Hiring a celebrity to be the face of your brand certainly isn't new, especially in the luxury space. For many megastars, it’s not their craft — whether acting, singing, or sports — that brings in the most cash. It’s the lucrative deals they sign with some of the world’s biggest brands that fatten up their bank accounts the most.
Luxury watch brands love celebrity endorsements because these high-profile partnerships ultimately sell more watches. The celebrity connection helps audiences not only remember the brand better but if they have favourable feelings towards the person, then they will likely develop positive opinions about the product too. While a company can just hope that big names will wear their watches, it’s often a better strategy to pay up and supply the watches to make the agreement official.
From athletes to entertainers, below are some of our favorite brand ambassadors of top-tier watchmakers.
Rolex: Lindsey Vonn and Roger Federer
According to Rolex, it was the first to come up with the brand ambassador concept. In 1927, Rolex took out a full-page advertorial in an English national newspaper, to announce that the waterproof Rolex Oyster watch that swimmer Mercedes Gleitze had been wearing while attempting to swim across the English Channel had survived the extreme conditions. Rolex has had a roster of incredible athletes, adventurers, and creatives appearing in its watch ads ever since.
Former alpine skier Lindsey Vonn is a four-time Olympian (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018) and three-time Olympic medalist (1 gold, 2 bronze). She retired in 2019 as the winningest female ski racer on the planet, including 82 World Cup victories. The American champion skier has been a Rolex brand ambassador for years. She’s often seen wearing a diamond-set Pearlmaster, a yellow gold Day-Date, or an Everose Daytona “Rainbow” with a multi-colored sapphire-set bezel.
Often referred to as the Greatest of All Time, tennis champ Roger Federer is, like Rolex, from Switzerland. So the partnership between these two Swiss powerhouses is fitting. Federer, who's won 20 Grand Slam men's singles titles, first became the number 1 ranked player in 2004 and signed with Rolex two years later. He always wears a Rolex when raising his trophies. Some of the models we’ve spotted him with include Day-Date II, GMT-Master II, Daytona, Submariner, and Sky-Dweller watches.
Omega: Kaia Gerber and Eddie Redmayne
Kaia Gerber followed in her mom Cindy Crawford’s footsteps, not only becoming a model but also signing on as an Omega brand ambassador in 2018. The 20-year-old Los Angeles native began her modeling career when she was just ten and has since walked the runways of many major designers and graced the covers of several fashion magazines. For Omega, she is the face of the Trésor collection, yet of course she wears other Omega watches too. For instance, she stepped out at the Met Gala 2021 wearing an Oscar de la Renta gown paired with a beautiful diamond-set De Ville Prestige watch.
English actor Eddie Redmayne picked up a slew of awards — including an Oscar, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe — for his portrayal of physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 film, The Theory of Everything. Following that, Redmayne starred in a slew of films such as The Danish Girl, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and J.K. Rowling’s Fantastic Beasts films. The Academy Award winner signed on with Omega in 2015 and since then, we’ve seen some killer Globemaster and Aqua Terra watches around his wrist.
Cartier: Rami Malek, Troye Sivan, Willow Smith, Maisie Williams and Jackson Wang
In 2020, Cartier re-launched the Pasha — one of its most popular watch models to date. The Pasha debuted in 1985 and it’s one of Cartier’s sportier models, combining a bold round case, chained crown cover, oversized Arabic numerals, and a square inside the round dial.
To introduce the Pasha to a new generation, Cartier assembled a group of young(ish) celebs for the 2020 campaign. This crew of creatives included actor Rami Malek, singer-songwriter Troye Sivan, actress and singer Willow Smith, actress Maisie Williams, and rapper and designer Jackson Wang.
Breitling: Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt and Adam Driver
Breitling organizes its band of celebrity ambassadors into squads. The Breitling Cinema Squad includes three of some of the most recognizable actors to ever come out of Hollywood: Charlize Theron (Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Bombshell) Brad Pitt (Ocean’s 11, Moneyball, Fight Club), and Adam Driver (BlacKKKlansman, House of Gucci, Star Wars VII, VIII, and IX).
As a result of the partnership, this trio of superstars rarely steps out in the public eye without fine Breitling timepieces. Pitt and Driver have been seen wearing pieces from the Premier collection and the Super Chronomat line. On the other hand, Theron rocks a Navitimer Automatic 35 and a Chronomat 36 beautifully.
Tudor: David Beckham and Jay Chou
In 2017, Tudor announced its "Born To Dare" campaign, tapping former soccer star David Beckham to be its face. Beckham was already a noted watch enthusiast, often sporting big brand names. His particular sense of style is a great match with Tudor’s sportier designs, such as those found in the Black Bay collection. The following year, musician, director, and actor Jay Chou signed on with the brand — even directing his own Tudor commercial, where he shows off his magic skills.
Both men are currently wearing Tudor’s newest hero watch, the Black Bay Chrono. However, they’ve certainly worn plenty of other models too. Beckham generally wears Pelagos, Black Bay 58, and Black Bay P01 watches while Mandopop superstar Chou is often spotted wearing a 1926 or a Royal. Fun fact: Chou also directed his Tudor Royal commercial.
Not just for the glitterati
Whether or not you admit it, it can be fun to spot your favourite watch brand or watch model on a famous wrist. Luckily for the rest of of us, a fine watch looks good on any wrist — celebrity or commoner.
