Until this time last month, Mark Zuckerberg had never been spotted in a fancy wrist. That’s an unlikely fun fact given his massive fortune. However, his attendance at the wedding of Indian businessman Anant Ambani changed all that. In a video from this past July, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, can be seen admiring Ambani’s watch, a Richard Mille RM 30-01. The sight seemingly prompted a software update for Zuck, one where watches are now a feature and not a bug. The craze started with a Patek Philippe ref. 5236P perpetual calendar and his grails have only gotten holier from there. In the past month alone, he’s been spotted with five extremely high-end timepieces.
Zuck was just spotted on the Huge If True podcast rocking an F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain ‘Havana’ in platinum. While it doesn’t necessarily represent the ultra-complicated meat on the high-end independent bone, this is nevertheless one of the most impressive and beautiful dress watches in the world—and most definitely not typical first-time watch-buyer fare. Displaying the time and power reserve, it’s powered by a hand-made, hand-wound movement and won the Men’s Watch Prize at the 2005 GPHG. It was so emblematic of master watchmaker François-Paul Journe’s watchmaking ethos that he even gifted one to his mentor George Daniels in 2010.
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But you know what does represent beating the final horological boss? The second Journe in this young collection: the Centigraphe Sport Aluminium. Zuck strapped this baby on at a recent Meta event, and it didn’t take long before the watch world’s collective eyes popped out of its head. Housed in a striking aluminum alloy case—a rare material in contemporary watchmaking—it features subdials in which the hands mark time in hundreds of a second, 20 seconds, and 10 minutes. Unlike a conventional chronograph, it’s controlled by a rocker switch at 10 o’clock instead of traditional pushers. This is the type of timepiece that generally takes years to discover, let alone own. Zuck, on the other hand, found horology on Monday and F.P. Journe by Wednesday. That was quick!
Then there’s the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Kingsman Knife Watch that he wore recently. This one is sort of a sleeper hit—you’re either a deep Matthew Vaughn fan, or a deep JLC fan, or else you really like the Kingsman franchise. Either way, it’s an oddball choice for a new watch guy, but a tremendously cool watch: Released in concert with The King’s Man in 2020, it features a 12 o’clock crown with a bow in imitation of a pocket watch dating to 1907. This, combined with a flat, 4.25mm-tall case, a handsome white dial with blued steel feuille hands, and the hand-wound Calibre 849, makes for a compelling (if quirky) package.
And we haven’t even spoke about the De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius yet. Housed in a 42mm rose gold case with hollowed, integrated lugs, it features a unique dial customized to the wearer’s taste that displays the night sky as viewed from a location of one’s choosing. The type of timepiece you buy after you’ve read every last article on HODINKEE, it’s proof positive that we’re at the beginning of what can only be a long and significant journey into the heart of the Swiss Jura.
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ASAP Rocky’s Piaget Polo 7131
A$AP Rocky was spotted at the Bottega Veneta show in Paris this week in a vintage Piaget Polo ref. 7131, a 25mm-wide, precious-metal, integrated bracelet piece with a gorgeous design and a quartz movement. Piaget has been on an absolute tear this year. All manner of celebrities have wornits vintage pieces and you can’t open Instagram without finding one of the brand’s stone-dial pieces. Extra points to ASAP Rocky for rocking one with a great suit. Piaget began its life as a movement manufacturer before beginning to specialize in ultra-thin watches in the mid-20th century. Now, the maison’s Altiplano collection is blowing minds with ever-thinner construction and incredible complications.
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Jacob Elordi’s Cartier Tank
Elordi has shown plenty of love to Cartier over the past few years, rocking a yellow-gold Normale to the Priscilla premier and a black-dialed Tank Louis Cartier on SNL. His watch was in the company of greatness as he wore it while sitting next to the aforementioned Rocky and his Piaget. Elordi’s contribution to this pairing was yet another version of the Tank in yellow gold. It appears, given the length of the case and what looks like a date window at 6 o’clock, to be an older Tank Solo, which was replaced in 2021 by the Tank Must line…which itself reintroduced an old entry-level version of the Tank first introduced in the 1970s. The wonderful thing about the Tank, however, is that in virtually any configuration, it’s simply a killer watch.
Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre
Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre
Anya Taylor-Joy’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso One Monoface
A Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is never a bad idea, especially if its case is subtly encrusted in diamonds and it comes on a cool stainless steel bracelet. Anya Taylor-Joy was spotted wearing one during Paris Fashion Week that feels like the perfect embodiment of 2024 watch culture: The Reverso One Monoface measures just 20mm wide and features a sunburst guilloché dial held within a stainless steel case. Quartz powered and kitted out with 26 precious stones, it’s technically part of the brand’s Ladies’ collection—but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it on the wrist of certain male celebs who often flaunt the horological gender norms.
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Will Ferrell’s Oris Divers Sixty-Five Date and Aquis ‘Taste of Summer’ Watermelon Edition
Funniest guy in the room Will Ferrell is a watch guy—he’s just a watch guy the way only an SNL alum can be a watch guy. You see, in addition to funky Timexes and vintage Omega Speedmasters, Ferrell is deeply into Oris, an independent Swiss brand that’s been making awesome tool watches since 1904. But the wonderful thing about Oris watches is their relative affordability. Case in point: The Divers Sixty-Five Date 40.00 in Forest Green that Ferrell wore this week lists for $2,700. The Aquis ‘Taste of Summer’ Watermelon Edition that he showed off just a few days later retailed for the same. Considering the robust build quality, excellent looks, Swiss-made movements, and independent spirit infused into Oris’s watches, we’d say that’s more than fair.
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