The Rolex Daytona green dial watch is worn by Drake, Conor McGregor, John Mayer and more – why this US$85K watch is so rare, and advice on finding one

Jonah Hill, Roger Federer and influencer Supercar Blondie are among the elite group of collectors to own a gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona with green dial

Rolex is tight-lipped about its production, and it wasn’t popular until John Mayer called it a ‘sleeper hit’. The story of the watch and advice on snagging one

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The coveted green-dialled Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. The watch has been seen on the wrists of celebrities such as singer Drake and mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, but why is it so incredibly rare? Photo: Rolex

Winnie Chung

Published: 7:15am, 30 Nov 2022Updated: 4:28pm, 2 Dec 2022

Corrected [4:27pm, 2 Dec, 2022]

[4:27pm, 2 Dec, 2022]
Rolex produces around 1 million watches a year, not 20,000 to 40,000.

What do UFC fighter Conor McGregor, musician John Mayer, tennis legend Roger Federer, rapper Drake, actor Jonah Hill and mega-influencer Supercar Blondie all have in common?

They’ve all been spotted wearing a gold Rolex Daytona Cosmograph with a brilliant green dial, putting them in an elite, exclusive group of collectors.

Over the past decade or so, interest in luxury watches has grown exponentially, something analysts have attributed in part to an increase in millionaires around the world.

With production of many high-end watches limited and demand for them growing, waiting lists to buy them are being extended from months to years.

For those who can afford high-end timepieces, sports watches are generally the most sought after, especially among millennials.