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.
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. 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 big show. Now in MotoGP, his ascent represents the fulfillment of a dream for his whole family. 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.
And then, off the track, there are the watches, a secondary pursuit that has, at the age of 26, already turned into a serious collection. The first watch he purchased was a Rolex Submariner Date at the end of 2019, not long after he turned 21. “It was a proud moment,” he said; he also bought his manager a Rolex, too, a black-and-blue GMT-Master II, nicknamed Batman. And that was just the beginning.
Rolex Submariner Date
Di Giannantonio often wears his Rolex Submariner Date. 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 goldYellow GoldA warm, precious alloy of pure gold mixed with copper and silver, used in watches and jewelry for its traditional luxurious look. Yellow gold has returned to fashion in vintage-inspiredGo to Yellow Gold Glossary 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, nicknamed “Zorro”; and an aluminum Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer Purple.
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 beautiful. He also makes a point of wearing them, and not collecting just to collect.
“I collect them, and I really use them,” he said.
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.” In that way, he’s a little different from his father, who likes to obsess over materials and design, because, for Di Giannantonio, it’s more about aesthetics.
Tag Heuer Monaco Steve McQueen
Di Giannantonio’s collection includes a vintage “Steve McQueen” Heuer Monaco.
There are a few other riders who enjoy watches almost as much as Di Giannantonio does, 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 expensive than his own.
“I [already] spend too much on watches,” Di Giannantonio said.
Rolex GMT-Master II ‘Root Beer’
Fabio Di Giannantonio wearing his Rolex GMT-Master II “Root Beer.”
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.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph
Giannantonio has an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph with a green dial. 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 Big Bang Unico Summer Purple
One of his more out-of-the-box choices is his eye-popping Hublot Big Bang Unico Summer Purple.
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 big [expensive] watch,” Di Giannantonio said. “He wanted to give me a nice watch.”
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.”
This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.