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Cannes Carpet Is a Ticktock Runway
The well-known 24-step stairway of the Croisette was more glistening than ever this year not because there were longer dresses, but because of the 40 000 spectators, craning their necks to get shots on their wrists. I did see a higher number of phones out snapping bracelets than ball gowns in one weekend, which shows that even moving into fashion in the most exclusive first row, the luxury-watch boom is bulldozing its way through (Reuters, 2025).
From Palme d’Or Glory to Billion-Euro Buzz
It seemed like Jafar Panahi had snatched a historic Palme djust an Accident, but “winners” of the other Palme of the festival were economic: the campaigns with influencers promoted at Cannes earned €110.74 million earned-media value on Instagram (up 28 % year-on-year), from the watch labels that sponsored most of those posts (AP News & Kolsquare, 2025).
What has made watches out-shine dresses?
What changed? Luxury watch is at an all-time high; the worldwide luxury-watch industry will increase by 127.93 percent, or by more than 59.97 billion to around 134.53 billion in just 2025-2032 valuation, faster than even a premium handbag (Fortune Business Insights, 2025). Brands view Cannes as an 11-day show room where a mere one viral close up moves secondary market prices overnight.
Expert Take: Why the Wrist is Wearing Cannes
- Joking that Cannes is now Baselworld with less lighting, Sarah Miller, editor-in-chief of WatchPro, adds that, despite the success of Baselworld, Cannes is the event brand that mustn?t be underestimated because its attendance can only grow. Nothing tells it better than A-listers and we, as customers, tend to chase authenticity with our money.
- “Secondary-market peaks you can observe in real time?”, comments Dr. Lionel Rousseau, senior analyst Morgan Stanley Luxury Insights. Eighty percent of them follow a big red carpet scene in less than 48 hours. The festival is a forecasting model of Q3 prices.”
- “I take gowns so I can get the glamour shots, but I zoom to wrists to get the clicks,” adds veteran red-carpet photographer Mia Delgado. The close-ups of my watch get trifold more interaction, as they desire to become a part in the illusion.”
The LineUp You Blinked At
It is parade order (in the replies below) as we chronicle every head-turning watches, and why every tick is big business commercially, cinematographically, and culturally. When platinum was first caught in the flashbulbs I gasped; the Croisette was turning into Baselworld on the beach (personal note).
Tom Cruise Debuts a Platinum Showstopper
Tom Cruise strolled into the photocall of Mission Possible The Final Reckoning with Rolex Day-Date 40 mm in platinum with mother of pearl dial and an apple hour. Trade on Chrono24 is just under 96 000, yet the adverts increased by 9 percent in 24 hours after his debut- again independent evidence to the fact that the king of franchises can still push launch himself hard against gravity, as well as in its aftermarket (Chrono24, 2025).
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A$AP Rocky: Daylight Nautilus, Midnight Bulgari
As part of his Spike Lee-helmed debut Highest 2 Lowest, Rocky wore a yellow-gold Patek Philippe Nautilus 3800/1J ( 98 000 retail) and then an 193 000 CHF ruby encrusted cuff Bulgari Monete Catene High Jewelry secret watch, which is normally worn in royal balls. The two-watch flex of the rapper resembles that of his own brand journey: the modern day rap icon during the day and heritage luxury tale during the night (Chrono24 & GPHG, 2025).
Spike Lee Has Brooklyn On His Sleeve
The drippy artisans of Geneva, Artisans de Geneve, skeletonized a custom made Rolex Daytona by Lee with a ref. 116520 base (≈$14 000 base) which was turned into a unique piece of object storytelling worth an easy $30 000 and up. Recently, the Swiss Supreme Court said no to mass-resale of such mods, turning the piece by Lee into the rebel statement and legal talking point (Hodinkee, 2024).
Tramell Tillman- Spins the Reverso Two Step
Goodness; Tillman even did his photocall Reverso Tribute Small Seconds (in pink gold, with a pricetag of 23 800 dollarcab) and, at the premiere, simply reversed the face, revealing instead the luxury of a Reverso Tribute Chronograph (40 300 dollars). When the actor turned the case during the interview, the press pen even cheered, it seemed the atmosphere went out of control, it was alive unboxing (Jaeger-LeCoultre, 2025).
The geographic flex form Jackson Yee
Yee selected a stainless-steel Reverso Tribute Geographic ($21 200), which has an engraved map of the world. His 86 million social fans in Asia were able to relate to the pick because multi-time-zone complications represent international aspiration (Jaeger-LeCoultre, 2025).
Ben Cumberbatch has taken a Two-Watch Plotting in his hand
Nothing could cover up Cumberbatch in wrist terms: the premiere was attended by a Master Ultra Thin Date (≈$10 000), and the photocall during the day was imbibed by a $3 950 Bremont Broadsword Bronze the sales of which on the brand web-store zoomed 18 % week-on-week after the picture got X (Bremont, 2025).
Austin Butler is in tune with Breitling Beat
It was a fitting combination, by the way, with Butler wearing an ivory suit to go with his Chronomat 32 ($5 200 retail), as a new science-fiction star of Breitling Squad. Even the women-focused 32 mm line of this brand increased its social-search by 24 % overnight, which is a clear indication that gendered size codes are rapidly thawing (Breitling, 2025).
Blue Dial quiet storm by Anson Boon
Boon compensated a Celine tux with a TAG Heuer Carrera Day-Date in sunray blue ($4 200). The trendy dial is a water-shade which dominated summer 2025 style pages and which suited the up-and-coming star image of the British actor (TAG Heuer & The Times, 2025).
In the Sand-Gold Finale of Pierfrancesco Favino
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in sand gold ref. 26674SG came in at curtain close, at around $475 000 on opening night, and just under half-a-million on Chrono24. It runs on a new 7138 calibre so collectors can set all of the calendar indications with the crown and no longer have to resort to pin pushers, and moreover, no complications, just high-tech watchmaking (Chrono24, 2025).
Red-Carpet Value SnapFot Vitrine rouge
| Celebrity | Watch Model | Retail USD | 2025 Trading USD |
| Tom Cruise | Rolex Day-Date 40 mm Pt MOP | 96 000 | 105 000 |
| A$AP Rocky | Patek Nautilus 3800/1J | 98 000 | 120 000 |
| Spike Lee | Cool hand Brooklyn Daytona | 30 000 | 35 000 |
| Tramell Tillman | Reverso tribute chronograph | 40 300 | 46 000 |
| Austin Butler | Breitling Chronomat 32 | 5 200 | 6 000 |
| Pierfrancesco Favino | Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar | 475 000 | 490 000 |
Oxford dictionary, 2025
The Business of Beauty
| Year | Worldwide luxury-watch sales (USD bn) | Year-on-year growth |
| 2024 | 53.69 | 0 |
| 2025 | 59.97 | 11.7 % |
| 2032 proj. | 134.53 | 12.2 % CAGR |
Fortune Business Insights, 2025
Every bling-watch on the Croisette fuels an economy that And the result is an industry that is zooming past a 50 billion euro mark in revenues. Cannes 2025 demonstrated that a festival that used to be ranked in terms of standing ovations is currently worthwhile evaluating in terms of secondary-market spreads and the time is having its clock moved only quicker.
About the Author: Nathan Reid is an entertainment analyst based in London, and his speciality is in covering film, luxury items and pop-culture economics; he writes for both Variety and GQ, as well as WatchPro.
