Netflix's Roast of Kevin Hart on May 10, 2026 was everything its billing promised — brutal, chaotic and packed with A-list names. But while the mainstream audience watched for the jokes, the watch community was paying attention to something entirely different: the wrists. In one room at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, over $7.8 million worth of luxury timepieces gathered for a single Sunday evening. It was, quietly, one of the greatest celebrity watch showcases of the year.
We identified every significant piece spotted on the night. Here is the complete wrist check — ranked by estimated value, with context for each reference.
THE WATCHES — EVERY PIECE IDENTIFIED
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Jacob & Co. Caviar Tourbillon — Diamond Set
~$1,000,000
The Rock arrived at the roast in a near-million dollar Jacob & Co. Caviar Tourbillon, continuing his relationship with Jacob Arabo's house — just two weeks after the $3.3 million Billionaire III at the Met Gala. The Caviar Tourbillon features a flying tourbillon movement with bead-set diamonds across the entire case. A slightly more restrained choice than the Billionaire III, which in the context of Jacob & Co. means merely very expensive rather than extraordinarily so.
Kevin Hart
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse — Ref. 5738/51G-001, Hand Engraved White Gold
~$750,000
The most intellectually interesting watch of the entire evening. While everyone else reached for diamonds and excess, Kevin Hart wore the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse — one of the most refined and understated dress watches in modern collecting. The hand-engraved white gold case is extraordinary up close but invisible from across a room. A watch designed to be recognised by the two or three people in any room who truly understand watchmaking. Hart's choice said everything about a collector who has moved beyond needing to be noticed.
Meek Mill
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Frosted Gold Rainbow Openworked
~$500,000
Meek Mill closed the night in a half-million dollar rainbow baguette openworked Royal Oak — a piece that has become the definitive rap-wrist flex of the 2020s. The combination of AP's openworked manufacture movement with a rainbow baguette bezel and frosted gold case represents one of the most visually complex watches in the Royal Oak family. On a stage under professional lighting, the effect is genuinely spectacular.
Tom Brady
Avi & Co. AH17 — Full Baguette Diamond Set
~$400,000
Tom Brady's choice reflects the NFL world's growing relationship with independent diamond watch specialists. Avi & Co. — a New York-based jewellery and watch house — produced a fully baguette-set version of their AH17 for Brady, a piece that prioritises visual impact over movement prestige. Brady has been spotted in a range of watches from Rolex to IWC to Jacob & Co., but this was his most statement-making roast appearance yet.
Serena Williams
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak — Rainbow Gem Set
~$300,000
Serena Williams continued the rainbow Royal Oak trend that has dominated celebrity watch culture since approximately 2021. Her gem-set Royal Oak — with coloured stones across the bezel and bracelet — is part of a growing movement of women collectors treating AP's sports watch as high jewellery. The crossover between serious watchmaking and fine jewellery is nowhere more visible than in the rainbow Royal Oak on a significant female collector's wrist.
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WHAT THE ROAST TELLS US ABOUT WATCH CULTURE IN 2026
The Roast of Kevin Hart watch lineup reveals several things about where celebrity watch culture stands in 2026. First, the bifurcation between maximalist diamond pieces — Jacob & Co., fully iced Royal Oaks — and serious collector references like the Patek Golden Ellipse is more pronounced than ever. The room contained both extremes simultaneously.
Second, Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak has cemented its position as the default celebrity sports watch. Meek Mill's rainbow version and Serena Williams' gem-set piece represent the two dominant expressions of the reference in entertainment culture: the openworked complication for the music world and the gem-set jewellery piece for female collectors.
Third — and most significantly for the watch world — events like Netflix roasts are now generating genuine horological media coverage. The watch community no longer needs to be a niche. Millions of people who watched The Roast of Kevin Hart are now searching for information about the watches they saw. That audience is looking for a trusted editorial destination.
Stories To Watch exists to be exactly that.