The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here. For the first time in half a century, no luxury watchmaker is on FIFA's wrist.
Hublot held the official timekeeper role for sixteen years — four consecutive World Cups, from South Africa in 2010 through Qatar in 2022. In December 2025, the brand quietly ended the partnership. No replacement has been named. A US microbrand called Axia Time holds a newly created "official licensed timepiece" tier, a lower-level arrangement more akin to tournament merchandise than a proper sponsorship. The luxury timekeeper throne, a fixture of the World Cup since Seiko claimed it in 1978, is vacant.
Which means that for the first time since the tournament went global, the watch world gets to weigh in.
We have opinions.
The Legends Had Their Watches
Before we get to what you should be wearing on June 11, it helps to understand what the greatest players in the history of the game chose to put on their wrists. Three eras. Three legends. Three watches that defined their moments.
Pelé and the Rolex Day-Date
Edson Arantes do Nascimento — O Rei — won the FIFA World Cup three times, in 1958, 1962, and 1970. No player in history has done it since. The watch he wore for decades to match that legacy was not subtle: the Rolex Day-Date in yellow gold, on a President bracelet, the watch Rolex has always reserved for heads of state and world champions.
The Day-Date, introduced in 1956, was the first wristwatch to display the full day of the week spelled out on the dial alongside the date. It was engineered in 18k gold from the start — not a steel sport watch dressed up, but a declaration. Pelé wore it the way he played: with complete authority and no apology. It suited the man and the era perfectly.
The Day-Date remains the single most presidential watch ever made. Pre-owned examples on the yellow gold President bracelet carry that history on the wrist without the retail premium, and DeMesy's collection includes a deep selection across references and dial variations — including the striking Rolex Day-Date President 18K Gold Ferrite Dial Watch 18238, a 36mm yellow gold case with a grey ferrite dial and fluted bezel, priced at $42,500. This is what a World Cup king wears.
Maradona and the Hublot Big Bang
Diego Maradona's relationship with Hublot was one of the great ambassador pairings in watch history — not because it was elegant, but because it was perfectly, chaotically on-brand for both parties.
Hublot signed Maradona as an ambassador in March 2010, months before the South Africa World Cup. For the tournament, the brand released a limited-edition Big Bang in his honor: 44.5mm of black ceramic, Argentine blue and white luminescent numerals, his number 10 on a sub-dial, his signature engraved at 6 o'clock, and his image rendered in victory on the case back. Only 250 were made. They sold out during the tournament itself.
By 2018 in Russia, Maradona had evolved his signature look: he wore two Hublots simultaneously at every Argentina match, one set to Buenos Aires time, the other to local. It was excessive, joyful, and utterly unmistakable — exactly like the man.
The Hublot Big Bang Maradona editions are now collectible secondary-market pieces, and their cultural weight only grows with time. Hublot's exit from the World Cup in 2025 closes that chapter permanently: there will be no 2026 referee watch, no commemorative edition, no new entries in the lineage Maradona helped define. The run from 2010 to 2022 is complete.
Messi and the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Lionel Messi's watch story is the best of the three because it began by accident. In 2005, following his first La Liga title with Barcelona, club management presented him with an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak as a gift. He was seventeen years old. It was love at first sight.
He began collecting Royal Oaks obsessively. By 2010, AP made it official and named him a brand ambassador. In 2012, to mark the Royal Oak's fortieth anniversary, Audemars Piguet released the Royal Oak Chronograph Leo Messi Limited Edition: 1,000 pieces across three references in steel, pink gold, and platinum, each bearing his name and his ethos — passion, precision, and rigour, the values the brand said they shared.
That first Royal Oak was given to him for winning something. Every one that followed was worn because he chose it. There is no cleaner endorsement of a watch.
DeMesy carries pre-owned Audemars Piguet Royal Oak references across the collection, including the Royal Oak Chronograph in 18k Yellow Gold — a piece that reflects exactly the bold, sport-luxury character Messi has worn since 2005. If you want the watch of the greatest footballer alive, the pre-owned Royal Oak is where you start.
The 2026 Buyer's Guide: A Watch for Every Fan
The throne is empty. The legends have shown the way. Here is what to wear this summer, by the kind of fan you are.
For the Classic Football Purist: Rolex Day-Date
The case: You've watched every World Cup since you were a child. You remember Pelé. You believe football was better when it was simpler. You want a watch that will still be perfect in forty years.
The Rolex Day-Date is the most enduring luxury watch ever produced. It has been in continuous production since 1956, in 18k gold from the beginning, and its design has barely changed — because it didn't need to. It is worn by presidents, by champions, by the rare few who occupy both categories.
On the pre-owned market, the Day-Date represents exceptional value relative to retail. Yellow gold references like the 18238 on the President bracelet carry full visual authority and decades of provenance, at prices meaningfully below what a new equivalent would cost if Rolex even made an exact equivalent today.
Shop pre-owned Rolex Day-Date at DeMesy → demesy.com/collections/rolex
For the Messi Generation: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
The case: You grew up watching Messi. You understand that the Royal Oak is not just a sports watch — it is the original luxury sports watch, the one that redefined what a steel watch at a gold price could mean. You want something that rewards close attention.
Gerald Genta designed the Royal Oak in 1972 on a napkin, overnight, on a dare. It was stainless steel, sold at the price of gold, with an eight-sided bezel secured by exposed hex screws — everything the watch world said luxury shouldn't be. It was immediately and permanently right.
Pre-owned Royal Oak references at DeMesy span yellow gold chronographs, steel sport references, and the Royal Oak Lady pieces — a deep range that allows entry at multiple price points into one of the most consequential watch designs of the twentieth century.
Shop pre-owned Audemars Piguet at DeMesy → demesy.com/collections/audemars-piguet
For the European Football Sophisticate: Cartier
The case: Your team is France, or Spain, or Portugal. You care about how you dress at the match. You want a watch that reads luxury without announcing itself, the way Zidane moved — effortlessly, and with complete authority.
Cartier invented the modern wristwatch. In 1904, Louis Cartier commissioned the Santos for aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont — a watch designed to be worn on the wrist rather than the pocket. Everything that followed, every wristwatch on every wrist in the world today, descends from that moment.
The Ballon Bleu, the Tank, the Santos — Cartier's catalog is the most recognizable in watchmaking, and on the pre-owned market it is remarkably accessible. DeMesy carries 442 Cartier pieces, from the Ballon Bleu in 18k White Gold and Diamond to entry pieces under $23,900. For a fan who dresses for the occasion, there is nothing more appropriate.
Shop pre-owned Cartier at DeMesy → demesy.com/collections/cartier
For the Sports Credential Seeker: Omega Seamaster
The case: You want a watch with serious sport heritage. You are aware of what Hublot's departure means. You want to wear the brand that stepped into the vacuum — the one that has been official timekeeper of the Olympic Games since 1932, that accompanied Neil Armstrong to the lunar surface, that never needed a football tournament to prove its credentials.
The Omega Seamaster is the most versatile instrument in the brand's catalog: water-resistant, technically rigorous, available in configurations from 300M divers to elegant dress pieces, at price points that make the pre-owned market particularly compelling.
DeMesy's Omega collection includes the Seamaster Automatic Chronometer in Steel and 18K Yellow Gold at $9,750 — one of the most capable sport watches available at that price, from a brand whose timekeeping heritage needs no FIFA endorsement.
Shop pre-owned Omega at DeMesy → demesy.com/collections/omega
For the Long-Game Collector: Patek Philippe
The case: You have watched enough World Cups to know that the tournament passes, but a truly great watch does not. You are not buying a souvenir. You are making a decision that will still be correct in 2030, and 2034, and the World Cup after that.
Patek Philippe's famous advertising line — you never actually own a Patek Philippe, you merely look after it for the next generation — is not marketing. It is a description of how the secondary market for this brand behaves. Pre-owned Patek Philippe references hold and appreciate in value more consistently than virtually any other luxury watch category. The Calatrava, the Nautilus, the Aquanaut: each is a considered acquisition.
DeMesy carries over 300 Patek Philippe pieces, including the Calatrava 18k Yellow Gold Men's Watch 5119J at $19,900 — a price that, for a watch of this provenance and future value, represents the kind of decision that looks better with every passing year.
Shop pre-owned Patek Philippe at DeMesy → demesy.com/collections/patek-philippe
Why Pre-Owned, Why Now
The 2026 World Cup runs June 11 through July 19 — 39 days, 104 matches, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It is the largest World Cup ever staged, the first with 48 teams, and for the watch world, the first in half a century without a luxury brand claiming the official timekeeper role.
That vacancy is, in a quiet way, an invitation. The narrative is open. And there has never been a better moment to step into a pre-owned piece from one of the five great houses than right now.
At DeMesy & Co., every watch is thoroughly authenticated before it changes hands. The Dallas-based team has been sourcing, buying, and selling pre-owned luxury timepieces since 1987 — through seven World Cups, six US presidents, and every shift the luxury watch market has produced. Whether you are entering the category for the first time or adding to a serious collection, the inventory is deep and the expertise is genuine.
The legends picked their watches. Now it's your turn.
Browse the full collection at demesy.com
