Lionel Messi’s Latest $230K Watch Is a Miniature Piece of Art

From steel Daytonas to Royal Oak Offshores to pink Oyster Perpetuals, certified GOAT Lionel Messi is a dyed-in-the-wool watch guy. Into everything from sub-$10K time-only pieces to genuine masterworks of staggering horological complexity, he has a wide-ranging collection that always keeps us on our toes. Most importantly, the guy knows how to fun, pairing heavyweight horological pieces with ones that are more whimsical. His latest acquisition combines both of those qualities.

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The watch is the Royal Oak Concept “Companion” Tourbillon, a special, limited-edition AP made in collaboration with KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, the famed American visual artist known for the Mickey Mouse-like figure that appears in much of his work. Messi was spotted in the design as he arrived at a match against FC Dallas last Sunday. (You can get a better view of Messi and the watch in this gallery.) Introduced in late 2024, the “Companion” Tourbillon puts the namesake figure front and center, its skull-and-crossbones head visible beneath a sapphire crystal, a tourbillon poking out from its chest. Looking as if its face is pressed against the glass crystal, the Companion is machined from titanium and features grey lacquer eyes.

Rather than obscure this creative dial with a set of conventional hands, AP opted for a peripheral time display with rotating hour and minute hands set on rotating, roller-guided wheels. The case itself—measuring a hefty 43-mm wide by 17.4-mm tall—is crafted from lightweight titanium and paired to a light grey textured calfskin strap with a titanium folding clasp. (It also comes with an additional dark gray calfskin strap.) Inside, the hand-wound Audemars Piguet cal. 2979 boasts a tourbillon and a 72-hour power reserve.

This impressive feat at the intersection of art and horology is becoming a tradition at Audemars Piguet. The watchmaker is also behind a pair of Marvel-themed Royal Oak Concept pieces featuring Spider-Man and Black Panther. Those paved the way for the artist’s unique vision. “I thought, If I’m going to do a watch with them, I want to do something that’s really in line with the sculptures I do and have it live in a watch space,” Donnelly told GQ back in November of 2024. “Seeing the Marvel [watches], immediately I knew there was no question we could go in that direction.” To be sure, the idea of the Companion “trapped” within the watch’s dial is both novel and arresting, drawing one in for a closer look. That the piece is also equipped with a hand-wound tourbillon movement almost feels like a throwaway before one considers the incredible micro-engineering that goes into crafting such an engine.

Having listed for nearly a quarter-million bucks upon its debut and now trading for nearly double that, this limited-edition of 250 pieces doesn’t come cheap. But when you’re one of the greatest players in the history of soccer—sorry, football—these sorts of purchases are well within your purview. One thing’s for sure: The “Companion” is a tough timepiece to outdo. Messi will have to pull out all the stops as he gets his wrist prepped for the next Inter Miami game!

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Sebastian Stan’s Santos de Cartier

Appearing at the world premiere of Marvel’s Thunderbolts, Sebastian Stan wore the small version of Cartier’s Santos. Housed in a two-tone yellow gold and steel case, this handsome watch is a modern take on a model inspired by Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, whose early, pioneering flights around Paris made him a celebrity at the turn of the 20th century—and who was said to be a personal friend of Louis Cartier. The original Santos was made for Dumont to wear during flight. Featuring the collection’s signature screwed-down bezel—whose aesthetic is replicated on the matching bracelet—it has a white Roman-numeral dial with a railroad minute track and blued steel sword hands.

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Courtesy of Jacob & Co.

Luka Dončić’s Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

While he may have been bounced from the playoffs this week, Luka Dončić’s horological hot streak remains intact. Before his final game of the saeson, Dončić’s wore the Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon in a new Anthracite Matte Titanium colorway. A $310,000 superwatch, the timepiece is an insane feat of design and engineering: its case and dial echo the shape of the Bugatti Chiron and its W16 engine block, with a tourbillon carriage in the form of a radiator and a power reserve that looks like a fuel gauge. Surrounded by four shock-absorbing springs and a special tubular structure that protects a flying tourbillon, the 578-component movement animates like an actual car engine, its pistons firing up and down in sapphire glass cylinders. Wild!

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Courtesy of Chopard

John Mulaney’s Chopard Alpine Eagle

You can’t tell us watches aren’t getting more dedicated screen time these days. If you’re keeping up with his delightful variety show, you might’ve spotted John Mulaney checking the time on his trusty 18K rose gold Chopard Alpine Eagle this week. Decked out, handsomely as ever, in a single-breasted brown, the comedian conspicuously consulted his luxury sports watch, which features a 41-mm gold case with a matching integrated bracelet; a beautiful, galvanically treated Aletsch blue dial with applied indices and a 3 o’clock date window; and the brand’s in-house 01.01-C automatic movement with 60 hours of power reserve. While Mulaney has worn several interesting watches lately, he’s shown a particular affinity for Chopard, whose Mille Millia chronograph appeared on his wrist just last month.

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Kevin Hart’s Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Le Mans”

Kevin Hart wore one of the hottest watches of the past few years: the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona “Le Mans” in yellow gold. Though the watch launched in white gold in 2023, the Crown discontinued that version within a year, replacing it with a yellow gold version that’s proven just as hot. Produced in honor of the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this special Daytona features all sorts of little Easter eggs for the vintage Rolex lover: It’s got “exotic” typography in the subdials, plus a red “100” index on its tachymeter bezel. Coolest of all is its 12-hour counter, which has been replaced with a special 24-hour counter that required a dedicated movement modification.