Ronaldo Wears The Most Expensive Rolex Retail Watch the GMT Master II “Ice” Ref. 116769TBR

Ronaldo wore the the Rolex GMT Master II “Ice” Ref. 116769TBR at the Dubai International Sports Conference on Sunday, December 29, 2019. The Ice watch is the most expensive retail priced at $485,350. While other Rolex watches have sold for more, such as the Paul Newman Rolex Daytona which sold at an auction for record $17.8 Million (link), the Ice watch is the highest retail price point.

Ronaldo looked glamorous wearing the watch along with other jewelry estimated to be upwards of $800K.  Brad Pitt and David Beckham are also  reported to own the same Ref. 116769TBR.  Since Paul Newman's Daytona sold for a world record, only time will tell whether any of the Ice watches from the aforementioned celebrities will also auction for astronomical numbers in the future.  Can't help but think that Paul Newman's watch was relatively plain by itself.  The Ice watch has a jump start on that front.

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date GMT Master is part of the Rolex Professional Watch Collection. Designed in collaboration with Pan American Airways for use by their pilots and navigators, it was launched in 1954.  The GMT Master watch has a 24-hour display fourth hand complication directly linked to the standard 12-hour hand. which can be set to GMT or another time zone, and using the rotatable 24-hour scale bezel, a second time zone could be read.

In the early 1980s the Rolex GMT-Master II was released.  While the designs are similar, the Master II uses a movement that has the additional capability of an independently adjustable quickset hour hand that can be adjusted to local time without stopping the seconds or disturbing the minutes and 24 hour GMT hand.

The Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 116710 series was produced from 2006 through 2018 where the Ice watch stands as the crown jewel:

116710LN (2007-2018) - Steel case, black dial, black bezel, green GMT hand
116710BLNR "Batman" (2013-2019) - Steel case, black dial, black and blue bezel, blue GMT hand
116713LN (2006-2018) - Steel and yellow gold case, black dial, black bezel, green GMT hand
116719BLRO "Pepsi" (2014-2018) - White gold case, black dial, red and blue bezel, red GMT hand
116758SA - Yellow gold case, blue and white diamond bezel, black dial, white diamond case
116758SANR - Yellow gold case, black and white diamond bezel, black dial, white diamond case
116758SARU - Yellow gold case, red and blue diamond bezel, black dial, white diamond case
116759SA - White gold case, blue and white diamond bezel, black dial
116759SANR - White gold case, black and white diamond bezel, black dial
116759SARU - White gold case, red and blue diamond bezel, black dial
116769TBR "Ice Watch" - White gold case, white diamond pave dial, bezel, bracelet, and case

Movement:
Self-winding calibre Rolex 3186 (bi-directional winding)
Certified chronometer (COSC), 28,800 A/h
31 jewels
Power reserve 50 h

Case:
Stainless steel case
Ø 40 mm, H 12.4 mm
Bi-directional rotating bezel
Sapphire crystal with loupe
Screw-in crown
Waterproof to 100 m

Dial:
Black or green
Round, rectangular, and triangular indexes and hands with luminous material

Functions:
Hours, minutes, central seconds
Date window at 3:00
GMT function: Dual time zones by turning 24 hours bezel and hand as well as independently-adjustable 12 hours hand
Hacking seconds
Rapid calendar advance

Bracelet:
Stainless steel Oyster or Jubilee bracelet with folding clasp

Production:
Production: 2006-2018
Predecessor: Ref. 16710 GMT-Master II
Successor: Ref. 126710 GMT-Master II

While the retail price for the Ice watch was just shy of $500K, the watch sells for more now and given the precious metals and stones it will likely not depreciate in the future, especially those owned by celebrities.