Men sometimes get the short end of the stick when it comes to red carpet style. You’re more or less restricted to wearing a tuxedo – and while there’s no shortage of ways you can put a spin on a tux, male celebrities don’t have as much of a chance to express themselves sartorially as their female colleagues do.
Where they do get to cut loose, however, is with watches. Big awards shows like the Oscars see all sorts of nifty watches on display, and the 2023 Oscars didn’t disappoint.
We’ve rounded up a few of the best watches on display from some of the most stylish gents at Hollywood’s night of nights.
Michael B. Jordan – Tiffany & Co. Square 2-Hand
First up, we have Michael B. Jordan, who took to the stage to present the award for Best Cinematography alongside his Creed III co-star Jonathan Majors. Jordan looked exceptionally dapper in a double-breasted suit adorned with two huge Tiffany & Co. brooches – but we were more interested in the Tiffany watch on his wrist.
A limited edition piece from 2019, Jordan’s Tiffany & Co. Square 2-Hand is modelled after a 1920s design and features a Swiss-made manual winding movement, cathedral hands, a white satin sunburst dial and silver matte effect numerals. Classic stuff.
Paul Mescal – Cartier Tank Chinoise
Next up we have Irish heartthrob Paul Mescal, who was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Aftersun (and we’d like to nominate for the best-dressed bloke of the 2023 Oscars – that white tux jacket is pretty special).
His watch? A Cartier Tank Chinoise. First launched in 1922 and revived last year at Watches & Wonders Geneva, the Tank Chinoise takes the icon that is the Tank and incorporates Chinese architectural elements into its brancards.
A limited edition of 150, this quirky piece features a luxurious platinum case and a manual-winding movement wound by a ruby-tipped crown. Nicely done, Paul.
Ke Huy Quan – OMEGA Globemaster
There were heaps of OMEGAs at the Oscars this year, and in particular, quite a few Globemasters, funnily enough. The best (or perhaps the luckiest) belongs to Ke Huy Quan, who took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Everything Everywhere All at Once – a film that totally swept the Oscars, picking up seven awards.
The first OMEGA model to receive the coveted Master Chronometer certification, this OMEGA is a masterclass in understatement. Its stainless steel case features a hardmetal scratchproof fluted bezel, a blackened Constellation star at 6 o’clock above the date window, and hands and indexes filled with luminous Super-LumiNova.
Idris Elba – Gucci G-Timeless Planetarium
It’s not a proper red carpet without Idris Elba. The 50-year-old British screen legend was at the Oscars to present the award for Best Directing, alongside Nicole Kidman. Her dramatic slinky black Armani dress got tongues wagging – but Idris’ wrist candy might be even more impressive.
His watch? A Gucci G-Timeless Planetarium worth a cool US$300,000. A rare piece from the luxury maison’s High Watchmaking collection, it boasts a central tourbillon dial with a star diamond, surrounded by 12 rotating beryl stones, all housed in an 18ct yellow gold case. A big flex from Big Driis.
Lenny Kravitz – Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso
Lenny Kravitz, who performed during the In Memoriam segment of the show, looked like a proper rock star: long dreads, bared chest, plenty of chains and sunglasses firmly on. But his watch was a bit more genteel – but a very respectable choice.
The watch in question? A Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso ClassicLarge Duoface Small Seconds (try saying that three times fast). As the name implies, it’s got two time-telling faces: one with a silvered guilloché dial with Arabic numerals, and another with a black Clous de Paris guilloché dial with baton hour markers.
It’s the latter that Kravitz opted to show off at the Oscars, probably because it matched his all-black outfit better.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – TAG Heuer Aquaracer
Black Adam might have been snubbed at the Oscars but that didn’t stop Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson from turning up to present with Jungle Cruise co-star Emily Blunt – nor did it stop him from bringing a rather interesting watch to the table.
Johnson wore a new TAG Heuer Aquaracer Professional 200 Date with a smoky black dégradé dial: a somewhat lowkey choice for one of Hollywood’s biggest stars (literally). A sportier take on the versatile dive watch, this comparatively slim piece was easy to miss, nestled under The Rock’s cuff.
The Rock has always had a soft spot for TAG Heuer and owns multiple pieces from the brand, including a Carrera Chronograph with a green dial he wore to last year’s Super Bowl. Back in 2020, he actually admitted that he used to wear a fake TAG back in the 90s “before it turned green”. These days, he can afford as many TAGs as he likes.
Questlove – IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser
Ignore for one second the Salehe Bembury x Crocs that Questlove decided to wear to the Oscars and instead take a look at the rather fine watch on his wrist: an IWC Schaffhausen Portugieser Perpetual Calendar.
This chunky piece sees legendary watchmaker Kurt Klaus’ groundbreaking perpetual calendar movement housed in a sumptuous 18ct red gold case and mounted on a black alligator leather strap by Santoni.
This perpetual calendar not only has displays for the date, day and month; a four-digit year indicator, and perpetual moon phase for both Northern and Southern Hemispheres, but it manages this whilst also boasting a 7-day power reserve.
Brendan Fraser – OMEGA Speedmaster Chronoscope
Last but certainly not least, we have Brendan Fraser, who took home Best Actor for The Whale – what a redemption story. Fraser was exceptionally gracious during his acceptance speech, with the 54-year-old fighting back tears as he triumphantly held his Oscar.
Fraser, like many of the attendees and nominees on the night, wore an OMEGA, but his was particularly interesting. Fraser’s Speedmaster Chronoscope takes the legendary Speedmaster and mashes it up with a 1940s-style instrument design: it features three distinctive timing scales: a tachymeter scale, a pulsometer scale and a telemeter scale.