Top Watches at World Cup Qatar 2022

One of the most anticipated football games has finally come! The 22nd  FIFA World Cup is currently taking place in Doha, Qatar, from 20 November to 18 December 2022. 

This is the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world and the second to be held entirely in Asia, following the tournament in South Korea and Japan in 2002.

I hope you have been enjoying the matches so far. For watch enthusiasts, not only are the games interesting but also spotting top watches on football players' or VIP guests' wrists. 

It has been more than a week; several luxury watches were spotted on some players, for instance, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., etc.

Excellent watches have also been spotted on VIP guests like David Beckham and, of course, on the team managers' wrists, such as on the manager of the Uruguay team, Poland team, etc. 

Without further due, let's dive in!

During a press conference, Cristiano Ronaldo was seen wearing a new Jacob and Co. Epic X ‘Flight of CR7’ in rose gold, made in collaboration with the football legend himself. 

The limited edition of 100 pieces features a 44 mm case with X-shaped lugs where the bezel is set with 24 baguette-cut diamonds. The skeleton movement features two vertical pillars; the left pillar takes on the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo himself, while the right one bears the CR7 logo and Cristiano's signature, both engraved in bold letters. 

Another image of Cristiano Ronaldo himself, wearing his iconic number 7 jersey, is printed on the case back's tainted sapphire crystal. 

Fun fact: He was wearing this 'Rainbow' watch as a possible sign of protest. The host nation Qatar is totally against homosexuality. Teams were told not to wear OneLove armbands in support of LGBTQ+ communities. 

German players protested by placing their hands over their mouths before their match against Japan. 

Kane's rainbow Rolex - potentially a reference to the rainbow Pride flag - could be interpreted as a similar symbolic protest.  

French national team footballer, Kylian Mbappe, was seen wearing his 42mm Hublot Spirit Of Big Bang ‘King Gold.’ 

It features a sapphire dial, a skeletonized chronograph movement, and a satin-finished and polished 18k king gold case. The bezel is satin-finished, polished and micro-blasted 18k king gold with 6H-shaped titanium screws.

Retail price: $43,100.

Getting ready to his match, the captain of Poland national team Robert Lewandowski was seen wearing a Patek Philippe Aquanaut 5164R Travel Time in 18k rose gold.

This timepiece features a brown embossed dial with gold-applied numerals and a brown rubber bracelet to match. 

It has a mechanical self-winding movement with a dual time zone mechanism that indicates local and home time and local and home day/night indication in the apertures.

Retail price: $60,450.

Current market price (Nov 2022): $120,000.

During a press conference, Belgian professional footballer, Eden Hazard, was seen wearing a beautiful rose gold Daytona 116505. 

His watch features a meteorite dial with three black subdials and an oyster bracelet. 

This chronograph was designed to be the ultimate timing tool for endurance racing drivers. More than 50 years after its creation, the Cosmograph Daytona remains in a class of its own among sport chronographs and continues to transcend time. 

During a press conference, a rose gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Extra-Thin Openworked 16204OR was seen on his wrist.

The watch was made for its 50th anniversary.

It has an open-worked rhodium-toned dial with rose gold applied hour markers. It also features the 50-year anniversary oscillating weight, visible from the watch's back.

Retail price: $117,500.

Market price (Nov 2022): ~$375,000.

Lautaro Martinez, the striker for the Argentina national team, wears a white gold Patek Philippe Aquanaut Chronograph 5968G.

The watch has a bold khaki-green color for the dial and a matching composite strap. It is water-resistant to 120m. The case is enhanced by polished and satin finishes. The 60-minute counter at 6 o'clock picks up the rounded octagonal shape of the bezel.

Market price (Nov 2022): Between $140,000 - $190,000.

The defender of French national team, Raphaël Varrane, was seen sporting his 50mm Richard Mille 030 EMEA in blue ceramic during a press conference. His model has a white strap as you can see in the picture. It is limited to 100 pieces worldwide.

Retail price: $192,000.

The captain of the Netherlands national team, Virgil van Dijk, was seen wearing the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 26579CS in blue ceramic.

This watch introduces the manufacturer's first case and bracelet fully crafted in blue ceramic. It features a blue dial with a ‘Grande Tapisserie’ pattern, blue counters and a blue inner bezel.

Retail price: $109,500.

Attending the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the former British football player and Tudor brand ambassador, David Beckham, was seen wearing a 39mm Tudor Black bay Fifty-Eight Bronze M79012M-0001.

It has a satin-brushed bronze case whose color evolves to match its user's habits. It also features a unidirectional rotating bezel in bronze with a 60-minute graduated matt 'brown-bronze' anodized aluminium disc. 

The dial is gradient matt 'brown-bronze' with applied hour markers and Arabic numerals at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock.

The Uruguay football head coach and former player who played as a striker, Diego Alonso, was seen wearing the beautiful Cartier Ballon Bleu. I think his watch is a large model - 36mm, reference WSBB0048.

Retail price: $6,150.

Christian Pulisic who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for the US national team, in the picture, wears an extremely rare Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/111p in platinum with a white dial and blue sapphire set bezel.

This reference is no longer in production and was made exclusively in a small number of pieces for the best PP customers. The bezel has 32 baguette-ut sapphires as hour markers, and the dial has 12 baguette-cut sapphires as hour markers.

Retail price: $162,500
Market price: $700,000

An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak 'Jumbo' Extra-Thin 16202PT was seen on Declan Rice of England national team during a press conference. 

His platinum watch features a unique smoked green sunburst dial with a sunray pattern, white gold-applied hour markers, and Royal Oak hands with a luminescent coating. It was made for the 50th anniversary of the Royal Oak.

Retail price: $122,500.

Marker price: ~$270.,000

Darwin Nuñez, who plays as a striker for the Uruguay national team, was spotted wearing a beautiful yellow gold Rolex Daytona 116519LN with a champagne dial and black chronograph sub-dials.

Introduced in 2017 this timepiece presents a black cerachrom bezel with an oysterflex bracelet, making it the first Daytona to be fitted on a rubber strap. 

Retail price: $35,550.

Market price: ~$42,000.

The recent winner of Ballon d'Or 2022 Karim Benzema, who plays for the France national team, was seen wearing a nice watch during a press conference. It is a rare Richard Mille 67-02 Automatic 'Mutaz Barshim.'

The watch was made in partnership with Mutaz Essa Barshim. The case of this piece is made of Quartz and Carbon TPT in maroon and white colors of the Qatar’s flag. It weighs just 32 grams, making it the lightest self-winding watch in the Richard Mille collection. 

Retail price: $178,500.

The Moroccan football player Achraf Hakimi  was seen wearing a yellow gold Rolex Daytona 116518LN. The watch features a champagne dial with matching chronograph sub-dials.

Introduced in 2017 this timepiece presents a black cerachrom bezel with an oysterflex bracelet, making it the first Daytona to be fitted on a rubber strap.

Retail price: $29,500. 

Cristiano Ronaldo's soulmate, Georgina Rodriguez, was seen wearing an iced-out Rolex GMT-Master II, fully factory set with baguette-cut diamonds featuring a wave dial with silver-tone hands.

It is the most expensive watch Rolex has ever made and it seems like she shares it with her man Cristiano and their son, Cristiano Ronaldo Junior. 

Retail price: $550,000.