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Footballer Lionel Messi spotted wearing Rolex

Lionel Messi was photographed wearing a Rolex Daytona reference 116509 in 18K white gold while watching Paris Saint-Germain face Benfica. The setting — a high-profile UEFA fixture — provided an appropriately grand backdrop for one of Rolex's most coveted chronographs.

The ref. 116509 sits at the top of the steel-free Daytona hierarchy. Its 40mm case is crafted entirely from 18K white gold, paired with a dial cut from authenticated Gibeon meteorite, sourced from a mass that impacted Namibia and is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old. The Widmanstätten crystalline pattern running across the dial surface is formed by interlocking nickel-iron crystals and cannot be replicated by any industrial process — each dial is genuinely one of a kind. Completing the package are diamond-set hour markers and a tachymeter bezel in matching white gold. Inside runs the Calibre 4130, Rolex's wholly proprietary column-wheel chronograph movement offering a 72-hour power reserve and exceptional reliability, introduced to replace the earlier Zenith-based ebauche in 2000.

Among collectors, the meteorite-dial 116509 occupies a specific and serious niche. It combines the mechanical credibility of the 4130 with dial material that no amount of money can improve upon — the scarcity is geological, not commercial. White gold Daytonas as a category trade at significant premiums over their steel equivalents, and the meteorite variant pushes that premium further. It is the kind of watch that appeals equally to the seasoned collector and to someone who simply wants the most extraordinary version of an already extraordinary reference.

Messi has long demonstrated refined taste in horology. His wrist has hosted pieces from Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Jacob & Co over the years, but the 116509 meteorite is a notably understated choice for a man of his profile — technically spectacular without requiring explanation.

At retail, the Rolex Daytona ref. 116509 with meteorite dial carries a list price of approximately $41,750. On the grey market, strong demand and extremely limited authorised dealer availability push current values to around $150,000 — roughly 3.5 times retail — confirming its status as one of the more aggressively appreciated references in the modern Rolex catalogue.