Somewhere along the way, a stylist either instructed Will Ferrell to show off his watch during photocalls—whereupon the veteran American funnyman took said instruction to the logical extreme—or he simply viewed the subtlety with which other celebrities were posing as a cop-out and thrust out his watch arm front-and-center for all to see. The irony here is that Ferrell isn’t, to our knowledge, a brand ambassador for any particular watch brand, and thus lacks the contractual obligation to strike a horological pose in the first place.
This, in turn, means that we’ve seen the guy pose with all sorts of watches, from oddball Timex collabs to pink Oris pilot’s watches to the Seamaster from No Time To Die. Nowadays, he’s this writer’s favorite celebrity watch-wearer. While others may boast more horologically mind-blowing collections, Ferrell owns and wears a wide variety of timepieces, and his pose-striking generally makes ID-ing a cinch. His irreverence during photocalls is in keeping with the Frat Pack ethos, thus maintaining my conviction that this man is one of the funniest of his generation.
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This week’s Ferrell moment will surely rank among the favorites of die-hard watch nerds, as it saw him posing with an all-time classic: the hand-wound Omega Speedmaster Professional. Dressed in an Adidas tracksuit and a pair of aviators at the Despicable Me 4 premiere, Ferrell threw up his right wrist, supported it dutifully with his left, and peeled back his sleeve enough to reveal a strap-worn version of the Speedy, which appears to be a vintage reference 145.022. While most wear their Speedies on bracelets, Ferrell opted for what looks like a black leather strap, giving it more of a vintage tool watch vibe. (If nothing else, it gelled excellently with the tracksuit and the shades.)
If anyone out there should need a refresher—and if you do, you haven’t been reading enough GQ!—the Omega Speedmaster Professional is most famous as the watch that landed on the moon. (Really—it was strapped outside Buzz Aldrin’s spacesuit on that fateful day in 1969.) But the Speedy was actually born as a racing chronograph in 1957. In the 1960s, NASA went through trials to select an appropriate watch for its budding space program, and the Speedy made the cut. It was worn by numerous astronauts on space walks and on all six lunar landings. And while there have been innumerable subtle tweaks to the design over the years, all Moonwatches share several readily identifiable features: A steel case, black dial (for the most part), triple-register chronograph, hand-wound movement, pump pushers, and an outer tachymeter bezel all among them.
Finding a Speedy on Ferrell’s wrist is pure joy. His wide-ranging taste and clear affinity for timepieces is fun viewing for us watch geeks, and the man clearly has a good time posing for the camera. I’m just waiting for him to pose with a Patek perpetual calendar while dressed as Ron Burgundy. Then I can retire.
Max Verstappen’s TAG Heuer Monaco Pièce Unique
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Three-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen has been spotted in several excellent watches from Red Bull team sponsor TAG Heuer, including a solid-gold Carrera. But the watch he wore at the Canadian Grand Prix turns up the heat quite a bit: A Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph crafted from titanium and sapphire, it was released this spring at Watches & Wonders. However, Verstappen’s version is unique: Take a closer look at the chronograph subdials and you’ll realize that one features his name and logo, and the other features three small stars to signify his three Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles. The Monaco Split-Seconds Chronograph is already a six-figure watch at retail; should the “Ver-Special” ever find its way into an auction catalog, lord knows what it would hammer for.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Cartier Tank Santos de Cartier
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Rocking up to the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Presumed Innocent, Jake Gyllenhaal sported a Santos de Cartier large model in steel. The Santos de Cartier, based upon a watch designed by the maison for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont in the early 20th century, was among the world’s first dedicated pilot’s watches—though you might not know it from the design’s elegant case and dial. Gyllenhaal’s large version features an automatic movement, a date complication, and a matching bracelet.
Roger Federer’s Rolex Yacht-Master II
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Rolex testimonee Federer has been seen in a wide variety of the Crown’s watches over the past few years, but perhaps none has been as compelling from a materials standpoint as the Yacht-Master II he wore to the debut of Federer: Twelve Final Days. Machined from RLX titanium, it weighs about 100 grams—or, according to the Greater Internet, “one half of a medium-sized banana.” It’s so lightweight, in fact, that you barely feel it on your wrist, but it’s certainly no slouch of a timepiece: Powered by the brand’s cal. 3235 with 70 hours of power reserve, it’s water resistant to 100m and features a matching titanium bracelet and a bi-directional timing bezel.
Jayson Tatum’s Richard Mille RM 07-01
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Launched in late 2023, Richard Mille’s Coloured Ceramics collection is a colorful, Memphis Group-inspired take on its RM 07-01 collection. With its bright colors and funky dials, it’s not the type of thing you’d expect to find on the wrist of a 6’8” power forward during a press conference, but what can we say: Jayson Tatum has original taste. Housed in a 45.6mm x 31.4 mm case, his version features a lavender case crafted from TZP ceramic and paired to a yellow strap. The dial is where the Memphis Group inspiration truly shines: Consisting of colored ceramic, diamond settings, and laser-cut rubber appliqués, its wildly funky and wholly original. There’s no way around it: This is an awesome watch—if you can swing the $205,000 price tag.
