Dwayne Johnson and His Watch Are Both Crowd Pleasers

Welcome to Watches of the Week, where we’ll track the rarest, wildest, and most covetable watches spotted on celebrities.

Is there any other movie star who could get away with scooping up a fan’s baby while walking the red carpet? I don’t think so! This is territory exclusive to Dwayne Johnson. But given his long-simmering political aspirations (which now appear to be on hold), I do understand the need to get out there and start kissing babies. That’s not the only maneuver here that only a dude named The Rock could pull off: that vest really puts the cannons on display. But if no one is passing you their babies, and you could use a few more arm days at the gym, there is still one thing here worth stealing from Johnson’s look here: the watch.

His Tag Heuer Carrera ticks a lot of the boxes you should look for in a modern daily watch. It’s a racing watch with a chronograph, like so many of the most desirable pieces in 2022. It’s stainless steel and comes with a very of-the-moment green dial. (Other special-edition green-dialed Tag Heuers have sold like gangbusters.) Now, it’s got the Rock co-sign, too.

The Tag Heuer’s Carrera line is named after the 2,178-mile Carrera Panamericana, which ran from the north to south of Mexico and was considered to be one of the most dangerous races in the world. In its short run in the 1950s, 27 people died trying to complete the race before it was ultimately canceled. For some reason, this captured the imagination of watchmaker Jack Heuer, who named his brand’s tentpole racing chronograph after the race. The watch is a much safer choice, but now that all the pieces are coming together, Johnson would certainly make sense as a brawny-but-reckless racer in a movie about the Carrera.

LeBron James’s Royal Oak Offshore

The NBA is back and with it so are Draymond Green fights, Russell Westbrook trade rumors, and killer tunnel outfits topped off with the world’s craziest watches. In terms of crazy, this Royal Oak isn’t a one-of-a-kind “alien” (Bron’s words) like next year’s projected first-overall pick Victor Wembanyama. Instead, this Royal Oak Offshore in classic navy blue is more of your classic three-and-D guy: an essential piece in every lineup that does all the little things right.

Steve Harvey’s Patek Philippe World Time

Steve Harvey dressed up as the Green Goblin on tropical vacation to take in the Atlanta Hawks and the Milwaukee Bucks in Abu Dhabi. In addition to his green sandals, pants, and frond-patterned shirt, he also wore a matching green watch—and not just any green watch, but one of Patek Philippe’s outrageously good World Time pieces. Set along the outer edges of the watch’s emerald center are 24 different time zones, which is helpful if you’re the type of dude who flies all the way to Abu Dhabi for a preseason basketball game.

John Mayer’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

While Mayer is known for his diverse watch collection, he seems to be in a full-on committed relationship with Audemars Piguet this year. He’s worn the “Music Edition” Royal Oakas well as a couple of the different 50th-anniversary editions that dropped this year, like one with a sandblasted dial. While hanging out with Seth Rogen, he wore another piece that was released in tiny quantities for the anniversary. This one might not boast the tourbillons or gem-set bezels of the other commemorative watches, but its glowing center—like a tiny flare went off in its otherwise midnight-blue dial—is a subtle but still-elegant way to throw a party for the big 5-0.

Jaden Smith’s Tag Heuer x Porsche Carrera RS 2.7

Speaking of big 50th anniversary celebrations, the 1972 release of the iconic Porsche Carrera RS 2.7 occasioned a watch collaboration with Tag Heuer this week. There to party was Jaden Smith, who showed why you don’t have to own a Porsche to appreciate this piece. (Though we’re not sure that Jaden doesn’t in fact also own one.)