The male celebrities wearing women’s watches: Lionel Messi and Bad Bunny sport Patek Philippe, Timothée Chalamet rocks a tiny Cartier Panthère, and The Weeknd wore Piaget high jewellery to Cannes

Oct 13 , 2023

Bad Bunny toys with his jewellery at a Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies basketball game in January, while on his other wrist is his Patek Philippe’s women’s watch. Photo: Getty Images

While Salma Hayek and Victoria Beckham have long rocked chunky men’s models, today male stars like Austin Butler, Damson Idris and Tyler, The Creator are wearing ‘women’s’ timepieces

Chalamet’s tiny Panthère is a favourite of stars like Gwyneth Paltrow, Dua Lipa and Madonna – Dimepiece founder Brynn Wallner says ‘bigger is better’ is finished as Gen Z turns to sleeker, more individual pieces

When choosing a watch, women have long sported designs made for men. Hollywood royal Salma Hayek, for example, regularly favours a 44mm PAM 104 from Florentine watchmaker Panerai, a heritage brand known for its chunky, bold, purpose-built designs. Meanwhile, global style icon Victoria Beckham has been photographed on many occasions wearing traditionally masculine timepieces, like an all-gold Patek Philippe Nautilus or Rolex Presidential geared with a champagne dial.

Today, however, the opposite is just as true, thanks to a new wave of celebrities like Austin Butler, Damson Idris and Tyler, The Creator, who are daring to break with convention and dial down the dimensions of their go-to timepieces.

Austin Butler wore a Tank Louis Cartier with red and opaline dial at a special UK screening of Elvis in 2022. Photo: WireImage

“People are looking for subtler ways to flex that don’t involve flashy logos, and specifically in watch wearing, the ‘bigger is better’ trend has run its course,” says Brynn Wallner, founder of Dimepiece, an online platform for all things women and watches.

Damson Idris at the “Mike Gala”, Stormzy’s 30th birthday celebrations, hosted at The Biltmore Mayfair in July, wearing a Panthère de Cartier watch. Photography: @ashleyverse/Instagram

“Watch brands move at a slower pace than fashion and often can’t keep up with what’s trending. New watch releases tend to be oversized, standing in sharp contrast to what was manufactured even as recently as the 90s, when 40mm was considered jumbo-sized. So, if a man is looking for a watch that stands in line with their current fashion sensibilities, erring on the subtler, minimalistic side, they’ll opt for a ladies’ watch.”

Timothée Chalamet paired his Panthère de Cartier with pizza when out and about in New York’s East Village in July. Photo: Gotham/GC Images

Ever the trendsetter, actor Timothée Chalamet recently championed it with a teeny tiny version of Cartier’s Panthère watch. First introduced in 1983, the Panthère has become a flagship model of the maison, garnering A-list fans from Gwyneth Paltrow to Dua Lipa and Madonna. Typically considered a ladies’ style for its elegant, feminine silhouette, Chalamet’s version is one of the smallest in production, measuring a mere 25mm by 19mm and with a thickness of just 6mm, proving that the watch looks just as great on the wrists of men as it does on women.

Panthère de Cartier, as favoured by Timothée Chalamet. Photo: Handout

“Androgyny is in,” Wallner points out. “Gen Z is comfortable wearing jewellery and nail polish, so it would only make sense that this comfort would extend into watch wearing, and that the trend would extend beyond the youth. Gender labels have become all but irrelevant for many watch enthusiasts, with both women and men opting for pieces they personally like instead of adhering to any dated guidelines about who should wear them.”