Dwayne Johnson is most positively a watch man. From TAG Heuer to IWC, from Panerai to Oris, the GQ Man of the 12 months has confirmed his horological bona fides time and again with all types of enormous instrument watches. At any given occasion, screening, or premier, you could find a race-ready Monaco, a cushion-cased Luminor, or an outsized Large Pilot strapped to his wrist. And given that every one these fashions are classics, it’s little shock that we discover him carrying yet one more basic within the Rolex GMT-Grasp II to a particular promotional look for his new movie Purple One.
This week, a crowd of completely delighted youngsters—and their mother and father, frankly—had been handled to a dose of no matter The Rock occurred to be cooking that day when he confirmed up unexpectedly at Hamleys, a historic toy retailer in London. Clearly seen on Johnson’s wrist, in the meantime, was the Rolex GMT-Grasp II ref. 126715CHNR, a solid-gold tackle the model’s iconic dual-time journey watch with an identical gold Oyster bracelet. (When you’re gonna hand out teddy bears to youngsters, you might as properly do it in fashion, no?)
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The GMT-Grasp II makes excellent sense for a globe-trotting star like Johnson, however its origins are way more utilitarian: Within the Nineteen Fifties Rolex designed a completely new complication for the flight crews of Pan Am, then the main American airline and one of many world’s most glamorous. The concept behind the watch, which the Swiss watchmaker dubbed the “GMT-Grasp,” was {that a} fourth hand, hooked up to the native hour hand, could possibly be used together with a rotating 24-hour bezel to show a second time zone. This manner, air crews may monitor each native in addition to Greenwich Imply Time, which was then the frequent reference time for pilots. (In the present day, it’s U.T.C.)
As a result of the GMT hand was paired with the hour hand, the spinning bezel was essential to be able to calculate this second zone. Nevertheless, in 1983, Rolex launched the GMT-Grasp II, which featured an independently adjustable native hour hand. This allowed for 2 issues: It meant that the watch may now technically observe three time zones and frequent vacationers may shortly and simply replace native time with out spinning all of the palms in a probably lengthy scroll. (Simply come out the crown to the right place and bounce the hour hand in one-hour increments.) Even earlier than the beginning of the “II,” nonetheless, Rolex had begun making GMT-Masters in stable gold, turning this once-relatively-affordable pilot’s instrument into a particular luxurious product for the rich.
The unique blue-and-red “Pepsi” bezel—divided into two colours to be able to shortly differentiate day from night time—has since spawned quite a few different colorways. Johnson’s, which includes a black-and-brown bezel, has been nicknamed “Root Beer” by the collector neighborhood. Its stable Everose gold case and matching Oyster bracelet ship it even additional into the posh stratosphere, and at $42,300, it’s in all probability not gonna function on too many pilots’ wrists any time quickly. But when your final title is “Johnson” and also you occur to be on a globe-spanning mission to save lots of Santa Claus, it’s form of the proper watch.
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Michael Jordan’s Patek Philippe Cubitus
We’ve one other Cubitus fan on our palms within the type of one Michael Jordan—maybe you’ve heard of him? His Airness was noticed rocking the chrome steel ref. 5821/1A-001 whereas trackside on the NASCAR Cup Sequence Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. (Jordan is a co-owner of 23XI Racing.) Launched final month in Munich, the Cubitus is Patek proprietor Thierry Stern’s dream mission—a sq. watch within the mould of luxurious sports activities watch classics such because the Nautilus and Aquanaut. Giant but skinny, it’s the proper mannequin for a taller man with a much bigger wrist, and the olive dial is undeniably good-looking.
Steve Granitz
Drew Starkey’s Cartier Tank Américaine
Queer actor Drew Starkey went full Cartier mode on the L.A. premier of his new film, which he stars in alongside Daniel Craig. Along with a brooch, bracelet, and ring, Starkey wore the 18K yellow gold Tank Américaine in its small configuration—a brand new tackle the famously elongated mannequin born in 1989. The piece includes a 19.4 mm by 35.4 mm case with a signature blue cabochon crown, a Roman-numeral dial, a quartz motion, and a black leather-based strap. One of many maison’s most beloved formed watches, the Américaine seems to be even higher on this smaller dimension, which is decidedly on-trend as of late.
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Pharrell’s Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari
Though it was not too long ago dethroned because the thinnest mechanical watch on this planet by Bulgari’s second-generation Octo Finissimo Extremely, the Richard Mille RM UP-01 Ferrari continues to be wildly spectacular at simply 1.75mm. Pharrell, an early adopter, rocked one at GQ’s Males of the 12 months occasion on Thursday night time, proving that this Grade 5 titanium surprise continues to be one of many coolest timepieces ever devised. The RM’s unconventional elongated body measures a large 51mm in diameter, however its unbelievable mild weight and thinness imply that it doesn’t put on like its dimensions would point out. For an über-creative like Pharrell, such a timepiece looks like the proper accent.
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Louis Vuitton
Taylor Swift’s Louis Vuitton Tambour
Louis Vuitton’s 2023 relaunch of the Tambour may not have sparked the identical frenzy as MoonSwatch Insanity or Tiny Cartier Tumult, however for watch guys and gals who love the unique’s creative case form and playful design it was a momentous event. Not almost as momentous as Taylor Swift strapping one on to put on to the Chiefs recreation final week, nonetheless. The singer-songwriter selected the yellow-gold model with matching bracelet, which includes a motion crafted by the mad horological geniuses at La Fabrique du Temps, now owned by LVMH.
