Diego Maradona

Argentinian footballer, 1986 World Cup winner, captain at Napoli. From the late 2000s onward Maradona's public watch identity was the Hublot Big Bang, with a sustained Hublot brand-ambassador relationship; in his personal collection a yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date.

The Day-Date in particular became a cultural marker. In Argentine football, the yellow-gold Day-Date 'Presidente' had been the trophy watch since the 1980s; Maradona was the most-recognised wearer, and his 18238 visible across television interviews drove the model's status across Latin America.

The watches

Hublot

Big Bang 'Maradona'

Reference 318.CI.1129.GR.DMA10 · 'Equipo de Sueños' edition

Hublot launched a series of Maradona-co-branded Big Bang editions during his ambassador years. The 2010 'Equipo de Sueños' (Dream Team) edition carried his signature on the rotor; later limited pieces followed his appearances on Argentine TV. Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver personally negotiated the relationship.

Rolex

Day-Date ref. 18238

Yellow gold · president bracelet · champagne dial

Maradona's yellow-gold Day-Date 18238 (a reference produced 1988-1999) was his off-pitch piece, visible in interview photographs and documentaries throughout the 1990s. The Day-Date's status as the canonical 'winner's watch' in Latin American footballing circles is partly traceable to him.

Rolex

Submariner Date 16613

Two-tone yellow gold/steel · blue dial

Less iconic than the Day-Date but visible in 1990s Maradona photography. The two-tone Submariner 16613 was a style signal across mid-1990s Argentine and Italian football; Maradona was the most-photographed wearer.

After his death

Maradona died in November 2020. The Hublot ambassador relationship was honoured posthumously with a 2021 commemorative edition. His personal pieces (including the Day-Date) became subjects of an ongoing Argentine inheritance dispute.

The Argentine market

Through the 2010s and into the 2020s, the yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date 18238 has been the most-traded reference in the Argentine pre-owned watch market. Buenos Aires dealers report the Maradona association as a sustained, multi-decade demand driver.