The 7 Best Watches of the Week, From Patrick Mahomes’s Hublot to Will Arnett’s Rolex

Cartier continued to dominate the red carpet this week, with four of Hollywood’s leading men wearing the Parisian jeweler’s dainty timepieces at their respective events. Jeff Goldblum, Oscar Isaac, and Jacob Elordi pulled out different iterations of the Tank, while Paul Mescal gave us a blast from the horological past by rocking a vintage Gondole. 

At least four gents defied the small Cartier trend, though. Actors Will Arnett and Bradley Cooper attended the Is This Thing On? headline gala at the London Film Festival, wearing watches by Rolex and Louis Vuitton, respectively. We also spotted Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Hublot’s playful Takashi Murakami-themed tourbillonTourbillonA watch complication invented around 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that rotates the escapement in a cage to counter the effects of gravity on accuracy. Tourbillons are mesmerizing and very difficultGo to Tourbillon Glossary and Lionel Messi in Audemars Piguet’s bold gold Royal Oak.

Below are the best watch flexes of the week.

Paul Mescal: Vintage Cartier Gondole

Paul Mescal has become the poster boy of small Cartiers, previously busting out a Tank LC, a Privé Tank Normale, a Tank Chinoise, and an Incurvé, to name but a few. (He is an ambassador, hence the loyalty.) The vintage Gondole he wore to the Hamnet screening at the London Film Festival may be his best choice yet, though. First released in the early 1970s as part of the Louis Cartier Collection, the Gondole was a stylish, yellow-gold outlier with an elongated, oval case—available in both vertical and horizontal orientation—a smooth, stepped bezel, and a simple white dial with blued-steel hands. Mescal paired the piece (Ref. CRWVVI0120) with complementary 18-karat yellow-gold Cartier accessories, including a Juste un Clou earring and a C de Cartier pin.

Bradley Cooper: Louis Vuitton Tambour

Bradley Cooper looked as sharp as ever at the Is This Thing On? headline gala during the London Film Festival this week. The actor-turned-director paired a classic black suit and white shirt with his favorite Louis Vuitton watch. Released in 2023 with Cooper himself fronting the campaign, the aptly named Tambour Steel is a sporty riff on the 2002 original. The sleek timepiece features a 40 mm steel case, an integrated steel bracelet, and a bold blue dial with white-gold hands, applied Arabic numerals, and a small-seconds display at 6 o’clock. (It also comes with a more subdued gray face.) It will set you back $20,800.

Lionel Messi: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ultra Thin

Lionel Messi has, once again, made horophiles green with envy, sporting an incredible Audemars Piguet before the match between Inter Miami and Atlanta United. The mysterious reference appears to be a yellow-gold version of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Ultra Thin with a striking smoked green dial. (We reached out to AP for more details and are awaiting a response from HQ.) The face showcases three subdials, including the month and leap year at 3 o’clock, the date at 6 o’clock, and the day at 9 o’clock. You’ll also find a day/night indicator at 9 o’clock and a moon phase indicator at 12 o’clock.

Oscar Isaac: Cartier Tank

Apparently, Frankenstein and Cartier go hand in hand. Oscar Isaac rocked a Tank Louis Cartier at the Frankenstein headline gala during the London Film Festival. (His co-star, Jacob Elordi, who was recently named a Cartier ambassador, also wore a Tank to the event.) Released in 2022, this reference features a medium 25.5 mm case made of 18-karat yellow goldYellow GoldA warm, precious alloy of pure gold mixed with copper and silver, used in watches and jewelry for its traditional luxurious look. Yellow gold has returned to fashion in vintage-inspiredGo to Yellow Gold Glossary, a minimalist black dial with gold sword-shaped hands, a beaded crown set with a synthetic cabochon-shaped spinel, and a black alligator strap. Priced at $14,800, the elegant watch has been given the tick of approval by A-listers, including Paul Mescal, Rami Malek, and Dwyane Wade. 

Patrick Mahomes: Hublot MP-15 Takashi Murakami Tourbillon

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has proved he is no wallflower, rocking the Hublot x Takashi Murakami MP-15 tourbillon ahead of his game against the Detroit Lions last Sunday. Unveiled in November 2023, the timepiece features a case shaped like the Japanese artist’s floral motif with 12 petals made entirely of sapphire. It is also equipped with a central skeletonized flying tourbillonTourbillonA watch complication invented around 1801 by Abraham-Louis Breguet that rotates the escapement in a cage to counter the effects of gravity on accuracy. Tourbillons are mesmerizing and very difficultGo to Tourbillon Glossary, with hours and minutes indicated by the tips of two hands that run peripherally. The co-axial construction means the hands literally pass beneath the tourbillon cage, creating another cool effect on the wrist. With just 50 pieces available, the limited edition was originally priced at $316,000. 

Will Arnett: Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea ‘James Cameron’

Will Arnett tipped a hat to one of the world’s greatest filmmakers at this year’s London Film Festival, wearing the Rolex Sea-Dweller Deepsea “James Cameron” to the Is This Thing On? headline gala on Tuesday evening. First released in 2014, this model is inspired by the experimental Deepsea Challenge that Cameron took on his 35,787-foot descent to the Mariana Trench in 2012. It features an Oystersteel case, a Cerachrom bezel in black ceramic, and a distinctive, two-tone gradient dial that runs from brilliant blue to dark black in honor of Cameron’s quest to the deepest place on Earth. Redesigned versions were released in 2018 and 2022, respectively. It is difficult to say exactly which reference Arnett is wearing, but the one (Ref. 136660) currently listed on the Crown’s website is priced at $15,020. 

Jeff Goldblum: Cartier Tank

It’s not just young stars whipping out Cartiers. Legendary actor Jeff Goldblum sported a Tank de Cartier during an event at the Grammy Museum in L.A. on Tuesday evening. He has actually worn a few different variations of the watch over the decades, but this time opted for a reference with a large yellow-gold case, an alligator strap, and a white dial with the classic railtrack and black Roman numerals. You can expect to pay around $12,000 for a similar example.

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.