No, Rolex didn't design this smartphone

Not many brands can claim to be synonymous with luxury, but the likes of Rolls-Royce and Rolex are among the lucky few. Another 'R' that arguably isn't quite so grand is smartphone manufacturer Realme – but that could have changed if a purported image of a Rolex-Realme collab had turned out to be real.

Apparently marking the luxury watchmaker's first foray into smartphone design (could a smartwatch be next? We won't hold our breath), the "Realme 12 Pro Series x Rolex" recently went viral on Twitter (sorry, X), thanks to a realistic looking ad (below) that appears to have fooled several news outlets. But while the leaked phone design is real, the Rolex connection isn't. And to be honest, we're relieved. (For a genuinely classy design, check out the best iPhone 15 Pro deals available now.)

Shortly after the hoax image above started doing the rounds, RealMe itself revealed its "luxurious" Submarine Blue 12 Pro Series 5G – with no mention of Rolex. But while the watchmaker connection might sound random, there is a possible explanation. As Gear Patrol points out, Realme did design the 12 Pro in conjunction with famed watchmaker Ollivier Savéo (below). But Savéo doesn't appear to have anything to do with Rolex. Looks like someone put two and two together and came up with 'Rolex phone'.

But let's be honest – the 'fake' clues were there. For starters, Rolex is a notoriously discerning brand, and not one that goes around attaching its name to this and that. And then there's the design itself, which is fairly basic smartphone fare. The gold and blue accents are somewhat tasteful, but any attempt to mark a phone – which is essentially a functional item – look 'luxury' tends to go to way of the garish Caviar. And last but not least, the copy in the 'ad' isn't exactly grammatically sound. "Classic watch design polishing new mobile phone industrial design" sounds rather like a poem written using predictive text. Oh, and there's the fact that Rolex told Gear Patrol, "This information is false." So, it isn't a Rolex phone, and we're pretty glad about that.