It’s easy to forget, in the dazzle of Timothée Chalamet’s red carpet antics, that Britain practically specialises in producing skinny, androgynous-looking men who know their way around a well-cut suit. In the not too distant past of 2015, Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne was the actor flying the flag for a very British form of elegance, one that was at once formal and correct but also louche and youthful too. The slim cut of his red carpet and front row outfits by Burberry, Tom Ford, Gucci and Kilgour set the tone for men’s fashion and tailoring during that period, all helped in no small measure by his lithe, rock-star physique and impishly pretty face.
Nowadays we are more likely to see him fronting the latest ad campaigns for Omega’s Aqua Terra model, in his role as brand ambassador. A precursor to the iconic Speedmaster, which accompanied Buzz Aldrin et al on that legendary trip to the moon, the Aqua Terra is distinguished by a “teak” horizontal pattern on the dial that recalls the wooden deck of a yacht. With its rubber strap, co-axial master chronometer calibre 8900, 60-hour power reserve and water resistance of up to 150 meters, it can safely handle anything the brine can throw at it. Switch up the rubber strap for black leather or crocodile and you’ll also have a watch that can handle the rigours of the red carpet or a black-tie dinner.
Which leads us nicely to one of the most impressive watches that we’ve seen him wear on the red carpet. Flash back to 2015, when he picked up the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything. He was dressed in a beautifully cut black velvet tuxedo, a look clinched by the Omega Globemaster on his wrist. One of the lesser-known lines of the Omega family, what it lacks in fame it more than makes up for with sheer technical virtuosity and its sleek mid-century design aesthetic. Distinguished by a gorgeous fluted bezel and “pie-pan dial”, in which the outer edges of the dial appear to slightly fall away, the timeless design houses Omega’s most advanced movement, the 8900 automatic. This means, among many other things, that should you find yourself working near a nuclear reactor with a magnetic field of up to 15,000 gauss, you’ll still be bang on time for your Bafta dinner later that evening.
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