State Warriors point guard has long demonstrated sophisticated taste in watches, gravitating toward pieces that communicate restrained prestige rather than outright flash. The 228238 in champagne and yellow gold sits at the conservative end of Day-Date configurations — no diamond dial, no exotic leather — which speaks to a collector who understands the model's heritage.

On the secondary market, the Day-Date 40 ref. 228238 with champagne dial commands consistent premiums over its $38,500 retail list price, typically trading between $42,000 and $48,000 in the grey market depending on condition and papers. Demand from both sports figures and traditional collectors keeps supply tight, making this one of Rolex's most reliably appreciated references.