‘And the award for best red carpet watch goes to…’. By Alfred Tong

This year, the advent of the virtual award season means that there’s time to capture more in depth footage of what actors are wearing. Instead of trying to catch a glimpse of their wrists as they whizz by on the red carpet, celebrities can now use their hotel rooms to stage carefully chosen shots the better to flaunt the timepieces and outfits (which they have either been loaned or paid to wear). For example, the recent 2021 Golden Globes awards saw stars such as Daniel Levy, writer and star of Schitt’s Creek, pair his yellow Valentino suit with an equally elegant Cartier Santos, both clearly visible in press shots taken inside a studio. Meanwhile, Sacha Baron Cohen chose to wear a steel Omega Speedmaster to pick up his best actor award for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. And who can blame him? After all, while technically a ‘tool watch’ made famous by astronauts, Baron Cohen shows us that the versatile ‘Speedy’ can also do double duty amongst the stars at an awards ceremony.

Body language also plays an important part. The main consideration is to ensure that the wrist is on display in one way or another. Shoving a hand in your pocket can cause the fabric to lift up, thereby – hey presto – revealing the watch. Similarly, pretending to adjust a shirt cuff or smooth down a lapel ensures that even the smallest dials can be seen in full. Josh O’ Connor pulled off both moves with great aplomb during the recent Golden Globes, showing off a stainless steel Bulgari Octo Finissimo as he went.

But if there were an award for a best performance in watch flaunting, then a sure fire nomination would be Chris Pratt who can often be seen meticulously adjusting his shirt cuff adjustment while on the red carpet, the better to show off his Cartier, Panerai or Bell & Ross. It’s a move not lost on Rami Malek who often posed with both hands in front of him during the awards circuit for Bohemian Rhapsody in order to flaunt his Montblanc 4810 Day- Date.

It’s not only the style and physicality of the actor that matters. A herculean Panerai or Hublot would look preposterous on the dainty wrist of Timothee Chalamet, but would be just the thing for Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, whose Panerai Radiomir worn for the publicity rounds of Jumanji: The Next Level, came in at a whopping 47mm. On the other hand, Chalamet – the Call Me By Your Name star whose elegant red carpet outfits designed by Haider Ackermann helped propel him to the top of best dressed lists – wore a discreet Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface for the 2018 awards.

We will have to wait and see. But make no mistake, the money shot in any watch product placement has to be the moment an actor actually receives his award. When Ryan Reynolds picked up his Golden Globe for Best Actor In A Musical Or Comedy for Deadpool in 2017, he delivered his acceptance speech wearing an elegant white tuxedo jacket and a 1950s Rolex Air King 5500. And that, ladies and gentleman, is what Hollywood watch dreams are made of.

CREDIT: Alfred Tong writes the celebrity watch column for British GQ and also works as a consultant providing brand and communications strategy for a number of Swiss watch brands. He wears a Mickey Mouse Timex as his everyday beater and one day hopes to own a Cartier Tank Chinoise, or failing that a Vacheron Constantin Prestige De La France

UPDATE: Watches of Switzerland Group

For the 2021 awards, we helped to dress the talented writer, producer and directors of Two Distant Strangers, Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe by lending each of them a luxury watch from our Analog Shift collections.

Travon Free wore a vintage Patek Philippe Aquanaut in yellow gold on a black rubber strap from Analog Shift. Martin Desmond Roe wore a vintage Cartier Tank Louis in yellow gold on a black alligator strap from Analog Shift. They were both styled by Tara Swennen and their suits are bespoke Dolce & Gabbana with the names of victims of 2020 police shootings embroidered inside, along with custom Nikes, also featuring names of the fallen.