I woke up this morning to an extremely urgent text from my WBFF (watch bff) JJ Owens: A screenshot of People magazine’s Instagram post announcing the pregnancy of Rihanna, who was photographed strolling through Harlem with her boyfriend A$AP Rocky, “in her luxury Rolex replica watches, no less!”
I zoomed into the photo, wondering if JJ had ID’d the watch correctly. Perhaps she was confusing it with RiRi’s vintage Cartier Santos that she likes to wear to the grocery store? But of course, the identification was spot-on, as confirmed by Hypebae earlier this month. It’s an 18K gold AAA US fake Rolex King Midas watches, customized by jeweler Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura.
The Rolex King Midas is said to have been designed by the iconic Gérald Genta in the early ’60s, as pointed out by Christie’s in a 2013 catalog for its Important Watches auction. Genta himself once said, in an interview with Very Important Watches from 2009, “I have only designed one Rolex, which still exists today and forms part of the high quality replica Rolex Cellini collection watches” (the King Midas would eventually be enveloped into the broader Rolex Cellini line).
The cheap wholesale Rolex copy watches is aptly named after the ruler in Greek mythology who turned everything he touched into gold – much as Rihanna does with music and every other project she puts her name behind, whether it be lingerie or inclusive beauty products. As with Genta’s more popular designs (the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus), the inspiration for the manually wound King Midas came from real life – this time the Parthenon temple in Athens. Indeed, if you place the Swiss made Rolex replica watches on its side, you’ll see its symmetrical case shape resembles the Parthenon’s angled roof, held together by a thick integrated bracelet.
It only makes sense why Rihanna would gravitate toward such an unconventional gold piece – I mean, this is the woman who once wore a “Magnificent Gold” Met Gala dress that took 50,000 hours to make. In this case, the word MIDAS is spelled out in Greek lettering on the dial (replaced by “Cellini,” later down the line), which tells me that RiRi’s watch came from the OG litter that previously caught the attention of both Elvis Presley and, um, John Wayne – a helpful reminder that best Rolex fake watches-flaunting celebrities are nothing new.
With such an esteemed pedigree, the horological purists out there must be cringing at the fact that Rihanna’s version of this watch has been altered. But, as I pointed out in my recent Harper’s Bazaar piece on the baggage weighing down 1:1 online super clone Rolex watches customization, collectors are entitled to do whatever they like with the pieces they buy. GIA-certified designer Bodiratnangkura took special care embellishing this knockout design, staying true to her “aesthetic audacity and a delicate handling of materiality and texture.” I think it’s both audacious and stunning.
Thailand-born Bodiratnangkura is heavily influenced by her family heirlooms, and she hopes for all her creations to become heirlooms themselves. I can’t help but imagine Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s baby inevitably growing into one of the coolest people in the world, and someday rocking this special replica Rolex watches for sale.