A year and change after the Irish actor Barry Keoghan became “particularly obsessed with that blingy-ass Omega he wore to Globes”—as his stylist Ilaria Urbinati told British GQ in January—he and the Swiss luxury watchmakers are making their relationship official.
In a press email, the watchmakers announced that the Irish actor “has officially joined the Omega family as a new Friend of the Brand.” To mark the occasion, Omega released a new pair of two-tone Speedmaster Moonwatch models: one in stainless steel and 18K Moonshine Gold and another in stainless-18K Sedna Gold, both framed by a black ceramic bezel.
Courtesy of Simone Tadiello for Omega
In the increasingly convoluted dialect of celebrity-endorsement deals, a “friend of the brand” is not quite the same as a “brand ambassador”; typically, these would involve different sorts of contracts and related obligations—for example, how often the celebrity would have to wear a watch to a high-profile event, such as the Oscars or the Met Gala. (At Omega, the roster of official ambassadors includes longtime A-listers George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, while an on-the-rise star like Bridgerton breakout Jonathan Bailey is a friend of the brand.) But in the eyes of most consumers, there isn’t much that materially distinguishes the two roles.
For example, Bottega Veneta announced Keoghan’s Saltburn costar Jacob Elordi as an official brand ambassador just last week, making him one of only three official ambassadors for the Italian label (though many, many other celebs have conspicuously and repeatedly worn the brand in recent years). Elordi’s appointment followed about two years of prominent Bottega placements: attending the label’s fashion week show in 2022; carrying a braided Andiamo bag around Los Angeles; wearing a custom lemon-and-gray suit to GQ’s 2023 Man of the Year Awards. Previously, Elordi was also a watch ambassador for Tag Heuer.
Courtesy of Omega
Courtesy of Omega
Keoghan’s been a notable watch guy throughout his big Hollywood rise these last few months, but he all but shouted his Omega alliance by wearing not one but three of the brand’s timepieces on the Met Gala steps last month, sporting a De Ville Prestige in yellow gold, a diamond-dialed Seamaster Aqua Terra, and a vintage Lépine “Sideros” pocket watch from the 1930s. Keoghan and Urbinati set two of the three watches to symbolic timezones—his hometown of Dublin and his current homebase of London—while they kept the third timed to “nowhere.”
The meaning there, as the actor explained to GQ, was “because I want to give time a chance to stand still. It’s always ticking forward.” Likening the dependability of crashing waves or a loved one’s heartbeat, he added: “There’s a lot of rhythm there that comforts me. It’s like the mother’s heartbeat, you search for that. It comforts us.”
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