Harry Kane wore the legendary Rolex Daytona at the Ballon d’Or ceremony – but not the right one

In 1979, when Trevor Francis became Britain’s first-ever million-pound football player, it generated headlines around the world. The British press and parliament treated it like a moral crisis. Could anyone really be worth seven figures? Today, a player can wear that amount on his wrist and it barely causes a ripple on the gossip pages.

Today, the question is whether a watch can really be worth seven figures. If you were to ask me whether, in a perfect world, I would blow over a million quid on a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph “Blue Sapphire” Daytona: Ref. 126599TSA, as worn by Harry Kane when he accepted his Ballon d’Or, I’d have to say ‘no’.

Which is odd, because I love Rolex Daytonas. I have, on occasion, considered swapping one of my kidneys for a 1964 Rolex Daytona Ref: 6239. It’s a truly sexy beast, where Harry’s timepiece is more Ray Winstone in his golden “budgie smugglers” in the film of that name.

The original Rolex Daytona

The original Ref: 6239 was a lean, mean stainless steel tool watch, designed following the mantra of the 3Fs: form follows function. Its design was driven by the needs and wants of racing drivers. This was a watch with a purpose, and that purpose was speed and the timing thereof. It allowed wearers to measure elapsed time and calculate average speed. It’s even named after the historic home of US motor racing, Daytona Beach, and was worn by real racing drivers and pit crews. The fact it is one of the most beautiful watches ever made was almost an accident.

The only part of that rich heritage shared with the watch Harry Kane wore at the London Palladium is the name. This incarnation is cast in white gold, with 36 baguette-cut blue sapphires around the bezel and 54 diamonds on the case and lugs, with even more sapphires on the dial as hour markers.

The dial itself is made of obsidian, a volcanic glass that, while it reflects light beautifully, is a nightmare to machine into a functioning dial. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. While its official factory configuration is the ref. 126599TSA, released last year, this is an off-catalogue version.

You see, the world has changed since 1979, when almost anyone could pick up a Daytona. Nowadays, it’s a status symbol, the ultimate statement that you have arrived. It is one of those things that vulgar money alone is not supposed to be able to buy; the currency that counts here is not fortune but fame, and the more famous the better.

Other dazzling watches at sporting events

It exists in the same rarefied world as the flashy Rolex Daytona “Rainbow” worn by Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz at the 2026 World Cup Final. It’s also a sibling of the $1m blinged-up Rolex Daytona “Blue Sapphire” worn by Roger Federer at the 2025 Laver Cup (a watch that, judging by his expression, was much admired by Alcaraz).

To get one of these off-catalogue watches, you need to be the right kind of celebrity, and either a Rolex ambassador or a serious friend of the brand. And rich. Very rich.

I don’t have a problem with any of that. It’s your money, spend it how you want. As to whether any watch can be worth a million quid, I can think of plenty that probably are. 

My only problem with Harry’s Rolex is the name. It’s a bit like me changing my name to Margo, putting on a diamond-encrusted tutu, and expecting to be able to plié. To me, the Daytona is sacred: save the sapphires and diamonds for another model.