By Oren Hartov
September 12, 2023
From a horological standpoint, the 2023 US Open started off hot: There were two $90,000 watches on the court and plenty of grail-level timepieces in the stands. With the year’s final major tennis championship wrapping up this past Sunday, we’re checking back in on all the finest wrist candy from the tournament’s final weekend–including a slew of Cartiers in various sizes, a drool-worthy vintage Rolex, and one heck of a head-turning Hublot.
The Oscar winner was spotted wearing the brand new Navitimer Automatic 36 just a few short days after the collection’s debut. While the Navitimer was born as an oversized pilot’s watch, Breitling has been steadily shrinking it down to accommodate a wider range of wrist sizes. Theron, a Breitling brand ambassador, chose a model with a mother-of-pearl dial, lab-grown diamond indices, and a two-tone steel and gold bracelet.
The Cartier Santos–especially one on a leather strap–is a particularly dressy choice, but Timberlake smartly paired it here with a casual checkerboard polo and chinos. Though it doesn’t have the visibility or cachet of the Tank, the Santos is one of Cartier’s oldest collections, the original having been fashioned for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont at the turn of the 20th century.
To enthusiastically cheer on Coco Gauff, Spike Lee elected to throw on a very special Rolex: a solid-gold Cosmograph Daytona. Housed in a 40mm yellow gold case and powered by Rolex’s Calibre 4130 automatic movement, it features a beautiful black dial with applied gold indices surrounded by a black Cerachrom bezel. While precious metal Daytona models are available with matching bracelets, this one’s black Oysterflex rubber strap provides some added comfort on a hot summer’s day.
Justin Theroux is famous for his slick all-black uniform–and his sick vintage Rolex Submariner slots into that aesthetic perfectly. This ref. 1680–crafted from 18K gold with a black “nipple dial,” applied gold indices, an acrylic crystal, and a matching bracelet–is from 1971, Theroux’s birth year. Allegedly, the actor hunted it down several years ago as a birthday gift to himself. Extremely cool move.
While Kylie Jenner and new beau Timoth?e Chalamet were spotted at the Open in matching shades, they might also have been sporting matching Cartier timepieces. Jenner was wearing a mini gold Panth?re, and while Chalamet’s black sweatshirt covered his arm, he’s been seen in his own steel version of the classic model before. (We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Small watches for men are back!)
As the 19-year-old phenom lifted the women’s singles title, there was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a “red grape” dial on her wrist. Part of the previous generation of reliable, hard-wearing OPs, it was available in 34mm, 36mm, and 39mm versions and features an automatic, chronometer-certified movement with a vibrant purple dial. Of all the models in the Rolex oeuvre, it’s a fitting choice for an athlete given its workhorse characteristics and utilitarian design.
To raise his record-breaking 24th major trophy, Novak Djokovic wore a Hublot Big Bang Unico Yellow Magic, a 42mm ceramic chronograph with an in-house, automatic movement from Hublot. Spotted not long ago on the Serbian athlete’s wrist, this high-end tool watch is the perfect fare for a player who remains at the very top of the game.
From Justin Timberlake to Spike Lee, the stars turned out in serious timepieces for the tournament’s final weekend.
