Mark Wahlberg’s £50 Timex flex proves he is a real watch guy
To understand what Wahlberg might have been signaling here, we asked three experts for their take. Watch collector Norman Seck keeps it refreshingly simple: “He probably just came back from the gym, that’s why he’s wearing that Timex.” If anyone is going to roll straight from a workout into a Formula 1 hospitality box, it’s Marky Mark.
Watch writer Thor Svaboe adds another layer to the picture: “Mark Wahlberg has my respect in so many ways, just like I am blindingly envious of his middle-aged but still ripped torso,” he says. “A lot of that respect stems from his high-low watch collection, which spans Patek Philippe complications to G-Shocks and this storied Timex alternative. Mark has worn it on several occasions, including during a boastful cold plunge at 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning.”
Wahlberg’s wrist history is indeed a masterclass in “high-low flexing,” as Svaboe says. The actor knows when to deploy a grail and when to throw on something that costs less post-pump Vegas room service. In 2024 and 2025, we’ve seen a wave of celebrities intentionally wearing humble watches as a kind of anti-flex flex.
“Sometimes you just want to relax and be normal,” says watch writer Thomas Brechtel. When you’re constantly associated with big-ticket pieces and loud flexes, “you feel safe and easy with a simple, robust, practical, and easy-to-wear watch.”
Brechtel also points out that the humblest watches can carry the biggest emotional weight. “Maybe it reminds you of a certain moment—school, a holiday, some tiny adventure you never forgot. In that scenario, wearing the watch simply feels good.”
And then there’s the clear dichotomy at play here between Wahlberg’s typically ritzy wrist and this under-the-radar Timex. “If you have everything—the posh, the expensive, the cool—you actually start liking preferring simple,” Brechtel opines. In a world of predictable luxury, slipping on something basic can be the real power move.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.
