Timothée Chalamet, Tyler, the Creator, and Kevin O’Leary Had a Red Carpet Watch Flex Off

Mr. Wonderful wouldn’t be outdone, though, and brought a mix of both Timmy’s fine Swiss watchmaking and Tyler’s surprisingly budget-friendly choices. Proudly bearing both arms beneath a burgundy velvet dinner jacket like a Shark Tank-themed supervillain, he crushed the competition by revealing dual midcentury dress watches from two very different marques: Patek Philippe and…Seiko?! Let’s start with the first. On O’Leary’s left wrist was a vintage yellow gold Patek ref. 2468 “Hour Glass,” one of a skew of shaped watches that Patek specialized in following the Second World War. On the right wrist was a very different watch, at least as far as price is concerned: A gold Seiko dress piece—likely a Super, according to Nick Ferrell, the founder of DC Vintage Watches and Seiko expert. It might not command the same hammer prices or veneration as the Patek, but given its long history of innovation, in-house manufacturing, and spectacular designs, it’s little wonder that Mr. Wonderful decided to rock one alongside the Hour Glass.

A true watch nerd, O’Leary was insistent on having period-correct pieces for the movie. He recently told The 1916 Company the story of working with Seiko to acquire this very special piece that even features a Japanese flag on the caseback. O’Leary wanted a piece that was in Seiko’s museum but the brand balked at the idea of selling it to him. Instead, it arrived as a gift two days after their conversation, O’Leary says.

Although the Seiko might be a more affordable piece that doesn’t mean it doesn’t bring its own historical appeal to the table. “Seiko’s early dress watches like this one featured movements designed fully in-house from scratch by Seiko, meaning they were not influenced by other watch movements made in Switzerland or elsewhere,” Ferrell says. “The technology cultivated during the development of the Seiko Marvel—one of the immediate predecessors of the [Super]—became the base for the introduction of later mechanical watches, which overwhelmed the market with their improved accuracy and advanced features.”