With a few notable exceptions (Chadwick Boseman in David Yurman bracelets; Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige sporting an iPhone watch), the legion of stars from Avengers: Infinity War has hit the promotional tour for the record-breaking movie wearing a host of impressive Swiss timepieces.
Zealously devoted watch collector Robert Downey Jr. wore a $605,000 ticker featuring a spinning 3D globe by independent brand Greubel Forsey to the Los Angeles premiere. Watch company ambassadors Bradley Cooper (who’s on IWC’s roster), Gwyneth Paltrow (Frederique Constant), Benedict Cumberbatch (Jaeger-LeCoultre) and Chris Hemsworth (TAG Heuer) sported the latest from those brands, while Idris Elba and Paul Bettany were out and about in trusty Rolexes. Even though they may live in a futuristic world onscreen, these stars prefer to keep time in mechanical fashion.
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Paul Bettany
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bob’s Watches; Charley Gallay/Getty Images Bettany, who plays android Avengers superhero Vision, wore his Rolex President Day-Date (Ref. #118205) in EverRose rose gold to the UK fan event on April 8. Paul Altieri of online sales site Bob’s Watches calls the Day-Date in gold a watch “synonymous the world over for power and prestige” and a “bold statement piece.” Selling new for $30,000+, this watch, which features the day of the week spelled out in full and is cast in Rolex’s patented alloy of gold and copper, joined the brand’s line in 2012. “This Day-Date blends classic style with several modern luxuries such as a COSC certified calibre 3155 perpetual movement, a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, and a double-sealed waterproof Twinlock screw-down crown,” says Altieri. Bettany’s collection has also included a Patek Philippe Calatrava watch, a gift from his wife Jennifer Connelly for his 40th birthday.
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Tom Holland
Image Credit: Courtesy of Piaget; Charley Gallay/Getty Images At the Tokyo and Los Angeles premieres, the Spider-Man actor wore a 38mm hand-wound Piaget Altiplano 900p in white gold on a black alligator strap, a piece that has been in his personal collection for a while. The ultra-thin timepiece has a case that’s just 3.65mm in profile and is priced at $26,500. Earlier this year, Holland wore a skeletonized automatic version of this watch to the Oscars and sported a Cartier Santos at the world premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming last year.
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Robert Downey Jr.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Greubel Forsey; Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Downey Jr., who showed off what GQ calls his “epic watch collection” in a 2016 video produced by the magazine, has owned pieces by Breitling, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Rolex, Baume & Mercier, Bell & Ross, and Patek Philippe (an elegantly sporty Nautilus given to him by his wife). Lately, the Tony Stark/Iron Man actor has gotten more avant-garde in his watch choices both on- and off-screen, wearing a spaceship-like Urwerk UR-110 in Spider-Man:Homecoming, showing off a $70,000 Urwerk UR-105 TA “Raging Gold” (with a red-gold front plate finished in a hobnail pattern, in a limited edition of 22) on his Instagram in 2016, and wearing a futuristic rectangular $19,950 Devon Tread 1, which is powered by a system of belts, in a scene with Paltrow in Avengers: Infinity War. At the L.A. premiere of the film, he wore Greubel Forsey’s $605,000 hand-wound GMT in red gold (available in Los Angeles at Westime), a 43.5mm showstopper featuring a rotating globe, a tourbillon and a 24-city world-time disk (on the back of the watch). He was so taken with the watch he even showed it off in a short video on his Instagram.
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Mark Ruffalo
Image Credit: Courtesy of Frederique Constant; Charley Gallay/Getty Images The Hulk/Bruce Banner actor’s current watch of choice, Frederique Constant’s innovative new Hybrid Manufacture, benefits his charity of choice, The Solutions Project, a nonprofit which he co-founded that works to transition the economy to renewable energy. Earlier this year, the Swiss watchmaker hosted a launch party for this new mechanical watch with smartwatch functions in New York with Ruffalo as guest of honor and it donated two of the first Hybrid Manufacture timepieces for an auction to benefit The Solutions Project. The 42mm Hybrid Manufacture incorporates an in-house automatic mechanical movement with an electronic digital module, which offers connected features including activity tracking, sleep monitoring, a world-time function, fitness coaching and analytics that track the mechanical movement. “It’s a perfect combination between old-world technology and smart phone tech. it’s traditional and it works with your iPhone,” said Ruffalo, who has been wearing the $3,695 version in steel with a navy guilloche-decorated dial, in February.
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Winston Duke
Image Credit: Courtesy of David Yurman; Rich Polk/Getty Images The actor, who plays the Jabari tribal leader M’Baku, was seen wearing David Yurman’s Classic Chronograph watch. The $4,600 stainless-steel 43.5mm timepiece in sleek grey features an automatic Swiss movement, date window, seconds and 30-minute counters and anthracite-matte alligator strap. Steel wore a steel Rotonde de Cartier watch to the Oscars earlier this year.
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Gwyneth Paltrow
Image Credit: Courtesy of Frederique Constant; Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images Less than a week before the Avengers: Infinity War premiere in L.A., Paltrow was in San Francisco to catch the pre-Broadway opening of Head Over Heels, the musical based on everyone’s favorite ‘80s girl band, the Go-Go’s (Paltrow is among the show’s producers). On that red carpet she wore a metallic jumpsuit by up-and-coming New York label Retrofête by Ohad Seroya and Aviad Klin, and paired the look with Frederique Constant’s Classics Art Deco watch in yellow gold-plated stainless steel. The following Monday in L.A., Paltrow would once again wear Retrofête, the label’s gold-beaded Selma minidress, on the Avengers: Infinity War red carpet; the billowing sleeves on the dress made it impossible to tell if she once again was sporting the timepiece. (Paltrow was named Frederique Constant’s Global Charity Ambassador in March 2016; her work supports DonorsChoose, an organization that enables direct donations to public-school classrooms around the U.S.) But with the dress currently available for pre-order on fwrd.com for $577, and her Frederique Constant retailing for $1,425, Paltrow knows how to make style look good without spending into the stratosphere. No wonder Tony Stark loves Pepper Potts.
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Bradley Cooper
Image Credit: Courtesy of IWC; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Cooper has been wearing IWC watches almost exclusively on red carpets for several years, and in January the brand made it official, naming the actor who plays the irascible Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy as its latest brand ambassador. On the Avengers: Infinity War red carpet in L.A., Cooper wore the same watch seen in the relationship’s just-released ad campaign: The Big Pilot’s Watch Edition “Le Petit Prince,” which features a 7-day power-reserve indicator at the 3 o’clock position and the date at 6 o’clock on IWC’s signature blue dial in a 46.2mm stainless-steel case. The brown leather strap adds to the sporty feel of the $12,900 Big Pilot, but it’s nonetheless luxe, crafted as part of the collaboration between IWC and Italian shoemaker Santoni. Cooper’s next red-carpet appearance promises to be equally high-profile: His A Star is Born remake, in which Cooper both directs and co-stars with Lady Gaga, is set for release October 5.
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Benedict Cumberbatch
Image Credit: Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre; Neilson Barnard/Getty Images A Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual played a key role in 2016’s Doctor Strange, and recently the watch brand is doing the same for Benedict Cumberbatch. In January he was named the latest Jaeger-LeCoultre ambassador and often has been seen wearing the limited-edition Polaris Memovox, the latest update of the classic, water-resistant style that’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Featuring luminescent numerals on a black dial in a 42mm stainless-steel case, the $12,600 Polaris Memovox also allows the wearer to set an alarm that will chime for appointments or other reminders. And while the Polaris is technically considered a dive watch, last month Cumberbatch told The New York Times that he appreciates the watch because it’s “elegantly simple, light and sleek.” On the L.A. Avengers: Infinity War premiere red carpet, the piece paired nicely with his chocolate-brown velvet Made to Measure suit by Giorgio Armani.
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Chris Pratt
Image Credit: Courtesy of Cartier; Jesse Grant/Getty Images A watch enthusiast who’s been spotted on red carpets wearing everything from Panerai to Chopard to Montblanc and more, Pratt opted for a watch that’s both stylish and buzzworthy for the Avengers: Infinity War L.A. premiere: the Santos de Cartier in 18-karat yellow gold. The $37,000 dress watch paired nicely with Pratt’s three-piece O’Connor suit by Tom Ford. The roots of the Santos can be traced back to 1904, when Louis Cartier invented the timepiece, considered the very first men’s wristwatch, for his friend, Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont. In March Cartier debuted an updated style as part of its collaboration with Mr. Porter, and soon after announced Jake Gyllenhaal as the face of the latest Santos de Cartier campaign (the yellow-gold style worn by Pratt is exclusive to Cartier.com). This new Santos also comes with both a gold bracelet and a brown alligator strap; each can be changed out easily via a new “QuickSwitch” system that debuted in January.
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Chris Hemsworth
Image Credit: Courtesy of TAG Heuer; Emma McIntyre/Getty Images He wields a mighty hammer as Thor, but the watch Hemsworth – a TAG Heuer ambassador since 2015 – wore on the Avengers: Infinity War red carpet with his John Varvatos three-piece suit more closely favors another of his roles, as Formula 1 driver James Hunt in 2013’s Rush. The TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11 automatic chronograph was made famous by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans and has been considered an icon among racing fans and watch collectors alike ever since. Instantly recognizable for its square case in brushed and polished stainless steel, matte-blue dial and two square subdials – a minute chronograph counter at 9 o’clock and a running second counter at 3 o’clock – this ultra-classic version of the Monaco includes a black perforated calfskin strap and retails for $5,900.
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Idris Elba
Image Credit: Courtesy of Rolex; Dave Benett/Getty Images Like his co-star Bettany, Idris Elba, who plays the Asgardian Heimdall, is a fan of Rolex’s classic Day-Date. He’s opted for the version in yellow gold with a dark dial, which he wore on Apr. 27 to a Formula E event in Paris.
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Sebastian Stan
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bulgari; Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images While he hasn’t worn a timepiece during the latest Avengers tour, the Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier actor does like to dress up his tuxedos with a fine watch on the red carpet. At this year’s Golden Globes, he stepped out wearing Montblanc’s 38mm Heritage Chronometrie Automatic ($3,935), in stainless steel with a red-gold bezel and alligator strap. On Oscar night, he hit the Elton John and Vanity Fair parties wearing Bulgari’s 41mm automatic Octo Watch in yellow gold with a black dial, alligator strap and 56 diamonds totaling 1.68 carats ($33,200).
