The Venice Film Festival watches on display this year ran the full spectrum, from a tuxedo-paired moon-watch classic to a solid-platinum tourbillon with 260 baguette-cut diamonds, and they are well worth a closer look.
George Clooney and the Speedmaster That Started It All
Longtime Omega ambassador George Clooney chose the Speedmaster First Omega in Space for the Venice red carpet, pairing it with a modern notch-lapel tuxedo. Based on the ref. CK 2998, this Speedy stands apart from most others in the family: straight lugs, an alpha handset, and a case that sits just under 40mm. The grey-blue dial and faux-aged indices give it a convincing period character. The First Omega in Space was released in late 2024 and has become a fan favourite quickly. On a tuxedo, in candlelight, it makes a strong case for itself.
Robert Pattinson went in the opposite direction, horologically speaking. Announced last week as the newest ambassador for Jaeger-LeCoultre, he arrived in Venice wearing the Master Hybris Artistica Gyrotourbillon Westminster, a 43mm solid-platinum piece that combines a bi-axial gyrotourbillon, a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar, jumping indications, and a constant-force mechanism, all set beneath 260 baguette-cut diamonds. It is the kind of watch that makes other complicated watches feel underdressed.
According to National Jeweler, Pattinson played Antinous in Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster “The Odyssey” and starred alongside Zendaya in “The Drama” this year. The partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre extends beyond Venice: he is set to star in a campaign for the brand’s Master Control Chronometre. Given that the maison is best known for its Reverso, the Gyrotourbillon Westminster is an emphatic statement of what else it is capable of.
Venice Film Festival Watches: The Deeper Cuts
Not everyone on the Lido reached for the obvious choice. Taika Waititi, the New Zealand filmmaker, wore the Cartier Panthère Jewelry Watch, a piece considerably rarer than the standard Panthère. This version combines an oblong case with yellow gold, onyx, tsavorite garnets, and diamonds, arranged in the form of an actual big cat. It runs on a quartz movement and brought considerable energy to Waititi’s cream-coloured, shawl-collar ensemble.
Sam Rockwell wore the skeletonised Cartier Crash at the photocall for his new film Wild Horse Nine. The Crash’s melted, pinched case remains one of the stranger silhouettes in watchmaking, and the skeletonised version exposes the hand-wound movement through a dial bordered by Dalí-esque Roman numerals. It is the sort of watch that stops a conversation mid-sentence. Wearing one anywhere, never mind at a film festival, guarantees attention from anyone who knows what they are looking at.
Carlos Sainz Jr., driver for the Williams Formula 1 team, made a case for the white dinner jacket at Venice, and the watch on his wrist was no afterthought. The Girard-Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges Tourbillon is a 41mm stainless steel piece with an integrated bracelet. Its defining feature is the arrangement of the movement’s primary bridges in parallel, visible through a transparent dial, with a tourbillon spinning at 6 o’clock. Paired with a white dinner jacket, the engineering on show in the dial gave it a very particular kind of glamour.
Orlando Bloom repped Porsche Design with the Chronograph 1, the modern descendant of the world’s first black-cased chronograph. He chose the brushed titanium version, which measures just shy of 41mm, carries the Calibre WERK 01.140 automatic movement, and features a black dial with 30-minute, 12-hour, running seconds, and day-date indications. The integrated bracelet and 911-influenced case lines make it one of the more purposeful designs on the current market. Paired with an all-black outfit, it landed cleanly.
Between Clooney’s ’60s-referencing Speedmaster, Pattinson’s platinum ultra-complication, and the Cartier Crash’s surrealist steel, the Venice Film Festival watches this year covered nearly every corner of the horological world. Pattinson’s upcoming Jaeger-LeCoultre campaign for the Master Control Chronometre will be worth watching when it lands.
