Over the past few years, watches have begun to command as much attention on the red carpet as the clothes themselves. Stylists now work to an unspoken brief: make the watch visible.
For celebs, that often means an evening posing with arms crossed over the chest, sleeves subtly pulled back, hands held in positions that feel somewhat unnatural but photograph well.
And at last night’s Golden Globes, some managed it better than others. Jacob Elordi wore one of Cartier’s most demanding Tank skeletons, yet barely showed it. Kevin O’Leary, by contrast, doubled down – wearing a Cartier Asymétrique on one wrist and an F.P. Journe Chronomètre à Résonance on the other.
Between those extremes sat a full spectrum of top wristwear, from discreet connoisseur picks to overt flexes designed to read instantly, to Nick Jonas’ excellent $200 non-flex.
Here we go, then, with the best watches we spotted at the 2026 Golden Globes.
Rolex’s “Le Mans” Daytona was released to mark the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, subtly reworking the classic formula with a 24-hour chronograph counter and a red “100” on the ceramic bezel, all rendered in white gold. Scarce, celebratory and very much IYKYK, it puts DiCaprio firmly in pole position of Rolex’s current testimonee pack.
Chalamet’s long-running Cartier era took a left turn with this: Urban Jürgensen’s UJ-2 in platinum, the independent, low-volume Swiss watchmaker being a connoisseur’s choice if ever there was one. (Cartier should be happy anyway, that's a Panthère de Cartier necklace in 18k white gold he's wearing, set with diamonds, emeralds and onyx.)
Louis Vuitton’s modern Tambour reboot has become one of the most credible watch moves in recent times, and Jeremy Allen White is exactly the right kind of wearer for it. Clean, architectural and just flash enough, it mirrors his red-carpet persona – serious, modern and self-assured.
A deep-cut from the Cartier archive, the Tortue is one of the maison’s great early 20th-century shapes – elegant, slightly eccentric and far more interesting than a straight-down-the-line Tank. Worn with matching gold-and-onyx jewellery, Mescal executes his role as Cartier ambassador with top marks.
One of high watchmaking’s most recognisable silhouettes, elevated here by a full perpetual calendar and AP’s new calibre 7138. It’s an assured, heavyweight choice – technically serious, instantly legible and flexing just how much horological firepower you can pack into a steel sports watch on a red carpet. Hat tip to Sherlock Horology-Holmes @niccoloy who points out that Brown is wearing the thing upside-down. A bid for the maverick sartorial innovation hall of fame, à la Kross Kross’s backwards trousers? Or the actions of who doesn’t know WTF they’re doing? You be the judge.
A disco-era icon reimagined in full Audemars Piguet glamour. The frosted gold finish gives the Royal Oak a jewelled, light-catching surface that feels knowingly flamboyant, something perfectly pitched for the "Uptown Funk" hitmaker.
Classic O’Leary: double-wristed and entirely unapologetic. The Cartier Asymétrique delivers early-20th-century Parisian elegance, while Journe’s Chronomètre à Résonance is one of modern watchmaking’s great grails – technically obsessive, fiercely rare and strictly for the nerds. Subtle? Absolutely not. But appropriate, at least. (O'Leary personally sourced two specific vintage watches for his role as the wealthy businessman Milton Rockwell in Marty Supreme, because "he refused to wear rented props".)
The Royal Oak, but turned inside out. In white gold and fully openworked, this is Gérald Genta’s most famous design stripped back to its mechanical bones – high-level stuff.
A Cartier Tank taken to its most rarefied extreme. Skeletonised, diamond-set and housed in platinum, this is one of the maison’s most demanding haute horlogerie statements. On Elordi, it lands as pure modern elegance... or at least it would do if you could actually see it properly.
Watch design’s great disruptor, the Octo Finissimo remains a masterclass in restraint and proportion. Ultra-thin, architectural and super-contemporary, it's a good shout from Isaac – he lets design not diamonds do the heavy lifting here.
If subtlety was in the room, this was pointedly not looking for it. Blanco’s Jacob & Co. Diamond Boutique watch – dripping with more than 24 carats and valued north of $700,000 [£520,000] – is top-level maximalist theatre.
A genuine curveball. Surrounded by six-figure complication flexes, Jonas turned up in a $280 Fossil – approachable, automatic and 100pc high-street. Whether deliberate anti-flex or simply forgetting to call the stylist, the result is certainly refreshing: proof that not every red-carpet watch needs to scream money to get noticed.
High complication, high contrast! AP’s perpetual calendar in white ceramic is one of the brand’s most technically demanding modern pieces – feather-light, scratchproof and anything but discreet. A fine choice for Walliser, king of the slow-motion red-carpet clip, where it looks suitably futuristic and pops nicely under the lights.
A stealthily confident choice from the Saxon manufacture best known for its watchmaking rather than its hype. With its domed dial, retro typography and slim steel case, the Sixties nods to mid-century elegance without tipping into, you know, cosplay.
There are subtle watches, and then there is this. Fully diamond-set and impossible to miss, Chopard’s Alpine Eagle turns one of modern sports watch design’s sharpest silhouettes into pure red-carpet spectacle. Can The Rock pull it off? Of course he can.
