The internet is having a giggle at Jeff Goldblum’s expense today. The Wicked actor, who was there to cheer on as his colleagues picked up two Oscars this morning (for best set and costume design), was caught doing what every fashion girlie does. Goldblum (and wife Emilie Livingston) spent the hour prior to the 97th Academy Awards scrolling through Instagram for red-carpet pictures of himself.
Well, we would too, if we were wearing what he was.
Goldblum showed up at the awards ceremony in a soft cream suit jacket worn over a floral shirt courtesy of Prada, but it’s the accessories that need us to pause a minute. His scarf and the orchid on his lapel seemed to have been picked to perfectly complement the spectacular lilac Égérie Moon Phase watch by Vacheron Constantin.
The women’s timepiece is the result of a collaboration between the renowned watch brand and the Chinese-born, Paris-based haute couture designer Yiqing Yin. The 37mm case is made of 18K rose gold and studded with 58 diamonds, while the mother-of-pearl dial features pleats not dissimilar to those found in Yin’s designs. About 36 more diamonds cluster around mother-of-pearl clouds and an 18K gold moon disk at 2 o’clock. And it seems Goldblum had his watch customised with a black strap, picking it over the lilac calfskin one offered on the brand’s website.
That Goldblum chose to wear a classically feminine watch says so much about how watch buyers are forcing out the idea of gender-specific design in the up-to-now rather traditional-minded watch industry.
In 2022, the Swiss watch brand Zenith was one of the first to remove all gender-based search functions from its website. CEO Julien Tornare told The New York Times that 26 per cent of its clientele were women looking to buy large-dial watches. The men, interestingly, were looking at smaller, even diamond-studded pieces.
In this, Goldblum isn’t alone. Fellow Oscar 2025 attendee Robert Downey Jr also picked a watch from Omega’s women’s collection. His Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M 18K Sedna Gold and Rubies timepiece comes with a medium-size 34mm case and is studded with round-cut diamonds and marquis-cut rubies.
And let’s not forget Timothée Chalamet, who, as anyone who has been following red-carpet style in the last three months knows, has worn several delicate Cartier pieces, including the feminine Ballon de Bleu (to the SAG Awards) and the ’60s-chic Baignoire (last night).
Compare and contrast it with actor Michelle Yeoh’s collection of large (45.66 x 31.40 x 11.85mm), sporty Richard Mille watches. The icy, snow-set RM 07-01 that she wore to match her blue Balenciaga number at the Oscars this year is similar to the rubber-strap model she wore when she won her Oscar in 2024.
2024 was also the year experts came together at Watches & Wonders, the industry’s biggest fair, to discuss ‘Towards the Non-Gendered Watch’. The conclusion? Watch sellers—and buyers—focus on comfort and lifestyle, not gender and size, when it comes to picking the right timepieces. We’re following suit in 2025.
