Everything is coming up Tom Holland. Spider-Man reportedly got engaged this week to his longtime girlfriend Zendaya, who seems pretty thrilled about her own new jewelry pickup. And shortly before that, the actor sat for an interview with LADBible where he got to hold bunnies and puppies all while wearing one of Rolex’s most coveted and fun releases from 2023.
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The Rolex on Holland’s wrist was an Oyster Perpetual “Celebration” Dial. The watch created a bit of hype inception when it was released two years ago. The multi-hued bubbles on the dial borrow their colors from the series of vivacious Oyster Perpetuals released in 2020. (And those were inspired by the beloved lacquered “Stella” dials from the 1970s.) The “Celebration” watch that managed to cram all those inspirations and colors into a single dial created quite a stir in the watch world. Before Holland, Famous collectors like Mark Wahlberg, Tom Brady…and DJ Khaled’s youngest son quickly picked the watch up.
Holland was a natural fit to strap on this watch next. The actor reportedly got engaged to Zendaya shortly after Christmas and would have much to, well, celebrate. He adds this piece to his prolific collection, which already includes the Patek Philippe Aquanaut, Rolex Submariner “Cermit,” Rolex Daytona, Cartier Tank, and Tag Heuer Carrera. On its face, the Oyster Perpetual is a more understated choice.
Long before the Submariner, GMT-Master, and Cosmograph Daytona, there was the humble Oyster. Designed in 1926 as a waterproof case with a screw-down crown and caseback, the Oyster was later paired with Rolex’s self-winding movement (whose rotor traveled through 360 degrees) to form a package that would stay essentially unchanged through…well, today! The “Perpetual” designation comes from the fact that the movement is perpetually wound—aka constantly wound—via its winding rotor, which is powered as it moves around on someone’s wrist. (The more general term for such a movement type is “automatic.”)
For decades, the OP played second fiddle to Rolex’s sexier sport models. Their smaller sizing and wide variety of dials kept the attention of a dedicated collector base, and their more affordable pricing made them perfect “first Rolexes” for those breaking into the hobby. However, what people really wanted was highly collectible 40mm Subs, GMT-Masters, and Daytonas. Between the series of Oyster Perpetuals in 2020 and the Celebration dial several years later, Rolex has reignited the hype surrounding this watch.
Perhaps most surprising is that this watch is still in the current Rolex catalog. Though Rolex discontinued certain versions of the 2020 colors, the playful Celebration—which, according to Rolex, is significantly more challenging to produce but still priced like its other single-color variants—remains (technically) “available.” Of course, if you happen to be Spider-Man, nabbing one isn’t so much of a problem—which is a good thing because it pairs fantastically with puppies and bunny rabbits.
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ASAP Rocky’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Alyx
Spotted in NYC this week on ASAP Rocky’s wrist was the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, designed in collaboration with Matthew Williams of Alyx. The collection features several references, including both Royal Oak and Royal Oak Offshore models, all of which feature Williams’ signature minimalist style and a pared-back, Brutalist aesthetic. ASAP Rocky’s watch, one of the Offshore references, is crafted from solid 18K yellow gold and features the collection’s signature matching bracelet. The dial still boasts the Offshore’s typical three-register chronograph. Still, Williams nixed the subdials, leaving only the miniature chronograph hands, the main time-telling hands, and a date window to interrupt the satin-finished gold dial.
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Conan O’Brien’s Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “No Time To Die”
There’s nothing quite like a hilarious man wearing a deadly-serious watch. Exhibit A: Conan O’Brien strapped on the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m “No Time To Die” while out and about this week. Paired with a forest-green hoodie and jeans, you almost forget that this was the dive watch designed for James Bond to wear while taking on SPECTRE agents and innerable henchmen in Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007. Housed in a 42-mm titanium case and paired with a matching mesh bracelet—also in titanium—its lightweight construction was a sharp left turn for the typically steel Seamaster, a watch that’s been kicking around in various iterations since 1948. With its vintage-colored lume and “broad arrow” marking, it really does look like a piece of military equipment.
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Timothée Chalamet’s Dual Cartier Tank Minis
Like the famous Bob Dylan album, “Tank on Tank” (or something like that?) Chalamet clearly got the message, rocking dual Tank Minis to the 36th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. A Cartier brand ambassador, the A Complete Unknown actor is well known for pulling out all the solid-gold stops. But the Mini is so diminutive, it seems he thought a pair of ‘em was equivalent to one Normale-sized Tank. Measuring just 16.5mm by 24mm in yellow gold, powered by a quartz movement, and featuring the collection’s signature Roman numeral dial, it’s not Cartier’s first foray into teensy-tiny timepieces—but it’s undoubtedly one of the coolest. (And one of the most popular Watches & Wonders 2024 releases.)
Mark Zuckerberg’s Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1
Announcing the end of independent fact-checking on Meta platforms this week, Mark Zuckerberg proved his horological bona fides by wearing a watch that few collectors will have the opportunity to see, let alone own: The Hand Made 1, produced in just two-to-three examples per year, is made almost entirely by hand, with beautiful finishing across its case, dial, and hand-wound, tourbillon-equipped movement. Its partially openworked dial may not look wildly complicated, but most modern artisans—even those working for the world’s best watchmakers—aren’t making such things this way anymore, which is why a Hand Made 1 will run you almost a million bucks.
