Ben Affleck Might Have Hollywood’s Most Surprising Watch Collection

Photograph: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe Conte

Looking vaguely unenthused at the prospect of having to don a tuxedo on a Sunday, Ben Affleck quietly wore the most interesting watch of the 2024 Golden Globes ceremony.

What, praytell, did he choose for his wrist candy? Some startlingly difficult-to-source Patek? Some vintage Rolex of Middle Eastern provenance? Nay. On Affleck’s wrist was a Memoris by Louis Moinet, a monopusher chronograph descended from the first chronograph ever produced. (Big props to Nick Gould for his ever-sharp watch spotting instincts.)

Until roughly 10 years ago, it was long assumed that the 19th-century French watchmaker Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec had invented the chronograph, that ever-popular complication that records elapsed time. However, it turns out that fellow Frenchman Louis Moinet beat him to it, completing a highly modern-looking timepiece in 1816 that predates Rieussec’s invention. (Not only that, but it ran at an astoundingly fast 30Hz, allowing it to record 1/60th of a second—a feat that would be unmatched for over a century.)

Affleck’s Memoris is a sort of contemporary expression of this device, complete with monopusher activation—meaning a single pusher starts, stops, and resets the chronograph—plus a white enamel dial with Roman numerals, giving it some antique flair. Available in several iterations, the Memoris puts the chronograph complication on a pedestal, relegating the main time-telling to a small subdial above 6 o’clock while the dual chronograph registers (along with much of the movement’s gear train) are exposed front and center.

Though the movement powering the watch doesn’t run at 30Hz like its 19th-century forebear, it is automatic—a convenient improvement upon the original pocket watch-like device. The watch case itself is also 46mm wide—positively huge, which works for Affleck given his 6’2” frame but would look like a dinner plate on anyone not blessed with his verticality. (For the rest of us, there are smaller watches.)

How Affleck arrived at such a choice is an interesting question, but what’s clear is that the actor has wide-ranging and eclectic taste in watches—especially for a guy who could conceivably wear whatever the heck he pleases. Sure, there are some of the usual suspects in his collection, like a Rolex GMT-Master II “Batman.” But then there’s a hot-rodded take on the Daytona from high-end watch customizer Artisans de Genève, plus the ever-compelling but rarely seen Hermès Arceau L’Heure De La Lune. (And let us not forget the Franck Muller given to him by Jennifer Lopez in the early 2000s.)

Regardless of how he arrived at such an “inside-baseball,” watch-nerd-approved watch—we applaud Affleck for it. What he’ll strap on for the Oscars is anyone’s guess.

Timothée Chalamet’s Cartier Crash

Though Chalamet’s position as Cartier “Friend of the House” affords him the ability to wear just about any rare, iconic timepiece he darn well pleases, the American actor upped the ante this past week by strapping on a stunning, diamond-encrusted Crash on a matching bracelet from 2013. Chalamet has been spotted in all manner of Cartiers over the past couple years, from a diminutive Panthére to a dual-time Tank in white gold. But the Crash, with its legendary backstory, has been catapulted to stratospheric popularity lately, setting auction records and setting us scrambling to find more affordable alternatives.

Barry Keoghan’s Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph

Barry Keoghan has clearly been making his way through the ol’ Richemont rolodex lately, having worn a superb IWC last week and an extra-fine Vacheron Constantin this week. Spotted at W Magazine’s annual Best Performances party, the Saltburn star strapped on an Overseas Chronograph with a black dial—an excellent, high-end tool watch in stainless steel with an integrated bracelet, a triple-register chronograph, and an in-house movement with a 22K gold winding rotor. What with Chalamet hoarding Cartier’s finest wares, our money is on Keoghan rocking a Lange 1 next week and a Piaget Polo the week after that.

Coco Gauff’s Rolex Oyster Perpetual

Once again, American tennis star Coco Gauff donned her faithful Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a “red grape” dial—this time while clinching the Auckland Classic title for the second year running. A Rolex Testimonee, Gauff clearly loves this discontinued tool watch, which boasts a colorful dial, chronometer-certified movement, and classic Oyster bracelet. Once relegated to the fringes of heavy-duty watch nerdery given its entry-level positioning, the “OP” was catapulted to fame in 2020 when it debuted in several candy-colored iterations that recalled the “Stella” Day-Date models of the 1970s.

Robert Downey Jr’s Panerai Luminor Due Pastello

RDJ is having a helluva watch week. A couple days prior to his star turn wearing a fine JLC chronograph to the Governor’s Awards, the American actor turned up at Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in an atypical Panerai, the Luminor Due Pastello ref. PAM01311. Part of the Due collection of smaller-sized Luminors, it pairs a 38mm stainless steel case with a light green pastel dial and—unusually for the Italian-founded brand with military roots—a matching steel bracelet. Paired to Downey’s pink ensemble, it sort of looked, well, perfect.

Originally Appeared on GQ