Watch Paparazzi

Model Hailey Rhode Baldwin spotted wearing Rolex

Hailey Baldwin Bieber, model and wife of pop star Justin Bieber, was photographed by Getty Images on the streets of Los Angeles wearing what is one of Rolex's most complete expressions of in-house goldsmithing: the Datejust 31 in 18K yellow gold with a diamond bezel and Presidential bracelet. The sighting is a study in how serious horology and street style can coexist without effort.

The watch in question is the Rolex Datejust 31, reference 278288RBR, built entirely in 18K yellow gold — case, bezel setting, and the iconic President bracelet with its semi-circular three-piece links, a design Rolex introduced in 1956 for the Day-Date and later extended to the Datejust line. The 31mm Oyster case houses the calibre 2236, Rolex's in-house movement featuring a Syloxi silicon hairspring and a Microstella regulation system, delivering approximately 55 hours of power reserve and COSC-certified chronometric performance. The silver dial carries brilliant-cut diamond hour markers in place of traditional indices — a detail Rolex calls 'diamond-set dial' — while the bezel features a full set of brilliant-cut diamonds in a claw setting, adding roughly 1.3 carats of stones around the flange.

The Datejust itself is Rolex's longest-running model, launched in 1945 as the world's first self-winding waterproof wristwatch with an automatically changing date. The 31mm iteration was updated to its current case architecture with the 2019 generation, gaining the new calibre 2236 and refined finishing across case flanks and bracelet. In full yellow gold with diamond bezel — the 278288RBR configuration — it represents the model at its most maximalist.

For collectors, the all-gold Datejust 31 occupies a distinct niche. It is not a sports watch and does not pretend to be. Its appeal lies in its craft: Rolex sources, cuts, and sets its own diamonds in-house at its Geneva facility, a vertical integration few houses match. The Presidential bracelet in yellow gold remains one of the most recognizable luxury watch bracelets in the world.

At a retail price of approximately $40,650, the reference 278288RBR commands a premium that reflects both metal content and stone setting. On the grey market, full-gold diamond-bezel Datejust 31s typically trade at or slightly above retail given consistent demand. For Hailey Baldwin Bieber, it reads as a wardrobe staple rather than a statement piece — which, for a watch at this level, is perhaps the highest compliment.