Rolex Announces Leonardo DiCaprio as Ambassador

“When forging partnerships with testimonees and institutions – and in determining the events the brand lends its support to – Rolex has always made it a point of pride to associate with individuals and entities who share the same values,” reads the Crown’s website.

The latest person to share those values is Leonardo DiCaprio, the actor, environmentalist and UN Messenger of Peace. Announced as a Rolex Ambassador, DiCaprio will have access to the full Crown catalog. We know, as seen in the courtside photo, that the “Titanic” star is a fan of the Daytona, but what else ends up on his wrist is anyone’s guess.

Typically more associated with athletes, from golfer Jack Nicklaus and tennis legend Roger Federer, to arts icons like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and soprano Sonya Yoncheva, explorers, like environmental scientist André J. Heiniger and oceanographer Sylvia Earle, than Hollywood stars, DiCaprio marks an interesting choice for Rolex.

DiCaprio is known not only for his acting but for his environmental activism, establishing the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 and sitting on the boards of WWF, National Resources Defense Council, Global Green USA and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. Rolex has been advocating its “Perpetual Planet” initiative, which focuses on sustainability and protecting the planet—something that lines up well with DiCaprio’s past activism. It’s worth noting this isn’t DiCaprio’s first time as a watch ambassador. In his younger years DiCaprio spent years as an ambassador for TAG Heuer, but his move to Rolex makes sense.

The partnership was first announced in a Rolex advertisement (the Easter egg was DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” looking into the camera) and follows on the heels of many of DiCaprio’s collaborators over the years who also have ties to the Crown. From James Cameron (director of “Titanic”), who had a Rolex prototype on his wrist during his explorations of the Mariana Trench, to Martin Scorsese, another Rolex ambassador who directed DiCaprio in “The Departed,” and most recently “Killers of the Flower Moon,” DiCaprio’s name was sure to have come up several times. Under the title “Hollywood icon and climate champion,” DiCaprio now has his own page on Rolex’s website.

Over the past few years, Rolex has been a major presence at the Academy Awards, even featuring a narrated commercial by Anthony Hopkins during the commercials for the ceremony. The brand clearly sees value in aligning itself with Hollywood legends, and bringing DiCaprio on board makes perfect sense.