The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona: A Watch Worthy of the Winners
Tonight, as the Oscars are handed out at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, a room backstage is making a statement of its own. The Rolex Greenroom, conceived by the brand in 2016 and reimagined each year, welcomes presenters, nominees, and winners into a world of green velvet, champagne-gold brushed metal, and portraits of the greatest stars in cinematic history. And at the centre of it all: a watch that stops you in your tracks.
The green and gold tones pay homage to Rolex’s signature colours
Rolex
This is what the Rolex greenroom looks like at the 2026 Oscars
What Rolex has designed for this year's Greenroom is deliberate down to the last detail. Deep green velvet sets the tone; heavy, rich, and entirely timeless. Brushed metal surfaces finished in warm champagne gold are offset by expertly anodised accents in shifting shades of the same precious hue. On the walls, portraits of the most defining Oscar moments in history: not as decoration, but as context. This room isn't built to impress. It's built to remind. To remind you of what cinema is capable of, and what it truly means to be standing here. The fact that 2026 also marks the centenary of the legendary Oyster, lends the interior yet another layer of meaning: this is not event design. It is a statement about craft, legacy, and continuity. Introduced in 1926, the Rolex Oyster was the first truly successful, hermetically sealed, serially produced waterproof wristwatch. Its breakthrough was reinforced by striking advertising campaigns in which the watches were displayed in water-filled fish bowls to demonstrate their water resistance.
Cosmograph Daytona Oyster, 40 mm, Yellow Gold, Reference 126508, $52,600 USD
Rolex
The Centenary of the Oyster Kicks Off with the Cosmograph Daytona in Yellow Gold
The Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in 18-karat yellow gold with its luminous green dial is no accidental centrepiece. It is the room's logical conclusion. Introduced in 1963 and originally engineered for racing drivers, the Daytona has long since outgrown its functional origins, evolving into one of the rare few watches whose mere presence carries weight. Golden subdials, a tachymetre bezel, the iconic Oyster bracelet: a composition that has remained undiminished for decades.
The 40mm Oyster case in 18-karat yellow gold houses the fully in-house Calibre 4131 – a refined evolution of the storied Calibre 4130 – delivering automatic winding and approximately 72 hours of power reserve. New to the movement is Rolex's proprietary Chronergy escapement, crafted from a nickel-phosphorus alloy resistant to magnetic interference, further optimising the efficiency of the drive. The vivid green dial, with its golden applied indices and Chromalight hands, shifts between olive and emerald depending on the light – and a precision rating of +2/−2 seconds per day earns it the title of Superlative Chronometer, certified by both COSC and Rolex itself. Technically flawless, visually unforgettable – and tonight, precisely the right watch for the room.
The Rolex Testimonials to Watch at the 2026 Oscars
As the stars prepare for their walk down Hollywood's most famous red carpet, there's another wrist worth watching. Because Rolex isn't only placing a watch in the Greenroom tonight — the brand has its ambassadors right in the thick of it. Chief among them is Leonardo DiCaprio, nominated for Best Actor for One Battle After Another and set to be one of the most closely watched men of the evening. Alongside him, Zendaya, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, and Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke all count themselves among the brand's global family of testimonials. What exactly they'll be wearing on their wrists when the cameras roll is their secret to keep – at least until the red carpet reveals all. One thing, however, is certain: it won't be boring.
