The best luxury watches at the Paris Olympics, ranked

THE MEN’S 100-metre final at the 2024 Paris Olympics was always going to be decided by the slimmest of margins, with Jamaican sprinter Kishane Thompson posting a time of 9.77 seconds just last month, previous medallists Marcell Jacobs and Fred Kerley returning, and newcomers Oblique Seville, Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles also vying for gold. You would think, then, that the sprinters would’ve aimed to be as light and aerodynamic as possible. The eventual winner, Noah Lyles, had a different approach.

Lyles, who ultimately won gold by a margin of just 0.05 seconds, clearly wasn’t too concerned with reducing unnecessary drag. The 27-year-old sprinter wore an Omega Speedmaster during the final – which briefly lived up to its incredibly apt name. This was despite the fact that they don’t award style points at the Olympics, so perhaps it was just a flex? Regardless, we can hardly fault Lyles’ decision, considering the outcome. He wasn’t the only notable watch wearer at the Olympics, though.

So far, the Olympics have been a who’s who of luxury watchmakers, which shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. Plenty of Olympians are incredibly wealthy and choose to spend their money on pricey timepieces. Others are ambassadors for big brands, with benefactors who want them wearing their watches when the flashbulbs are popping and eyes are firmly fixed on them. As a result, watch spotting has become an interesting sideshow to the feats of unbelievable athleticism at this year’s Games.

There are no medals for watches, however. Not even bonus points. So, we’re taking it upon ourselves to award them. These are the best watches from the 2024 Paris Olympics so far, ranked by the medals we think they deserve.

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Read Esquire’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games here:

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All the Australian Olympic medals won at Paris 2024, so far

The countries that pay their athletes for winning Olympic medals

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The unofficial MVPs of Paris 2024, so far

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Bronze medallists

Miles Chamley-Watson – Richard Mille RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph

American fencer Miles Chamley-Watson was recently given a signature watch by uber-luxe watchmaker Richard Mille, but during the Paris Olympics he clearly preferred an old favourite – with RM’s most complicated automatic calibre. The RM 65-01 Automatic Split-Seconds Chronograph is one of the world’s most expensive sports watches, with a kaleidoscopic dial design and a skeletonised automatic winding movement. Not everybody will be a fan of the garish yellow colour of Chamley-Watson’s model, but bonus points for wearing it during competition are enough for the watch to win bronze.

Dennis Schröder – Richard Mille RM055 ‘Bubba Watson’

Dennis Schröder has already guided Germany to its best ever finish in men’s basketball at the Olympics, with the team progressing to the semifinals with a win this morning. On the court, he’ll be hoping for an even better result than the bronze medal we’re awarding him for wearing this Richard Mille watch. But this special edition RM055 boasts a calibre RMUL2 manual winding skeletonised movement and was created with a focus on technical precision. Ultimately, it’s a little plain-looking, despite it’s immense complication. Hence the bronze.

Giannis Antetokounmpo – Breitling Chronomat B01 42

Now to the man who Schröder just eliminated. Giannis Antetokounmpo also brought out the big guns during the opening ceremony with his signature Breitling. It’s a 42mm 18-carat red-gold chronograph with a number of intriguing subdials – one of which even looks like a basketball. The dial itself is set in oak green, a colour that was chosen by Giannis himself, perhaps in reference to his NBA team, the Milwaukee Bucks. But while the Bucks do wear green, it’s not this particular shade. Anyway, Antetokounmpo swapped out the standard rubber strap for a red-gold strap that matches the case. Good enough for bronze, despite the confusing colour choices.

Armand Duplantis – Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra

Armand Duplantis set a new world record in pole vault at the Paris Olympics, and he did it while wearing – and hard launching – an unreleased Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra. Information on this watch is hard to come by because it hasn’t even been released yet, but Omega did unveil a Seamaster “inspired by Mondo Duplantis” earlier in the year which actually looks better than this one. The key difference between the two is the texture pattern on the dial and the colour scheme of the strap. Duplantis’ newest version incorporates the colours of the Swedish flag more heavily – which is a nice touch, it’s just a pity those colours don’t go together particularly well.

Silver medallists

Novak Djokovic – Hublot Big Bang MECA-10

Roland Garros must’ve become accustomed to Spanish champions over the last two decades, with four Spaniards winning 17 of the last 23 French Opens, but it was Novak Djokovic who came out on top at the Olympics, eliminating both Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz along the way. He celebrated completing a golden slam with a Hublot Big Bang on his wrist. This particular Hublot Big Bang is the MECA-10, set in blue ceramic with a skeletonised dial that reveals an intricate manufacture HUB1201 manual-winding movement.

Rafael Nadal – Richard Mille RM27-05 Flying Tourbillon

Rafa and Richard Mille have been in league since 2008, resulting in a number of horological collaborations over the years. Their most recent collaboration was seen on the wrist of Nadal during the opening ceremony and the Olympic doubles tournament. It features a bold black case made from a carbon composite that was originally used in F1 cars. It also only weighs 11.5 grams. We give it silver for versatility – you can wear this while serving aces on the tennis court or while carrying a flame at the Trocadéro.

Carlos Alcaraz – Rolex Day-Date 40

Djokovic may have bested Carlos Alcaraz on the court, but in terms of their watch game, we think they’re on par with each other. Alcaraz wore an 18-carat yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date during the medal ceremony. It’s 40mm in diameter, with a shiny black dial and a perpetual self-winding manufacture 3255 calibre movement. But much like he did in the men’s singles tournament, he falls narrowly short of a gold medal.

Gold medallists

Lorenzo Musetti – Rolex Daytona Cosmograph

In case you hadn’t already noticed, the podium in men’s singles tennis was essentially a masterclass in luxury watches. While Lorenzo Musetti finished further down the podium than Alcaraz and Djokovic, we think his Rolex deserves a gold medal. His stainless steel Daytona Cosmograph is a sight to behold, with a black dial, Oystersteel bracelet, Cerachrom bezel and tachymetre scale.

LeBron James – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon

By this point, we’ve all seen that viral photo of LeBron James waving the American flag as he leads his nation’s contingent along the Seine during the Olympics’ opening ceremony. Look a little closer and you’ll be able to see this AP on LeBron’s wrist. It’s a Royal Oak Tourbillon worth close to half a million dollars, as it’s one of just a handful of its kind. The watch comes in rose gold, but the real standout is the 32 blue sapphires that adorn its dial.

Noah Lyles – Omega Speedmaster ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ special edition

We return to the 100m champion, Noah Lyles, who we think has the best watch of the entire Paris Olympics. The watch in question is the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ special edition of the Omega Speedmaster. The model was created as an homage to the 1968 Apollo 8 moon landing and is an all-black, ceramic riff on the original Speedmaster. It features a partially skeletonised dial resembling the moon’s surface, three chronograph subdials and striking yellow accents. The caseback is marked by more lunar motifs, including commander Jim Lovell’s quote, “We’ll see you on the other side,” which was uttered during the Apollo 8 mission. If they did hand out medals for watches, this would get the gold.