Remember me
No watch brand is quite as weighty as Rolex. Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale, the Nigerian artist better known as Slawn, is well aware of it. Though he personally owns more Patek Philippes, “there’s something about a Rolex that’s special”, he says. “For a lot of people it’s the first buy that lets them know, ‘I have some sort of financial freedom.’” When he first made a bit of money himself, he went out and bought an Oyster Perpetual, Rolex’s time-only, entry-level model.
Now the hands have ticked around full circle: Slawn’s third customised Rolex is an Oyster Perpetual. His preferred horological canvases have always been the brand’s more dialled-down models, partly because their dials are relatively uncluttered. In 2024, he dropped a very limited run of 10 Datejusts, with the dial entirely taken up (besides the date indicator and the Rolex crown logo) with one of his artworks. Stormzy and Dave were among those who copped. Last year, Slawn came out with a gold Day-Date emblazoned with another full-dial artwork; only one was seemingly made, which ended up on the wrist of the Corteiz streetwear kingpin Clint “Clint 419” Ogbenna.
But this new Oyster Perpetual does something different. Rather than a full-dial image, there are three cutouts from some of Slawn’s favourite paintings – Three Arthurs, Superman, and another he did for Aimé Leon Dore – positioned at three, six and nine o’clock. As one of the simplest Rolexes, there’s enough space on an Oyster Perpetual to turn the dial into a miniature gallery. “I wanted this one to be classy and chic,” he says. “It’s not too much. I think [it’s] my favourite out of the three, because of how minimalist it is.”
There’s also a Slawn logo on the dial, rather than engraved on the back as with the others – “because it’s a one-of-one, I was like, ‘I might as well’, innit”. Yep: this watch is as limited as they come. It was originally given to someone as a gift, though it then ended up on the high-end watch market. Luxury raffle specialists Raforte snagged it for £75,000, which means what you think it does: you’ll have a chance to get it – plus a box customised by Slawn – for the price of a £19.99 raffle ticket. The opportunity to buy one of a maximum of 9,999 tickets ends at 9pm on Sunday 1st February, with the winner announced the following Monday at 7pm on Raforte’s social channels.
