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Keanu Reeves is one of Hollywood’s most accomplished secret nice guys. All his former co-stars and directors will tell you what a peach he is. But recent paparazzi photos captured him helping out the John Wick 4 crew by moving equipment on set. He brought John Wick’s hotel proprietor Ian McShane tea while they were making the last one! But those good deeds barely stack up to his most recent nice-guy maneuver. Last weekend, a group of stuntmen who worked with Reeves on John Wick 4 shared that the actor bought and customized Rolex Submariners for each of them. “Giving his stuntmen and friends these special engraved Rolex watches was a truly fine gesture indeed!” one of the stuntmen wrote on Instagram. “I’m a Rolex man myself so I enjoyed this too very much.” The caseback of each Submariner was engraved with the recipient’s name and “Thank you Keanu JW4 2021.” And there’s more good news for these stuntmen: John Wick 5 is slated to start shooting very soon. Also this week, Drake also bought a gift…for himself, and Penn Badgley has a watch worth obsessing over.
The Rolex Submariner is just the right gift for a crew of stuntmen. The hard-wearing watch is built to handle even the toughest day jobs. And Keanu’s operating in a grand traditions: it’s rumored that when Steve McQueen wanted to show his gratitude to his longtime stuntman Loren Janes, he, too, bought a Rolex with a custom engraving on the back. The legitimacy of that exchange has been questioned, but the point stands: nothing says thank you for doing some gnarly stunts like a tough-as-hell and difficult-to-find Rolex.
The splurge: If you can find a Rolex Submariner, what are you doing here?? Go buy it. But Rolex announced in September that its supply of watches has never been lower, so the chances of finding one if you’re not named Keanu Reeves is low. Luckily, Rolex’s little-brother brand Tudor makes the very sharp-looking Pelagos. The tough diver-style watch is the next best thing to the Sub.
The affordable choice: We’ve written at length about how the Seiko 5 Sports pieces are a watch-world cheat code. This SRPD55 model number could be the Sub’s stunt double.
What do you do if you’re Drake and you already own the rarest Richard Mille watches known to man? Well, you customize one yourself. Jeweler Dave Bling wrote on Instagram that Drake commissioned this special-edition RM for himself as a 35th birthday gift. “Drake hit the HOTLINE BLING to certify his LOVER BOY Status!” Bling said. The watch is made out of sapphire and uses red-and-blue accents for a very advanced take on the “Pepsi” colorway.
The splurge: I mean, it would be tough to find something comparable to Drake’s watch. If you like barrel-shaped sporty watches, though, Hublot makes good options as does Franck Muller.
The affordable choice: There are several brands that make sub-$500 Richard Mille knockoffs, but I don’t recommend going that route. This Timex might not offer the same number-one-rapper-in-the-world energy but, like Drake’s RM, it’s a sport watch in the “Pepsi” colorway.
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As Penn Badgley’s character Joe Goldberg in You might say about this Montblanc watch: Oh, hello there. You are understated but not too shy. The gold bezel…you appreciate a little attention but you’re not desperate for it. In a world overrun with Casual Fridays, sweatpants, and sloppiness, you are not afraid to dress up a little, to look…nice. You don’t want to make people overpay or sit on waitlists. You’re considerate like that. The Arabic numerals are legible. You want me to know the time—to know it’s time for me to come into your life. Okay… I’ll bite.
The splurge: Montblanc confirms that Badgley’s particular model is no longer in production but it’s been replaced by the one with a blue leather strap below.
The affordable choice: Tissot makes a handsome watch with a quartz (rather than mechanical) movement that slices a zero off the price.