Even four years after release, Vacheron Constantin’s Historiques 222 remains a hit among celebrities. The elegant gold wristwatch, launched in 2022 as a modern successor to the 1970s original, has graced the wrists of A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Usher, Jonah Hill, LeBron James, and Michael B. Jordan over the past half-decade. This week, we also clocked it on actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
That’s not all on the celeb watch front. Ewan McGregor rocked a classic Panerai that, rather refreshingly, came from his own collection. Adam Scott sported his trusty Rolex Datejust “Buckley.” Central Cee showed off a six-figure Richard Mille. 50 Cent flexed a custom Rolex Day-Date inspired by his late father. Noah Lalonde strapped on a TAG Heuer Carrera. And last but not least, Carlos King donned a Rolex Submariner Date.
Below are the best watch flexes of the week.
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50 Cent: Custom Rolex Day-Date
The Rolex Day-Date that 50 Cent showed off on The Tonight Show isn’t your typical President. The custom piece has the face of the rapper’s late grandfather at the center of the dial, surrounded by diamond hour markers. He showed off the gold one-off in an Instagram video he shared in late 2024. “New timepiece,” he says in the clip. “Got my old man in there.” In the caption, he added, “Our time here is limited. I want to thank you in advance for not wasting mine.” A regular gold Day-Date with a black dial and diamond markers will cost you $55,150.
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Adam Scott: Rolex Datejust ‘Buckley’
After strapping on pieces by Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron, Adam Scott has wound up returning to his faithful Rolex. (It looks like the same piece he wore in a L.A. Times profile in 2025.) Released in the mid 1970s, this particular Datejust (Ref. 16030) features the all-important “Buckley” dial with painted Roman numerals rather than traditional applied metal indices. The nickname comes from one John Buckley, a collector and dealer based in N.Y.C., who is a big fan of this dial type. Expect to pay around $5,000 for a similar example.
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Carlos King: Rolex Submariner Date
Carlos King, CEO of television production company Kingdom Reign Entertainment, kept it classic for the AAFCA TV Honors ceremony, wearing a gold Rolex Submariner Date (Ref. 126618LN) the Crown released in 2020. You know the drill: a 41 mm case and Oyster bracelet in 18-karat yellow gold, a black Cerachrom bezel with 60-minute graduations, and a black dial with large luminescent markers and a date window at 3 o’clock. It’ll set you back $50,900, thanks to the Crown bumping up gold references.
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Central Cee: Richard Mille RM 67-02
Central Cee wearing one six-figure Richard Mille actually feels kind of restrained, given the British rapper previously flexed four at once. The watch is one of three iterations of the RM 67-02 Richard Mille released in 2018 in honor of a trio of pro athletes. Paying homage to French alpine ski racer Alexis Pinturault, who notched 34 World Cup victories before retiring this year, features a white Quartz TPT case, a skeletonized dial with blue and red accents, and a blue (or red) strap. Weighing just 32 grams, the RM 67-02 is the lightest automatic watch in Richard Mille’s collection. The Pinturault edition had an original retail price of around $185,000, but can sell for double that on the secondary market.
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Ewan McGregor: Panerai Luminor Base
Ewan McGregor was all about that base—the Panerai Luminor Base, that is—at the world premiere of The End of Oak Street in L.A. on Sunday. The PAM00112 (or simply PAM 112 to the Paneristi) is perhaps the purest expression of the Officine’s modern design DNA. Originally released in 2002, the watch forgoes fancy complications in favor of a simple two-hand “sandwich dial.” That is housed in a large 44 mm steel case, with the legendary “device protecting the crown.” It was discontinued after roughly a decade, replaced by models equipped with Panerai’s in-house movements. You can pick one up for around $5,000 on sites like Chrono24.
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Noah Lalonde: TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer
Young star Noah Lalonde fittingly wore a TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer to Netflix’s End of Summer Bash. Released in late 2025, the timepiece is inspired by astronaut John Glenn’s historic Mercury-Atlas 6 mission in 1962—during which he wore a modified Heuer stopwatch on his wrist. Inside the 39 mm steel case lies a silver sunray dial with a moon phase complication at 6 o’clock showing the lunar cycle in intricate detail. You can pick one up for a relatively modest $4,950.
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Yahya Abdul-Mateen II: Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II pledged allegiance to the exclusive “222” club at an event in Hollywood this week. Released in 2022, the Historiques 222 is a glitzy, modern take on the original 222 that VC released in 1977 to celebrate the maison’s 222nd anniversary. The contemporary reissue features a monobloc tonneau-shaped 37 mm case, a grooved bezel, a gold-tone dial, and a gold integrated bracelet. You’ll also spot VC’s signature Maltese cross at five o’clock. The original 222 was highly coveted, with only a few thousand made during the eight-year production run. The modern successor isn’t limited but is still difficult to acquire due to the maison’s manufacturing capacity. It’s also a boutique exclusive. The watch will set you back $86,500—if you can get your hands on one, that is.
Facts Only
* Yahya Abdul-Mateen II wore a Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222.
* 50 Cent wore a custom gold Rolex Day-Date featuring a photo of his late grandfather.
* Adam Scott wore a Rolex Datejust Ref. 16030 with a "Buckley" dial.
* Central Cee wore a Richard Mille RM 67-02 Alexis Pinturault edition.
* Ewan McGregor wore a Panerai Luminor Base PAM00112.
* Noah Lalonde wore a TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer.
* Carlos King wore a gold Rolex Submariner Date Ref. 126618LN.
* The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 was released in 2022 as a successor to a 1977 model.
* The TAG Heuer Carrera Astronomer was released in late 2025.
* The Richard Mille RM 67-02 Pinturault edition had an original retail price of approximately $185,000.
* The Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 retails for $86,500 and is a boutique exclusive.
* The Rolex Submariner Date Ref. 126618LN retails for $50,900.
Executive Summary
Recent public appearances by several high-profile celebrities highlight a diverse range of luxury timepiece preferences, spanning from mass-market luxury to ultra-exclusive boutique pieces. While Rolex remains a dominant choice—represented by the classic Submariner, the vintage-style Datejust "Buckley," and a highly personalized custom Day-Date—there is a notable trend toward "modern successors" and specialty editions. This is evidenced by the continued popularity of the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 among A-list celebrities and the use of athlete-specific iterations like the Richard Mille RM 67-02.
The acquisitions range in value from approximately $4,950 for a TAG Heuer Carrera to secondary market values potentially exceeding $370,000 for a Richard Mille. Some choices emphasize personal history and heritage, such as McGregor’s use of his own collection or 50 Cent’s familial tribute, while others reflect current market scarcity, particularly in the case of the boutique-exclusive Vacheron Constantin.
Full Take
The strongest version of this narrative is a curated gallery of luxury consumption, documenting the intersection of celebrity influence and high-end horology. It serves as a market signal, illustrating which brands currently hold "cultural capital" among the global elite.
The narrative relies on the Appeal to Popularity, linking the desirability of a product directly to the identity of the wearer. By framing the Vacheron Constantin as a "hit among celebrities" and noting the "exclusive club" of the 222, the text transforms a commercial product into a social signifier. The value is presented not through mechanical innovation, but through the proximity to power and fame.
Patterns detected: ARC-0062 Appeal to Popularity
The driving paradigm is the "Veblen effect," where the demand for a good increases as its price increases because it functions as a visible symbol of status. The unstated assumption is that the "flex"—the act of displaying wealth—is the primary utility of these objects. This echoes historical patterns of courtly dress and aristocratic signaling, now digitized for a global audience.
The implication is a reinforcement of a rigid social hierarchy where agency is expressed through the ability to acquire "difficult to acquire" goods. The primary beneficiaries are the luxury Maisons, who utilize celebrity wrists as unpaid billboards to maintain artificial scarcity and high price floors.
Bridge Questions: How does the shift from "collecting" to "flexing" change the perceived value of craftsmanship? If celebrity endorsements were removed, which of these pieces would maintain their market value based on technical merit alone?
A coordinated influence campaign pushing this narrative would utilize "lifestyle seeding," where multiple outlets simultaneously report on the same luxury item worn by different influencers to create an illusion of an organic "trend" and trigger FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) among high-net-worth individuals. The actual content aligns structurally with this pattern by emphasizing the "club" nature of the watches and their difficulty of acquisition.
Sentinel — Human
The text reads like a celebrity/luxury lifestyle feature article, successfully blending factual product details with subjective commentary, suggesting a human journalistic origin.