Readtime: 5 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
Luxury watches have long served as expensive expressions of affection for some of the world’s most iconic couples. Think JFK and Jackie Kennedy, JFK and Marilyn Monroe, JFK and… well, never mind.
From Rolex to Cartier, Omega to Hublot, celebrities’ wrists are frequently adorned with the best of the best. A happy side effect of this phenomenon is that a valuable source of Valentine’s Day gifting inspiration can be found in the timepieces given by and to some of the most famous figures in music, cinema, and politics over the years.
So, here are the top five watches that celebrities have received from their significant others, and where you can find a similar piece to give your very own Valentine on the most romantic day of the year.
Paul Newman wearing his Rolex Daytona and Joanne Woodward | Images: Meta Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward (Rolex Daytona)
Gifted from his wife, Joanne Woodward, in 1968, movie icon and motorsport enthusiast Paul Newman’s prized Rolex would go on to become one of the most famous pieces in horological history. With the caseback inscription ‘DRIVE CAREFULLY, ME’, it embodies both the concern of a loving wife and the thrill (and danger) her husband experienced every time he took to the racetrack.
Viewed by enthusiasts as the holy grail of collectable watches, Newman’s watch sold for an astounding USD$17.8 million at a 2017 auction, a record that still stands as the most expensive Rolex ever sold.
Richard Burton wearing his Omega Constellation (left), Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (right) | Images: Meta Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor (Omega Constellation)
If anyone defined the 20th-century power-couple experience and the lavish extravagance that came with it, it was Hollywood superstars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. With a formidable collection of watches that included names like Cartier, Bvlgari, Patek Philippe, Piaget, and more, Taylor had a discerning eye for wristwear’s most elite tier, much to her husband’s benefit.
Further Reading
When Queen Elizabeth II awarded Burton his CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), Taylor marked the occasion by gifting her husband a luxuriously appointed Omega Constellation, featuring a square dial and an 18-karat yellow gold case and bracelet.
As handsome as it was at the time (and surely remains), this watch didn’t quite fetch the kind of staggering sum commanded by Newman’s Rolex, selling at auction in 2015 for approximately USD$13,000.
JFK wearing his Cartier Tank with Jackie Kennedy and their children, John F. Kennedy Jr. (left) and Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (right) | Image: Meta John F. Kennedy & Jackie Kennedy (Cartier Tank)
A style icon of the highest order, JFK’s sartorial flair didn’t end at his immaculately tailored cuffs. He wore a number of enviable watches over the years and had a particular affection for those of the gold, slimline variety.
The most famous of these was a Cartier Tank. Reportedly gifted by his wife, Jackie Kennedy, in 1957 to mark the couple’s fourth wedding anniversary, the watch had JFK’s initials engraved on the caseback and was on his wrist the day he was tragically shot. Taken from his wrist in the aftermath of the shooting and given to Jackie at the hospital, the watch is a piece of horological history that represents the heartbreak of a great love lost.
Marilyn Monroe’s Rolex Day-Date gift for JFK | Images: Meta John F. Kennedy & Marilyn Monroe (Rolex Day-Date)
Yes, we’re aware of the irony here. Including a watch that hints at infidelity in a write-up about Valentine’s Day inspiration might seem in poor taste, but love is complicated, and this watch is a winner.
Given by Marilyn Monroe as a birthday gift, this gold Rolex Day-Date featured a caseback inscription, reading, ‘JACK, With love as always from, MARILYN, May 29th 1962.’ Reportedly, JFK instructed an aide to get rid of the watch (and the steamy love poem that accompanied it). The watch reappeared four decades later, selling at a 2005 auction for USD$120,000.
Curiously, it was JFK’s successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, who would wear this very same Rolex style, an association that ultimately earned it the nickname “The President”.
Beyoncé gifted Jay-Z the Hublot $5 Million Watch | Images: Meta / Supplied Jay-Z & Beyoncé (Hublot Big Bang)
Inarguably a less understated and attainable affair than we’ve included in this list so far, this gift from Beyoncé to Jay-Z for his 43rd birthday is nonetheless a grand gesture of the blingiest order.
Known as the Hublot $5 Million Watch, it’s clear where the money went. Atop a white-gold case, 1,282 diamonds of various shapes and sizes cover the entire timepiece, creating a criss-cross pattern across the dial and bracelet. It’s a remarkable piece of work that treats subtlety with absolute disdain.
This level of sheer opulence is out of the question for the vast majority of us this Valentine’s Day, but there are plenty of Hublot Big Bangs out there that are comparatively accessible while still representing high-end gifting.