THE JOURNAL
From left: Mr Roger Federer, New York, 1 May 2023. Photograph by Mr David Fisher/Shutterstock. Mr Tom Brady, Birmingham, 12 August 2023. Photograph by Mr Phil Oldham/Shutterstock. Mr Ryan Gosling, Canada, 28 June 2023. Photograph by Mr George Pimentel/Shutterstock
Never mind billboard ads or Hollywood-worthy promotional videos – watch brands need only get their latest timepiece on the right wrist to guarantee global publicity. Sometimes that takes the form of the official brand ambassador, or their somewhat vaguer cousin, the “friend of the brand”. But it’s even better when it happens outside of any planned deal.
In the social media age, watch geeks are always poised and ready to identify a watch from even the merest glimpse of a bezel or bracelet. And more than one brand has used the “accidental” celebrity appearance to tease an upcoming release. In the right circumstances, a new watch spot can dominate the horological conversation for days, either because of who’s wearing it, what it is, where it is or all three.
This year, we’ve witnessed A-list actors, music moguls and sporting royalty flashing the hottest watches of 2023 as well as mega-watches of years gone by. These are MR PORTER’s hottest watch spots of 2023.
01. Jay-Z: Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime
Jay Z at the Grammy Awards, California, 5 February 2023. Photograph by Mr Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Released in 2014 for Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary, the Grandmaster Chime, also known as reference 6300, is a super-watch. A hyper-watch. A mega-watch, perhaps. Costing $2.6m from new, it contains all the bells and whistles you can think of, plus a few you probably hadn’t, including an instantaneous perpetual calendar, alarm, Grande and Petite Sonnerie chiming functions and a minute repeater. Most owners of such a watch will have consigned it straight to their safety deposit boxes, but not Jay-Z. In an act of extreme confidence, he wore the watch – which at 47.7m by 16mm is not exactly your classic dress watch – to the 65th Grammy Awards in February.
02. Mr Tom Brady: Rolex Day-Date “Jigsaw”
Mr Tom Brady atSt Andrews, Birmingham, 12 August 2023. Photograph by Mr Cameron Smith/Getty Images
One of the surprise hits of this year’s Watches and Wonders – and arguably the biggest surprise of the entire year for watch fans – was the Rolex Day-Date “Jigsaw”, also known as the “Emoji” or “Puzzle” watch. It featured an enamel dial featuring a jigsaw puzzle motif, paired with sapphire baguette markers. And instead of the usual day and date, feelgood buzzwords and emojis respectively. One of the first people seen with one publicly was retired NFL quarterback and Goat contender Mr Tom Brady. The appearance of the showstopper watch was all the more eye-catching, coming as it did as Brady attended a football match between English Championship football teams Birmingham City and Leeds United. Brady became a shareholder in Birmingham City earlier this year, but even so, a mid-table, second-tier league clash is unfamiliar territory for such bling. It also confirmed that Brady’s IWC Schaffhausen days are long behind him.
03. Mr Ali AlQarni: Rolex GMT-Master II “Pepsi”
Mr Ali AlQarni’s RolexMaster CeramicGMT at the International Space Station, 2023. Photograph courtesy of Mr Ali AlQarni
Easily taking the title for “best watch sighting in outer space”, Saudi astronaut Mr Ali AlQarni made waves among watch fans when he photographed his Rolex floating in zero gravity aboard the International Space Station. AlQarni, who flew to the ISS as a Mission Specialist for the privately funded Axiom Mission 2 in May, spent eight days in low Earth orbit researching cancer treatments and cloud seeding in microgravity. During his time in space, he even found a moment to photograph the stainless-steel watch (originally designed for transatlantic flight) against the background of our planet. What a show-off.
04. Mr Roger Federer: Rolex 1908
Mr Roger Federerat the Met Gala, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1 May 2023. Photograph by Mr Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Rolex rebooted its classical line of watches this year, with the introduction of the 1908 collection, a nod to when Mr Hans Wilsdorf registered the Crown’s brand name (he founded the company in 1905, under the name Wilsdorf and Davis). The first new watch released was the 1908 Perpetual, a dress watch with design cues taken from a 1931 Rolex with self-winding “Perpetual” movement. At the 2023 Met Gala, tennis legend, Rolex Testimonee and all-round good guy Mr Roger Federer had the honour of being the first person to been seen with one. The black dial version in 18kt white gold paired nicely with his tuxedo. Not a Met Gala look to turn heads, unless your eagle eyes were on his wrist. In contrast, we also have…
05. Jeremy Strong: Richard Mille RM 07-04
Mr Jeremy Strongat the Met Gala, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1 May 2023. Photograph by Mr Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images
Also at the Met Gala was actor Mr Jeremy Strong, who went some way to leaving Kendall Roy’s quiet-luxury Loro Piana image behind with a brown-and-green Prada fit that stood out against the seas of black, white and pink. To complement his minty shirt for the evening, Strong had on a newly released Richard Mille RM 07-04 with a green Quartz TPT case, which weighs a mere 36 grams including the strap. He may have left the show’s “eldest boy” wardrobe behind, but true to form, Strong couldn’t completely separate himself from Succession. Season four saw Kendall bring Richard Mille into his watch rotation as he made his big play for the ultimate prize
06. Mr Brad Pitt: Vacheron Constantin 222
Mr Brad Pitt at Centre Court, Wimbledon Tennis Championships, London, 16 July 2023. Photograph by Mr Giles Anderson/Camera Press
Mr Brad Pitt’s last big move in the watch world was taking a leading role in Breitling’s self-titled “Actor Squad”, a troupe of four brand ambassadors from the silver screen (alongside Ms Charlize Theron, Mr Daniel Wu and Mr Adam Driver). He made arguably the biggest buzz of the year, for watch-obsessives, when he started stepping out in Vacheron Constantin’s 2022 reissue of its much-loved late-1970s icon, the 222. First spotted wearing the revived 222 in yellow gold, he really broke the internet at the Men’s Singles final at Wimbledon, when it was noticed he was wearing a vintage 222 in stainless steel. It would appear he fell in love with the design of the reissue and had an urge to buy an older model as well.
07. Ryan Gosling: TAG Heuer Carrera
MrRyan Gosling at the Barbie Canadian Press Day, Toronto, 28 June 2023. Photograph by Mr Mathew Tsang/Getty Images
We all got behind Barbenheimer as one of the cultural happenings of 2023, even if we did know it was simply savvy marketing. But in its own right, Ms Greta Gerwig’s Barbie was probably the biggest cinematic surprise of 2023, and to take nothing away from Ms Margot Robbie’s title role, we were also heavily invested in Mr Ryan Gosling’s Ken. Even the press appearances were iconic, as Gosling brought his best “Who, me?” deadpan expressions to a pastel-pink suit. On his wrist was a 36mm TAG Heuer Carrera 5 date in the more vibrant shade of hot pink. Released earlier this year, it was an opportunity too good to miss.
08. King Charles: Parmigiani Toric Chronograph
Mr Alastair Barford,His Majesty King Charles III, 2023. Photograph courtesy of Illustrated London News
The first official painted portrait of King Charles III was unveiled in March. It showed the newly anointed monarch, in a navy pinstripe suit, with his left hand in a jacket pocket. Two items adorned his wrist. The first was a bracelet given to him by Amazon indigenous leader Mr Domingo Peas in February. The second was his wristwatch, a gold Parmigiani Toric chronograph, which has been the King’s regular watch for several years now. This wasn’t a new spot, a hype watch or a social-media flex (can you imagine?), but the fact that this niche haute horlogerie brand made it into the first portrait of a new British monarch in more than 70 years says a lot.
09. Mr Ed Sheeran: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar
Mr Ed Sheeran at the ACM Awards, Texas, 11 May 2023. Photograph by Mr Mark Surridge, courtesy of ACM
Having a watch customised by a manufacturer is something most die-hard collectors would love to do. However, for most, it will remain a far-off dream. For multi-platinum singer-songwriter Mr Ed Sheeran, though, it was business as usual. Working with one of his long-time favourite brands, he had Audemars Piguet create a piece unique white ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar to mark his latest tour, Mathematics, featuring a black and white “panda” dial with coloured hands that represent the colours of his six studio albums. Sheeran has acquired a kind of godlike status among a certain demographic of watch fans for his habit of wearing hard-to-get pieces from Patek Philippe, Richard Mille and AP while touring.
10. Mr Timothée Chalamet: Cartier Panthere
Mr Timothée Chalamet in New York, 19 April 2023. Photograph by BlayzenPhotos/Backgrid
The idea that only watches of a certain size are acceptable for men or women really disintegrated last year – as we covered here. The trend continues, and one of the most confident and consistent devotees of the dinky watch is none other than Mr Willy Wonka himself, the actor Mr Timothée Chalamet, who regularly wears a smaller sized Cartier Panthere in stainless steel. Measuring in at 25mm, it may look tiny compared to more stereotypically masculine timepieces, but Chalamet shows you don’t have to concern yourself with such notions.
The people featured in this story are not associated with and do not endorse MR PORTER or the products shown