LeBron James's Royal Oak Is Huge—There's a Surprising Reason For That
Good week for our friend and greatest basketball player on the planet LeBron James. Have you seen the new building named after him on the Nike campus? It looks like a spaceship that ran out of some material named, like, plunorium and plunked down in the gentle fields of Beaverton, Oregon. The new building will be the base for “scientists, designers, engineers” on Nike’s “Advanced Innovation” team. Speaking of Advanced Innovation, look at the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Tourbillon James wore to watch Nets legend (yes) Joe Johnson lead his team to a championship in the BIG3 league. The watch has a completely openwork dial, which gives the wearer a nice view of the spinning tourbillon inside, and a chronograph. And come 2020, when James’s building is slated to open, the watch will have an equally futuristic-looking place to hang, too. Also this week: James’s teammates Kyle Kuzma wore a big-time designer watch and Justin Theroux got a new timepiece. Good for them!
LeBron James’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph Tourbillon
The Royal Oak Offshore collection was created in 1993 as a way to give Audemars Piguet’s most popular watch a more macho look. To accomplish that, then-co-CEO Stephen Urquhart decided on an absolute unit of a watch with inflated proportions: while the original came in at 39 millimeters, this bad boy was puffed up to 45 millimeters. James’s piece is a 25th-anniversary edition Royal Oak Offshore made with 18-carat gold. Only 50 in the world were created.
Justin Theroux’s Everose Gold Daytona
For a long time, Justin Theroux’s been a one-watch kind of guy. Wherever Justin Theroux went, his Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date—a vintage piece from 1971, the year he was born—went with him. So what a surprise it was this week to see a brand-new Daytona on the actor’s wrist. The Everose gold case, black dial, and gold subdial is quite the combination. Theroux also put a Rubber B rubber strap on the already-sporty piece.
Kyle Kuzma’s Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon
For the man who needs all the functionality of an Apple Watch but has all the money and taste of an NBA player. Kuzma’s Louis Vuitton Tambour is the luxury brand’s take on a smart watch but comes with features made specifically for those living the lifestyle of the very rich. In addition to all the features you’d expect, it also can switch into a travel watch face that keeps flight and hotel info on the wrist. There’s also an “LV City Guide” application that directs you straight to the best red sauce joint from the PJ, or in Kuzma’s case, the chopper.
Joel Edgerton’s IWC Portofino Chronograph
Joel Edgerton attended the Venice Film Festival for The King in a watch fit for… a famous Australian actor. The IWC Portofino is a classic dress watch created in the midst of the quartz crisis that was toppling watch brands in the ‘80s, but takes design cues from the ‘60s. My favorite feature is the Milanese mesh bracelet that we don’t see too often anymore. The bracelet classes up a watch with otherwise sporty features, like the chronograph.
Javale McGee’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Big week for the Lakers. While James wore a beefy version of the Royal Oak, his teammate Javale McGee wore a very classic model of the iconic watch. McGee’s watch is simple: stainless steel case, black dial, and a small date function at the 3-hour marker. The Royal Oak was originally created as a luxury sports watch so it makes sense it would attract such a large fanbase of NBA players.
Orlando Bloom’s Bremont Broadsword
Clothing and watches aren’t that different—what is worn in the military almost always trickles down to civilians. Bremont watches are used by the British military (or, in the far cooler words on the brand’s website, “APPROVED BY HER MAJESTY’S ARMED FORCES”) and its Broadsword model looks to be holding up just as well on Bloom’s wrist while he walks the red carpet. This design takes inspiration from a collection of timepieces originally made for the British military during World War II. The name of that collection? The Dirty Dozen.
Originally Appeared on GQ
