The Oscars Nominees Luncheon wasn’t the event I expected to find the most impressive watches at this week. I figured the Super Bowl—where Rihanna debuted her baby bump and a headline-making watch last year—would dominate the horological conversation. Instead, this amuse-bouche before the Oscars felt like a dry run for what is gearing up to be the watch-spotting event of the year.
Take Ryan Gosling and his custom gold Tag Heuer Carrera, which serves the actors in several ways. The watch is a re-edition of a vintage Carrera, an all-gold version that was originally furnished to Ferrari’s all-star crew of drivers in the ‘70s. Gosling wore that same vintage model as Ken in Barbie. Tag Heuer followed up its appearance in the money-minting film with a new version of the gold-on-gold-on-gold watch released in October. It’s nearly the same piece Gosling wore to Monday’s luncheon. But Tag Heuer made a unique addition to the actor’s watch: It features “a gold Milanese bracelet, a one-of-a-kind piece tailor-made for Ryan Gosling,” according to a press release from Tag. The new version of the gold watch comes on a leather band, but Gosling’s custom bracelet matches the one seen on the still-coveted vintage editions.
Gosling’s custom piece is the type of stunt I can appreciate. If this is what Tag Heuer is willing to do for a pre-Oscars luncheon, what an auspicious sign for the main event! Great watches were everywhere at Monday’s event. Below are a few of my favorites.
Cillian Murphy’s Omega De Ville Prestige
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Newly minted GQ cover star Cillian Murphy wore an indefatigable red-carpet watch: the Omega De Ville. Murphy’s comes with a small quirk—its magically delicious “pine green” dial with a matching leather strap. The boost in color does just enough to set Murphy’s wrist apart. The watch isn’t new, but Murphy’s selection is right on trend.
Sterling K. Brown’s IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar
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Apparently, the ‘K’ in Sterling K. Brown stands for Killer Watch That I Want, Oh, Please Let Me Have It, I’ll Do Anything. IWC makes one of the prettiest perpetual calendars (a complication that will keep the correct day and date until the year 2,100) on the market. Although it’s one of the most technically difficult horological feats, IWC doesn’t make the dial too fussy here. Take a look, for example, at the moon phase with its playful collection of stars.
Robert Downey Jr.’s Jaeger LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 12: Robert Downey Jr. attends the 96th Oscars Nominees Luncheon at The Beverly Hilton on February 12, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images)JC Olivera/Getty Images
RDJ, known for his wacky and wide-ranging watch collection, has been binging JLC these past few months. Iron Man has mostly stuck to a couple of different versions of the brand’s iconic Reverso—the flippable two-faced timepiece. For the luncheon, Downey went with something a little sportier, albeit still from the JLC cinematic universe. Typically JLC makes can’t-miss red-carpet pieces by sticking with the dressy stuff, but this Polaris proves that even the brand’s sportier options are gala-worthy.
Jeffrey Wright’s Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon “Black Black”
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Wright has been wearing this Speedmaster throughout this award season. While the Speedmaster is one of the best-known watches in the world (famous for being part of the original moon landing), this is a far cry from what Buzz Aldrin would have worn. The Dark Side of the Moon iterations of the watch, launched in the early 2010s, were Omega’s attempts to modernize the model. No piece hit that mark more effectively than this 2015 release known as the “Black Black.”
Cord Jefferson’s Panerai Radiomir California
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More green! But there’s more to the dial on Jefferson’s watch than the trendy shade alone. The director chose a Panerai with a very interesting backstory. This Radiomir features an unusual dial with Roman numerals across the top half and Arabic numerals on the bottom. These were originally known as “error-proof dials” and date all the way back to the 1940s, when Panerai and Rolex would use them on watches built for WWII soldiers. In the 1980s, watches with these dials became increasingly popular in California, earning them the “California” nickname.
