A complete breakdown of the best watches at the 2026 Met Gala, including Jay-Z’s Patek Philippe, Rami Malek’s Cartier Crash, and more standout picks.
The Met Gala has never exactly been a subtle event, but the 2026 edition made one thing especially clear: watches are no longer playing a supporting role on the carpet.
This year’s theme, Costume Art, practically invited guests to treat the body as a canvas, and the best watch choices followed suit. Some leaned into jewelry. Some went archival. Some went full mechanical theater. The throughline wasn’t price or complication. It was alignment.
From a vintage Omega Constellation to a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime, these were the watches that actually made sense.
Jay-Z - Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime Ref. 6300G-001
Rami Malek - Cartier Crash "New Bond Street" Ref. WGCH0050
Dwayne Johnson - Jacob & Co. Billionaire III
Lisa - Bvlgari Serpenti Spiga High Jewelry Ref. 103251
Serena Williams - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked Ref. 26685XT.OO.1320XT.01
Russell Westbrook - Rolex Daytona “Rainbow” Ref. 116598RBOW
Colman Domingo - 1982 Omega Constellation “Manhattan”
Skepta - Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin Ref. 16202BA.HH.1241BA.01
Stanley Tucci - Breitling Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Ref. AB0145221B1P2
Angela Bassett - Vintage Glashütte Original Cocktail Watch
Connor Storrie - Omega Constellation Observatory Ref. 140.50.39.21.99.001
Paul Anthony Kelly - Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon Ref. 6000V/210T-H179
Mason Spector - IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 Ref. IW503704
There were louder watches on the carpet, and certainly flashier ones. Very few carried the same weight.
The Grandmaster Chime sits at the far end of what Patek Philippe makes, 20 complications, a reversible case, something closer to a collection centerpiece than a typical wristwatch. On Jay-Z, it read as fluency. Not a flex, just a quiet reminder of where he operates.
Some watches try to nod at the theme. This one didn’t need to.
The Cartier Crash has become something closer to a cultural symbol than a traditional watch, distorted, surreal, instantly recognizable. On Rami Malek, it felt like casting. The watch and the wearer were doing the same thing.
The Jacob & Co. Billionaire III is a ridiculous watch by design. A 54mm case set with nearly 130 carats of diamonds doesn’t pretend otherwise.
On Dwayne Johnson, though, it didn’t feel out of place. Scale is the point. Anything smaller would have read like a concession. This leaned all the way in, and that’s exactly why it worked.
At a certain point, it stops making sense to call something like this a watch in the traditional sense.
As a global ambassador for Bvlgari, Lisa wearing the Serpenti Spiga felt less like product placement and more like a continuation of an existing language. Coiled, diamond-set, sculptural, it functioned as part of a fully integrated look rather than a standalone accessory.
One of the more structurally interesting watches on the carpet, though this Audemars Piguet doesn’t announce that immediately.
Openworked, perpetual calendar, rendered in titanium, it’s a piece that rewards attention. At a distance, it reads as texture. Up close, it reveals itself. On Serena Williams, that duality made sense. Nothing excessive, nothing wasted.
For most people, this is the loudest watch in the room. Here, it barely broke character.
The Rainbow Daytona remains one of Rolex’s more vibrant contemporary releases, gem-set, high-saturation, borderline theatrical. On Russell Westbrook, it felt completely natural. When the baseline is already expressive, something like this reads as continuity.
One of the more considered watch choices of the night came by way of a design that could easily feel dated in the wrong context.
The 1982 Constellation “Manhattan,” with its integrated bracelet, Roman numerals, and signature claws at 3 and 9 o’clock, is a distinctly early-’80s object. On Colman Domingo, it didn’t read nostalgic. It read controlled. A continuation of a wardrobe that consistently favors precision over spectacle.
Not just gold. Yellow gold, set with yellow sapphires, which changes the entire proposition.
The Jumbo is usually treated as sacred territory, the purest expression of the Royal Oak. This version pushes it toward jewelry without losing that identity. On Skepta, it landed exactly where it should. Recognizable at a glance, but layered enough to reward anyone paying closer attention. The kind of watch that signals you know what you’re looking at.
Back in the spotlight thanks to The Devil Wears Prada 2, Tucci brought the same sense of control to the carpet, right down to the wrist.
The Breitling Premier B01 sits at the refined end of the brand’s catalog, still a chronograph, still rooted in mid-century design, but dialed in enough for formalwear. Against a velvet tux, it didn’t try to compete with the texture or color.
That restraint is the point. It reinforced what already works.
Most watches on this carpet tried to assert themselves. This one didn’t need to.
A small cocktail watch isn’t going to compete on size or complication, and it shouldn’t. On Angela Bassett, it became part of a larger composition, where proportion and placement mattered more than presence. On a night built around spectacle, that kind of control reads louder than another oversized case.
Omega has plenty of safer options for a night like this, which makes the Observatory an interesting call, especially given how new it is.
Just announced, the Constellation Observatory revives earlier design language, the more architectural dial, the integrated feel, and pushes it into something brighter and more contemporary. In Moonshine Gold, it could have skewed overly formal. Instead, it landed clean and specific, a choice that felt deliberate.
This isn’t the kind of watch you expect to see at the Met Gala, which is what made it land.
A titanium Overseas with a tourbillon and a red dial sits in a strange overlap between sport and high complication. On Paul Anthony Kelly, it read less like a statement piece and more like a personal one. The kind of choice that doesn’t care whether it photographs well.
The Portugieser Perpetual Calendar is one of those watches that almost always works, which is both its strength and its limitation.
At 44mm, with a "Dune" dial and white-gold case, it carried real presence without pushing too hard. On Mason Spector, that restraint came through. It didn’t try to compete with the rest of the look, just supported it. Not every watch here needed to be a moment.
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