Lionel Messi’s Rolex Day-Date 40 Green Aventurine: What It Costs
The watch
Day-Date 40, green aventurine dial
Estimated price
$68,000
Originally posted on our Instagram →
Exact reference not available. The link goes to the closest model: the Day-Date 36 in Everose gold with a darker green aventurine dial.
Lionel Messi was photographed before Argentina played Austria at the 2026 World Cup, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, wearing a Rolex Day-Date 40 in Everose gold with a light green aventurine dial. Estimated price: around $68,000.
A few weeks earlier he turned up to training in a steel Oyster Perpetual 36, about the most modest Rolex there is. This is the other end of the catalogue.
What it is
The Day-Date launched in 1956 and was the first wristwatch to show both the date and the day of the week spelled out in full, in a window across the top of the dial. Rolex has only ever made it in precious metals: yellow, white or Everose gold, or platinum. There is no steel Day-Date.
Everose is Rolex’s own rose gold alloy, mixed in its own foundry so the colour does not fade over time. On this watch the case, the bezel and the bracelet are all solid 18k Everose.
The bezel and the bracelet
The fluted bezel started out as a working part. The ridges let Rolex screw the bezel onto the case to help keep water out, and they matched the fluting on the screwed-down case back. Today it does no screwing at all. It stays because it has become one of the most recognisable details in watchmaking, and in polished gold it catches the light from every angle.
The bracelet is the President, with its rounded three-piece links. It was created in 1956 for the launch of the Day-Date and has been tied to the model ever since. Like the watch itself, it is only ever made in precious metal.
The dial is a stone
The dial is cut from green aventurine, a natural stone from the quartz family. It is pale green with patches of deeper colour and fine veining running through it.
Because it is a natural stone, no two dials are identical. The pattern on Messi’s watch exists on his watch and nowhere else. That is a big part of why stone dials sit above standard dials in price.
What happens to the value
Gold Day-Dates are one of the steadier things in watches. They are made in limited numbers, there is always demand, and the gold alone puts a floor under the price. Stone-dial versions are rarer still, and collectors tend to chase them.
That is not a promise. Prices for stone dials move with fashion, and green has been very fashionable lately. But this is closer to a store of value than most luxury purchases.
Where to find one
The position we hold on every page here. The Day-Date is one of the most counterfeited watches in the world, and fake stone dials are common. There is no cheap version of this watch, and we will not link one.
If you want one, buy it from somewhere that authenticates and gives you papers.
Exact reference not available. The link goes to the closest model: the Day-Date 36 in Everose gold with a darker green aventurine dial.
Worth saying
Messi wore this with an Argentina team jacket and a lanyard. The jacket is team kit. The watch costs more than most people’s cars.
Two Rolexes in one World Cup, from roughly $8,000 to $68,000. Same brand, very different statements.
Price checked 18 October 2026 and will move. Prices for gold and stone-dial Rolex references are set by the secondary market and change with demand. Fashion Place earns a commission on some links at no extra cost to you.
