What Will the Next Legendary Watch Be?
When we think of watches, we almost immediately tend to associate a specific model or brand with an equally large person(ality). The Paul Newman Daytona, the Steven McQueen Monaco, the James Bond Submariner/Seamaster, and the (insert astronaut name) Speedmaster. These are the most famous examples of watches that are defined by who has worn them from the silver screen to the race tracks of Europe, and even to the farthest reaches of the Moon. But what watch will become the next big nicknamed one?
I recently saw Roger Federer's appearance at Wimbledon in a beautiful tan suit with the newest blue reference of the Rolex SkyDweller, and while I am not the biggest tennis fan, his influence in the sport and horology go hand in hand to produce great historical material for the next generation of watch enthusiasts.
The Rolex Wimbledon Datejust 41 become the unofficial watch of Wimbledon, mostly due to Federer. The slate gray dial with a sunray finish offsets black Roman numeral hour markers outlined in an iconic green Rolex hue. The green color is also a nod toward the traditional Wimbledon green the tournament is famous for. Each Datejust Wimbledon dial configuration is unique but features the same central tournament theme.
Should we start calling the Wimbledon Datejust the 'Federer' now? It seems fitting for Rolex's biggest current brand ambassador now that he is retired from the sport, and allows for that connection to create new history in the watch world. Of course, tennis and watch enthusiasts may chime in to offer their own suggestions too, but this could be a starting point for a new wave of nicknamed watches.
Another example would be Formula 1 legend Lewis Hamilton, the winningest driver in F1 history, who is also a brand ambassador for IWC. While IWC may be associated with pilots' watches and Top Gun, the need for speed applies when you're with the likes of Sir Hamilton.
The tough part about naming a specific model of IWC after Hamilton is that he doesn't really consistently wear a single model to be dubbed uniquely his. He often wears a few different colors of the Big Pilot's, as shown in the picture above, but I think there is room for improvement.
Hamilton is IWC's most visible ambassador, so releasing a special edition Big Pilot's based off of his own would be a great start (yes I realize there is a LH INGENIEUR LE). Even making him consistently wear a single model would help immensely with defining his watch style just like other colloquial watches.
What do you think will be the next big named watch? It will be interesting to see as time progresses through our historically rich hobby.
Collecting and writing from a Gen Z perspective. Speedmaster nerd and all things Omega 🚀.
I have 2 daughters so I’m hoping that the first woman on the moon will have a Speedy specific for girls.
@SpecKTator That would be so cool! Or even first woman/person on Mars in our lifetime 🤯
@SpecKTator That would be so cool! Or even first woman/person on Mars in our lifetime 🤯
Omega already thought ahead with the Marstimer
I don’t think F-1 or tennis capture the imagination the way movie stars and moon walkers do. Additionally, all of those watches were from the late 60s/early 70s, the pinnacle of mechanical tool watches.
There is the Arnie and Mission Impossible watch worn by Tom Cruise, not to mention the Captain Willard.
About once a decade, a movie will come along where the watch captures our attention and gets a nickname. Last one might have been Interstellar. If Indiana Jones wasn’t so bad, that Hamilton may have seen more play.
Omega already thought ahead with the Marstimer
Yeah, but it’s not a cool watch.
@cornfedksboy F1 can definitely capture the thrill if they were more intentional in what pieces they want to market.
As for the Indiana Jones one, I wish they had just sourced a vintage mechanical Hamilton and used that as an opportunity to reissue a movie-branded one, but also in the movie it wasn't visually prominent at any point.
🤔 IMHO, I think that in the 21st century there are way too many events and way too many watch brands that can release anything that could become Iconic or a special event. Watchmakers come up with a special edition every day of the year for the next 25 years if they wanted to, also consumers have their own idea what they think iconic is. The days of McQueen, Sinatra and Newman, true watch icons are sadly gone.
I think it's going to be pretty hard too come up with the next 'Iconic' commemorative branding as market is swamped with branding and events.
@cornfedksboy F1 can definitely capture the thrill if they were more intentional in what pieces they want to market.
As for the Indiana Jones one, I wish they had just sourced a vintage mechanical Hamilton and used that as an opportunity to reissue a movie-branded one, but also in the movie it wasn't visually prominent at any point.
Oof. F1 is not prominent around here, as in within a 1000 mile radius of where I live. I know zero cars or drivers and don’t know anyone that knows any cars or drivers, yet I regularly get together with large groups of people that watch college and professional baseball, basketball, football, golf, tennis, UFC, boxing, soccer, and NASCAR.
F1 is somewhere below women’s sports: volleyball, track and Field, gymnastics, diving, and swimming, and above cricket and rugby.
🤔 IMHO, I think that in the 21st century there are way too many events and way too many watch brands that can release anything that could become Iconic or a special event. Watchmakers come up with a special edition every day of the year for the next 25 years if they wanted to, also consumers have their own idea what they think iconic is. The days of McQueen, Sinatra and Newman, true watch icons are sadly gone.
I think it's going to be pretty hard too come up with the next 'Iconic' commemorative branding as market is swamped with branding and events.
@Cdn_4watches all valid points, but at the same time if they don't make special editions then there will barely be a story to tell in the future. A delicate balance of romanticizing our era and not oversaturating the market.
Yeah, but it’s not a cool watch.
Not at all
@Cdn_4watches all valid points, but at the same time if they don't make special editions then there will barely be a story to tell in the future. A delicate balance of romanticizing our era and not oversaturating the market.
I agree completely that there should be special editions to commemorate a moment in everyone's life. I have many special edition watches, cars, bottles of liquor to commemorate a day or a moment in my life. I guess my point was that the world is so diverse and consumer oriented now that we could never have just one iconic brand or special edition that suits everyone. Whereas the Steve McQueen or Paul Newman era kind of touched base with all men of that era and continues to this day as does Elvis and Frank Sinatra. Appreciate your point of view though.
Watches of that gen, be it Newman’s Daytona, Brando’s GMT, or James Dean JLC captured the snapshot of the time; IE the emergence of stars, uprise of the automobile, and yes watches. Each of those watches were purchased (or gifted) to them. Even McQueen’s Monaco was nothing more than a product placement, he famously wore his Sub on set of the film when he was not filming his scenes, but that did not stop him from keeping it of course. The other thing that associates them with the time, is many had other hobbies, dangerous hobbies outside their careers; that also does not happen these days.
I am going to go on a limb and say it will be tough to replicate that and right now, I do not see anyone being that person. Today, be it movies, sports, etc, it is all product placement. Omega funds the production of the Bond movies and thus gets product placement in movies and promotions. Daniel Craig on the otherhand is a famous Rolex collector, as a result, those watches will be nothing more than marketing. Ditto for Lewis Hamilton. IWC is cool and all, but he is often seen in his Nautilus or Daytona when not at the track. It is just not the same environment. Everything is so curated these days, that it makes it challenging. It would take someone who gives no Fs to the entertainment industry, but still makes it work for them
There are tons of great collectors; Ellen, Wahlberg, Hart, Driver, Aniston, Pitt, etc are awesome, but many of them have (or had) ambassadors deals.
I do wonder if today's watch companies have the courage to create something truly outstanding anymore, for any celebrity to wear. They release a dial in some kind of risk-free blue and strut around like that's something to be proud of.
I don’t think it’s easy to associate any one person with one watch these days. Jay-Z or John Mayer or Kevin Hart are collectors and always seen in something new and different and often completely unobtainable. Brand ambassadors don’t have one watch. David Beckham is running with the whole Tudor catalogue. Even James Bond had a different watch in each movie, sometimes several omegas in the same movie.
I complimented a guy on his great looking sunglasses once. He responded with "thanks, these are the same ones Tom Cruise wore in Mission Impossible." I felt sorry for that guy.
Watches of that gen, be it Newman’s Daytona, Brando’s GMT, or James Dean JLC captured the snapshot of the time; IE the emergence of stars, uprise of the automobile, and yes watches. Each of those watches were purchased (or gifted) to them. Even McQueen’s Monaco was nothing more than a product placement, he famously wore his Sub on set of the film when he was not filming his scenes, but that did not stop him from keeping it of course. The other thing that associates them with the time, is many had other hobbies, dangerous hobbies outside their careers; that also does not happen these days.
I am going to go on a limb and say it will be tough to replicate that and right now, I do not see anyone being that person. Today, be it movies, sports, etc, it is all product placement. Omega funds the production of the Bond movies and thus gets product placement in movies and promotions. Daniel Craig on the otherhand is a famous Rolex collector, as a result, those watches will be nothing more than marketing. Ditto for Lewis Hamilton. IWC is cool and all, but he is often seen in his Nautilus or Daytona when not at the track. It is just not the same environment. Everything is so curated these days, that it makes it challenging. It would take someone who gives no Fs to the entertainment industry, but still makes it work for them
There are tons of great collectors; Ellen, Wahlberg, Hart, Driver, Aniston, Pitt, etc are awesome, but many of them have (or had) ambassadors deals.
Thank you - it’s only when we look back on it all that we realise what the watch of the time will be.
I’d argue, and as much as it pains me, that one of the contenders would probably be the Tudor Black Bay 58, but I find this upsetting for a number of reasons: prevalence, the number in the market, the large selection of models, and the fact it’s a retro watch rather than a truly unique design. Flame me, I don’t care, but depending on the criteria for judgement it’s hard to deny the popularity of the model. It might even be a Grand Seiko for all I know, it all depends on how we frame this in about 10 years from now.
Then again, if we take Newman, McQueen, there is an element of role and movie that is critical in cementing a watch into the zeitgeist. I would throw the Lancet from Pulp Fiction into this category, but I think it’s unfair as the watch was used as a build-up for a bum joke, but hey, people remember it. If we look at movie tie-ins, then a Hamilton might be in the mix, such as a Murph (literally spawned from Interstellar), or one of the Khakis from any other Christopher Nolan film. It may be that you just have to look at what seems to be on everyone’s wrist in tv/film and 30 years down the line it will be determined by whatever AI is generating the content (and therefore narrative) what was the watch of the era.
I do not think it’s an easy question, and as the watch market is so big in terms of revenue, and yet so narrow in terms of options (come on - diver, chrono, Rolex, Casio…) that many still opine for vintage as the stylish de facto option. Also, the icons are not the icons for reasons of availability or price, or even units sold or popularity at the time, it’s just rose-tinted nostalgia. Ask me tomorrow… I’ll have a different answer.