Welcome to Watches of the Week, where we’ll track the rarest, wildest, and most covetable watches spotted on celebrities.
One unfortunate side effect of modern sports media is that players’ accomplishments often get boiled down to a bulleted resume. Ringz, baby! But even in this allergic-to-nuance ecosystem, Patrick Mahomes is thriving: two MVPs, two Super Bowl rings, and two SB MVPs by 27. His resume as a watch collector also stands up to scrutiny. So far, we’ve seen him wear:
This year, Mahomes wore another Rolex, the platinum Day-Date, while walking into the stadium before the game (you can get a better look from this angle). This piece debuted at the big Watches & Wonders fair last year and has quickly become a collector favorite. Mahomes’ version comes with a ring of diamonds on the bezel. I’ve written a lot about Rolex’s longtime association with winning—the brand always seems to show up next to trophies on the wrists of giants like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods—so it makes sense multi-time champion Mahomes would wear the Crown almost exclusively.
With the Day-Date, Mahomes is graduating from Rolex’s “professional” (sports) watches to its “classic” (dressier) pieces. The Day-Date is all class: a hefty platinum dial, an ice-blue dial, and the watch’s signature “president” bracelet. This isn’t a just watch for a sports star—it’s one with a history that involves John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Warren Buffet. Now, add Mahomes to that list.
The Yacht-Master is the perfect type of “sports” watch for 2023, which is to say that it’s really a luxury piece masquerading as a sports watch. Meaning that while the dial and functionality jive with Rolex’s iconic sport pieces (like the Submariner), the Yacht-Master has its own luxury touches. While you wouldn’t immediately notice, Ferrell’s is made out of white gold rather than stainless steel. If there’s a phrase to describe what’s hottest in watches right now, it’s this: sporty looks, luxury feel.
You can track the trends of the watch world through Vacheron Constantin’s revivals. Last year, as the frenzy over Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak and Patek Phillipe’s Nautilus was peaking, the brand brought back its own ‘70s luxury-sport icon the 222, a watch Jordan also wore recently. Back in 2018, Vacheron went a little further back in its archive for this FiftySix, which was inspired by a watch that debuted in—you betcha—’56. The FiftySix’s predecessor, the reference 6073, was a hit at the turn of the century for Vacheron. The super-simple dress watch was engineered with Arabic numerals to fit into the 21st century.
The Big Bang wouldn’t be the worst nickname for Zion, who plays a beefy bumper-car style of basketball. But Zion is currently on the bench rocking a blacked-out version of the Spirit of the Big Bang called the “Black Magic.” Hublot is the master of using different materials—its sapphire pieces in lemon-lime yellow and violet are unlike anything else in watches. Naturally Zion’s is made out of microblasted ceramic.
There were plenty of fantastic watches on display at the Super Bowl, none bigger than Rihanna’s crimson Jacob & Co. Still, Strahan knows a thing or two about being an underdog at the Super Bowl and coming out on top anyway—and he and his watch aren’t going down without a fight. The Nautilus is a heavy hitter and Strahan’s come with a rose-gold case and the ability to track two time zones. Not too shabby.