Fashion spectators take note: athletic watches are outpacing classic styles this season, and as goes for gold in Paris (hi, !), the trend shows no sign of slowing down. Consider decadent, ready-for-anything pieces by Swiss maker Richard Mille, a top scorer. Margot Robbie and Michelle Yeoh have been seen wearing theirs on the red carpet, while Pharrell Williams’s RM 17-01 Tourbillon has become an everyday staple for the Louis Vuitton men’s creative director (and the final bearer of the 2024 Olympic torch).
Commentators are calling the men’s 100m final one of the greatest races of all time – thanks to Team USA’s Noah Lyles claiming gold by a miniscule margin of just 0.005 seconds – but we couldn’t help zooming in on the diamond chain-link necklace around his neck, and the Omega Speedmaster on his wrist. We recommend crossing the style finish line in a something a little more dual focused, that incorporates Lyles’s nods to both utility and extravagance, practicality and pizzazz.
For those ready to balance diamonds fit for the front row with a running-friendly rubber strap, a host of brands now provide winning options. Try the diamond-encrusted Hermès Cut – which can be accessorised with a host of brightly-hued interchangeable rubber straps in tangerine, denim blue or optic white – or the eternally classic Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. Look to the diamond-sprinkled Hublot Big Bang Steel Diamonds, which features an industrial brushed metal face and a black rubber strap, or the refined Chanel Première, with its case designed to evoke the stopper on a bottle of Chanel No.
5 perfume, and strap available not only in leather and black chain or ceramic, but caoutchouc rubber, too. These wrist adornments are the horological equivalent of pairing cocktail tailoring with Havaiana flip-flops, or leaving the Olympic Village dressed in your medal-winning trainers and a party dress. What could be more of a winning combination?.
