The Laureus Sport Awards always present a chance for A-lister sports stars to link up in their biggest (smartest) fits of the year. This year in Madrid, Carlos Alcaraz hanging in the same circles as Simone Biles, Lamine Yamal and Luka Modrić – we’re filing under things we love to see.
Given the calibre of talent in attendance – Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Kelly Slater – you’d be right to assume there were a lot of grail worthy watches on show. But Alcaraz’s Rolex Daytona 116576TBR flex in particular stood out as he walked the red carpet – both for its wow factor and for being a surprising, unusual choice.
As Alcaraz fans will have become accustomed to spotting, the 21-year-old likes to wear his watches out in the wild. He is known for regularly giving pieces from his collection repeat air time at tournaments and red carpets. Case in point, last night at the Madrid premiere of Carlos Alcaraz: My Way, the Netflix series about his career to date, he wore the same Rollie. That’s two public wrist checks in a week, pushing the watch into elite daily driver territory.
Fittingly, Alcaraz is at the top end of his game, and ultimately his watch is a seamless match. For starters, it’s crafted entirely from platinum and takes Rolex’s killer chrono to next levels of bling with a tasty diamond-set bezel and ice-blue dial. Arabic numerals add to the collector appeal, given that Rolex produces these dials in small quantities, and they’re highly sought after. On this model, they were produced for a very small, elite client list in the Middle East, so the chances of seeing them in the wild are pretty slim.
Even for Alcaraz, getting this level of watch probably required some head-scratching. He reps the Crown in an official capacity so it wouldn’t have been a surprise to see him wearing the Land-Dweller, which featured as part of the brand’s 2025 releases. But there’s something extra special, and even sicker, about pulling up with a rare take on the Daytona. It has been around since the ’60s and is considered one of the hardest Rollies to score (on the secondary market, this watch goes for well over £200k). Let alone a diamond-set, ultra rare platinum edition that puts the brand’s trademark prestige in turbo mode. It shows that he’s a watch guy for real. He doesn’t just go for the buzziest kettles he can get, but likes to scour for the real gems and collector catnip that sets him apart from the rest.