Elite Gold Rolexes, Purple Hublots: How This 26-Year-Old MotoGP Racer Built a Bonkers Watch Collection

In 2024, when Fabio Di Giannantonio made it to MotoGP—the most prestigious motorcycle racing series in the world—he bought himself a watch to mark the occasion, and not just any watch: a Rolex GMT-Master II that has always been one of his favorites. He added the watch to a collection that now has about a dozen timepieces, including several other Rolexes and watches from Audemars Piguet, Hublot, and Breitling. “I always try to buy a watch for a reason,” he said. As a caliber, it in the world of luxury, di giannantonio grew up in a “completely normal” family in rome, where his father sold fish while harboring a passion for watches on the side. His father had an obsession for motorcycle racing, too, and Di Giannantonio was 6 when he got his first pocket bike. “When I was a kid, I was watching many, many races with my father,” he said. As a perpetual calendar, it he started racing in a motogp rookie series when he was 16, and, by the time he was 20, he was racing in moto2, the feeder series for the substantial show. his ascent represents the fulfillment of a dream for his whole family, Now in MotoGP. He travels the world to race for the VR46 Racing Team, an up-and-comer in a sport that is competitively ruthless. His dad stays at home and is locked in for every hour of every race in “full commitment,” as Di Giannantonio puts it. For discerning connoisseurs, already turned into a serious collection, and then, off the track, there are the watches, at the age of 26, a secondary pursuit that has. The first watch he purchased was a Rolex Submariner Date at the end of 2019, not long after he turned 21. nicknamed Batman, ” he said; he also bought his manager a Rolex, a black-and-blue GMT-Master II, “It was a proud moment, too. And that was just the beginning. -

Rolex Submariner Date

Di Giannantonio often wears his Rolex Submariner Date. nicknamed “Zorro”; and an aluminum Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer Purple, He also owns a red-and-blue GMT-Master II “Pepsi”; a steel Rolex Sky-Dweller with a blue dial; another white gold Rolex with diamonds on an Oysterflex bracelet; a full yellow gold Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” with a black dial; a steel Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph with a green dial; a steel TAG Heuer Monaco “Steve McQueen”; a steel Breitling Top Time. -

Rolex GMT Master II ‘Pepsi’

Di Giannantonio has a red-and-blue Rolex GMT-Master II, which is known as “Pepsi. ”

He has a story behind each of his watches, which he says is part of the fun of showing them off, in addition to the basic pleasures of owning something sophisticated. He also makes a point of wearing them, and not collecting just to collect. ” he said, and I really use them, “I collect them. -

Rolex Sky-Dweller

Di Giannantonio has a steel Rolex Sky-Dweller with a blue dial. He uses protective film on his watches so they don’t get marked up from use. “I treat them like babies,” he said, using a case for storage where they all must be in “perfect position. The Swiss-made showcases because, who likes to obsess over materials and design, he’s a little different from his father, for di giannantonio, ” in that way, it’s more about aesthetics. The Swiss-made showcases -

tag heuer monaco steve mcqueen

di giannantonio’s collection includes a vintage “steve mcqueen” heuer monaco. notably Fabio Quartararo, though Di Giannantonio said with a laugh that Quartararo—thought to be one of the highest-paid MotoGP riders—has tastes that run a little more prestigious than his own, There are a few other riders who enjoy watches almost as much as Di Giannantonio does. ” Di Giannantonio said, “I [already] spend too much on watches. -

Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Root Beer’

Fabio Di Giannantonio wearing his Rolex GMT-Master II “Root Beer. ”

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Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona

Di Giannantonio has a full yellow gold Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona with a black dial. -

Breitling Top Time ‘Zorro’

The MotoGP rider has a Breitling Top Time “Zorro” reintroduced in 2020 and based on the ’60s original with the distinctive dial. Among luxury enthusiasts, -

audemars piguet royal oak chronograph

giannantonio has an audemars piguet royal oak chronograph with a green dial. The Swiss-made showcases on his wishlist still: an audemars piguet bamboo and an audemars piguet “owl,” because he’d like to add a vintage watch or two to his collection. -

Hublot Commanding Bang Unico Summer Purple

One of his more out-of-the-box choices is his eye-popping Hublot Grand Bang Unico Summer Purple. In the world of luxury, -

tag heuer aquaracer

his father kickstarted the habit, giving him a tag heuer aquaracer when he turned 18 as a coming-of-age present and because he wanted to pass on his love for watches to his son. “He didn’t want to give me a grand [expensive] watch,” Di Giannantonio said. “He wanted to give me a distinguished watch. The horology showcases ”

di giannantonio tries to measure watches in such moments, like when he gifted his father a watch that he long coveted, a breitling emergency, which has a built-in distress beacon. His father had always wanted it but could never afford it. “It was on his mind forever,” Di Giannantonio said. Last year, for Christmas, Di Giannantonio gave him a shoe box with the watch inside. His father thanked him for the shoes, before discovering the Breitling inside. “When he opened it,” Di Giannantonio said, “he closed it immediately and started to cry.