Last month, Jacob Elordi did the impossible and made goatees not just socially acceptable but somehow sexy; the month before, the tall Aussie actor wore a suit to The Dog Stars film premiere alongside his canine co-star, and the internet started interrogating the length of his trousers.
People care a lot about Jacob Elordi and his appearance. That’s one reason he’s in the running to be the next James Bond; it’s also why I don’t think he will be 007. How could we possibly increase our thirst for the 29-year-old? It’s not possible really—unless we talk about his personal watch collection, where there’s quite a lot to talk about.
As a longtime friend of Cartier, Elordi likes to keep things pretty consistently Tank-coded. Over the past year, I’ve spotted him wearing different types of Tanks: a Française, à Guichet, a diamond-set one, green and black Tank Musts, you name it. He wears Cartier very well because, despite his imposing frame, he's comfortable wearing rather dainty pieces of horology.
The man has simple tastes and doesn’t seem to want his watches to do anything other than tell the time in a quaint, uncomplicated way. Second hands? Elordi doesn’t need them. Hour and minute hands will suffice.
Over the weekend, while on a date with girlfriend Kendall Jenner at the Academy Museum Gala in LA, Elordi wore his fanciest Tank yet. Although you really have to study the watch to see how special it is. Zoom in a little on the watch, which could be mistaken for a stainless-steel Cartier Tank, but is actually a new platinum version on a semi-matt burgundy alligator leather strap. The telltale sign is the shinier-than-usual case. Platinum is a heavier, prettier, and more expensive metal than stainless steel.
Unlike some of the vintage Cartiers he’s rocked recently—the majority of which have quartz movements inside—this one is packing a very handy automatic winding, calibre 1899 MC. So it's the real deal, and also makes the watch a tiny bit larger (38.1 x 27.75 mm) than his previous flexes.
No matter what Tank Jacob Elordi has worn, the dials always remain pretty much the same. The word timeless is bandied around far too often in the watch world, but the Tank can legitimately make such claims because the dial design has hardly changed in more than 100 years. Roman numerals, minimalist geometry, and a clear rectangular shape in the centre of the dial inside a very rectangular case make these watches unmistakably Cartier.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.