5 biggest timepiece moments in May 2023: from Roger Federer’s Rolex Perpetual 1908 and Eileen Gu’s IWCs at the Met Gala, to King Charles’ flashy pre-coronation Parmigiani Fleurier

May 27 , 2023

Eileen Gu sporting two IWC pieces at the Met Gala; Hublot’s Big Bang with case made of Nespresso capsules; Ilaria Resta is Audemars Piguet’s new CEO; and a Patek Philippe 1518 is slated to be auctioned for an estimated US$4.5 million. Photos: Handout

It’s been a busy month for watches this May, with the Met Gala stealing the show with Nick Jonas’ Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Jackson Wang’s Cartier Tank to Simu Liu’s Vacheron Constantin

Hublot worked with Nespresso to release a Big Bang Unico made with recycled coffee capsules; Audemars Piguet announced its new CEO Ilaria Resta, starting in 2024; and Davide Cerrato will head Bremont

There was plenty to keep up with in the world of luxury watches during the month of May.

High horology sparkled at the Met Gala and during the coronation of King Charles, while makers continue to push the boundaries of watch making with ever more daring case designs and materials like titanium.

Meanwhile, Patek Philippe and Rolex look to add two more entries to their expansive inventory of watches among the most expensive ever sold, and Audemars Piguet and Bremont gets new management.

Read on for all of May’s big watch moments.

1. High horology is the star on red carpets and at coronations

Roger Federer attends the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute with this year’s theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, in New York City, New York, US, on May 1. Photo: Reuters

Stars continue to show off quality pieces as evidenced by the bumper line-up of watches seen at this year’s Met Gala, which paid tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld. Key high horology names were represented in full: Roger Federer wore his stunning, brand new Rolex Perpetual 1908 after the heavily praised dress watch made waves alongside other Rolex releases at Watches and Wonders; Nick Jonas sported an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak; Rami Malek wore a beautiful black-dialled Cartier Tank Must; and Simu Liu paired a beautiful black coat and gloves with a discreet Vacheron Constantin Overseas, also with a black dial.

Emma Wall and Jeremy Strong pose at the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute with this year’s theme “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty”, in New York City, New York, US, on May 1. Photo: Reuters

Other stars pushed boundaries across the board: Succession actor Jeremy Strong paired a quirky pale green shirt and brown overcoat with a matching green Richard Mille RM 07-04; Barry Keoghan showed off a Bulgari Octo Roma Papillon Central Tourbillon; Jackson Wang wore a skeletonised Cartier Tank Cintrée; and Eileen Gu sported two pieces from IWC, wearing a Portofino 34 Automatic Day and Night on her wrist while carrying a Pallweber Edition “150 Years” pocket watch in her hand.