Watch Check: The Timepieces That Caught Our Eye at the Preview Ball 2024
We did a wrist check on the male personalities who walked the red carpet at this year’s Preview Ball 2024. A majority of them opted for practical luxury brands like Rolex and Audemars Piguet steel or steel and gold combination luxury sports timepieces. Two of them were gifted by their spouses.
ALSO READ
Highlights of Watches and Wonders 2024
Phillips Watches & Jewels Spring 2024 Singapore Preview Opens
1| Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian
It was our turn to launch a senatorial inquiry with a distinguished member of the Upper House. Senator Win Gatchalian has good taste, sporting a stainless steel Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116500LN with black ceramic bezel with white dial or more popularly known as the “panda.” Named after the cuddly and endangered bear, the Rolex Daytona “Panda” is one of the hardest watches to obtain from Rolex.
According to the senator, the watch was a gift from his beauty queen and actress partner Bianca Manalo. Apparently, it took them over two years to acquire the watch because when it first came out in 2016, there was a long queue already. The demand for this “grail” watch skyrocketed even further during the pandemic, with resellers offering ready stock ones at up to thrice the suggested retail price.
Despite its 40mm case size, it fit well underneath Senator Gatchilian’s cuffs and well-tailored Boss suit.
2| BJ Pascual
Celebrity fashion photographer BJ Pascual’s golden outfit and steel ring purse paired well with his two-tone classic Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. This mechanical timepiece evokes the late ‘80s and early ‘90s vintage vibe made popular by the bi-metal mechanical luxury sports watches. Its slim profile is a welcome contrast to today’s chunkier Royal Oak watches that makes it a nice choice for parties and evening events.
According to Pascual, this is his favorite timepiece. We definitely get the appeal.
3| Christian Bautista
Singer and songwriter Christian Bautista was wearing a circa 2018 Rolex Explorer II sports watch given to him by his wife Kat on their wedding. The stainless-steel sports watch comes with a 24-hour hand to indicate another time zone and is the perfect traveler’s timepiece. Bautista said it is his daily ticker and uses it all the time. In fact, the only time he removes it is when he needs to have it serviced, which is very rare since it’s a Rolex.
The white dial face and brushed steel Explorer model pairs well with Bautista’s off-white outfit, giving the whole ensemble a nice monochrome feel.
4| Jibby Tinio
Visual storyteller and photo studio owner Jibby Tinio sported a two-tone blue dial Rolex Submariner Model No. 116613, nicknamed “Bluesy,” to pair with his tux. Tinio confessed that he didn’t get the memo regarding the theme of the ball, which was skin tone formal, but nonetheless, his blue bowtie paired well with the bright blue sunburst dial of the timepiece.
The elegant and sporty Rolex Submariner comes with a combination of stainless steel and 18-carat gold case and metal bracelet. The watch is water resistant up to 300 meters and is perfect for swimming and diving, although it also works as an elegant timepiece for a more formal occasion like the Preview Ball.
5| Matteo Guidicelli
We saved the best for last. Matteo Guidicelli was wearing the perfectly balanced double-breasted cream suit and wore it with a 2024 Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse gentleman’s dress watch.
The Golden Ellipse was named after the “Golden Section,” an aesthetic rule which has been used for many centuries. According to a vintage Patek Philippe ad from 1968, the Golden Section “defines harmony in proportions and was referred to as divina proportione, proportion continua, Golden Number, Golden Rule, and more recently, the Golden Section. But the Golden Section is older than its names, for it not only inspired man-made designs but is present also in nature, in the shapes of leaves, the spacing of buds along a branch on a tree, and the proportions of the human body.”
Guidicelli’s gorgeous Patek Philippe comes in a platinum watch case with a blue dial and navy-blue alligator strap.
