Emily Ratajkowski is many things — A-list model, author, podcaster, street style staple, saucy selfie master, Pete Davidson Enjoyer — but a watch aficionado? That's a new one, which makes her rare Rolex flex all the more intriguing.
No diss intended, by the way; I'm not particularly knowledgeable about watches myself. That being said, I do find the intricacies of timepieces quite compelling, especially when a watch oddity engenders a thoughtful backstory.
So, I'd love to know exactly why Emily Ratajkowski's go-to watch is a Rolex Day Date 36mm with a vignette dial.
This isn't a new discovery, either, as several collectors have already clocked (ha) Ratajkowski as wearing this very watch for several years now, often when promoting her clothing brand, Inamorata, oddly enough.
Old news or not, EmRata watch intrigue was heightened over the last weekend in June, when Ratajkowski was again seen sporting her Rolex, this time with a Miu Miu shoulder bag and typically effortless off-duty outfit en route to record an episode of her podcast.
It was a classic Emily Ratajkowski look despite the Rolex's unusual make.
Nothing unusual about the gold President bracelet and matching case on a Rolex Day Date, of course, but the watch's vignette dial (or ombré; you can't see it too well) makes for a fairly distinct timepiece.
That rarity is reflected in the price on the secondhand market: though the vignette Day Date 36mm is hardly the most sought-after or splashiest Rolex in the world, it still commands prices upwards of $40,000 depending on make, model, quality, and whether or not it has diamond indices, which EmRata's watch does appear to have.
I assume that, like Ratajkowski's sparse interest in hyped sneakers, her watch awareness is limited to only the few things that mean something to her.
I'm basing that off the of relative rarity of actually seeing Emily Ratajkowski wear her watch. She only ever seems to wear this specific one, that is, though she frequently wears various types of jewelry in its place.
If she wanted another watch, surely she could afford it — there's some reason that Ratajkowski wears only this Rolex over and over again.
As such, and given that many of these vignette Rolexes date back to the '80s, I wonder if it's a hand-me-down from a family member — in the few available photos of Emily's parents, painter John David Ratajkowski and writer Kathleen Balgley, neither wear watches.
Without a real answer, I choose to view Ratajkowski's Rolex as a subtle middle finger to artist Richard Prince, who referenced a more affordable watch company in his infamously purloined "Portrait" of Ratajkowski. Timex? Try Rolex.
