What Makes a Rolex Daytona Worth ₹85 Lakh? Salman Khan's Bigg Boss Watch Explained

Salman Khan does not exactly need a loud accessory to command attention, but the Rolex on his wrist during a recent Bigg Boss appearance did plenty of talking anyway. Social media, including a post from Elite Hours, valued the watch at around ₹85 lakh. That number is eye-catching, but the more useful question is a different one: what actually makes a Rolex Daytona capable of reaching that kind of price?

Salman Khan's Bigg Boss Rolex: What Was He Wearing?

Elite Hours identified the watch as a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in 18ct white gold, with a diamond-set bezel and an Oysterflex bracelet, valued at approximately ₹85 lakh. That description matches Rolex's own reference 126589RBR, a 40mm white gold Daytona with a 36-diamond bezel and mother-of-pearl dial, which currently retails in India at ₹78,33,000. Worth noting: other reports have described a separate Salman Khan Bigg Boss appearance in a yellow gold Daytona (reference 116508) with an Oyster bracelet, priced around ₹80 lakh. The two descriptions do not match, which suggests either two different watches across different episodes, or a detail getting lost somewhere along the way. Neither report cites an independent appraiser.

Why the Rolex Daytona Is Different

The Daytona was built for motorsport, and it still shows. Three sub-dials handle chronograph timing, a tachymetric scale around the edge lets you calculate average speed, and the case architecture is sportier than most other Rolex families. It is not the brand's oldest chronograph, but it is the one most closely tied to racing, a connection cemented by its long association with endurance driving and later by its own collector mythology, including the vintage “Paul Newman” dials that now sell for many times their original price at auction. That heritage is a large part of why a Daytona in any material draws attention the moment it is recognised on a wrist.

What Makes This Daytona So Expensive?

Four things stack on top of each other here. The first is material: 18ct white gold costs significantly more to source and finish than Oystersteel, and it adds real weight and density to the case. The second is the bezel. A factory diamond-set bezel is not a cosmetic add-on, it requires precision gem-setting around a curved surface, and the diamonds themselves carry material value independent of the watch. The third is the Oysterflex bracelet, Rolex's own patented construction that hides a flexible metal blade inside a moulded elastomer strap, giving the comfort of rubber with the durability of metal, a combination that is more complex to manufacture than a standard metal bracelet. The fourth is the movement: Calibre 4131, Rolex's in-house automatic chronograph with roughly 72 hours of power reserve, built entirely in Rolex's own workshops rather than sourced externally.

Is ₹85 Lakh the Official Price?

Not exactly, and the distinction matters. Rolex's own India pricing for the closest matching reference, 126589RBR, is ₹78,33,000 at retail. The ₹85 lakh figure attached to Salman Khan's watch is a reported valuation, not a manufacturer price, and it likely reflects secondary-market conditions where Daytona references routinely sell above list due to limited allocation.

Why the Daytona Keeps Appearing on Celebrity Wrist

Recognisability plays a large role. Even a casual observer tends to know a Daytona on sight, which matters for a watch that is meant to be seen as much as worn. It also exists across enough materials, steel, gold, platinum, that it works as both an everyday sports watch and a statement piece in precious metal, which is part of why it turns up so often at events built around being photographed. Leonardo DiCaprio's own Daytona collection, built over three decades and spanning white-gold sports references to limited editions worth well into six figures, is a useful example of how the same model line works across very different price points within one collector's wrist.

The ₹85 Lakh Question Is Really About the Configuration

A Daytona is never one single price. Case material, bezel, dial and bracelet each move the number substantially, and a steel Daytona and a diamond-set white gold Daytona are barely the same purchase. Browsing pre-owned Rolex watches side by side, or reading through a primer on buying a pre-owned Rolex in India, makes that spread obvious fairly quickly. What made Salman Khan's watch interesting was never simply the figure attached to it. It was the combination behind that figure: precious metal, gem-setting, Rolex's own chronograph engineering, and a design that has spent six decades earning the right to be recognised from across a room.