When Dwayne Johnson arrived at the 2026 Met Gala — his first appearance at fashion's biggest night — the room noticed everything. The Thom Browne pleated skirt. The physical presence. The confidence of a man utterly comfortable in his own skin. But the horological world noticed one thing above all else: the watch. On his wrist sat the Jacob & Co. Billionaire III, a timepiece priced at $3.3 million and reported by GQ as one of the most expensive ever spotted on the museum's steps.
It was a statement entirely consistent with the man wearing it. The Billionaire III is not a watch for the understated. It is a watch for someone who has earned the right to excess and wears it without apology. In that sense, The Rock and the Billionaire III were made for each other.
Instagram · @therock
Dwayne Johnson shared images from the Met Gala on his Instagram account — you can view his profile at @therock. The Billionaire III drew significant attention and media coverage worldwide in the days that followed.
WHAT IS THE JACOB & CO. BILLIONAIRE III?
Jacob & Co. is a New York-based luxury jewellery and watchmaking house founded by Jacob Arabo — known in celebrity circles simply as "Jacob the Jeweller." The brand occupies a unique position in the watch world: unapologetically maximalist, deeply connected to hip-hop and entertainment culture, and technically ambitious in ways that most of its critics fail to acknowledge.
The Billionaire III is among the most extravagant pieces Jacob & Co. produces, and one of only 18 examples made. At 54mm in diameter it is considerably larger than the 36-40mm that contemporary watchmaking considers standard for a men's wristwatch. The case, inner ring, movement bridges and bracelet carry 714 white diamonds — 504 of them on the bracelet alone — totalling 129.6 carats, set in 18-carat white gold. The skeleton movement visible through the diamond-set case is itself larger than most complete watches.
At 54mm, even the movement is bigger than most watches. The Billionaire III is not trying to be subtle. It is trying to be seen from across a room — and it succeeds.
WHY THE ROCK AND THIS WATCH MAKE SENSE
There is a simple physical logic to the pairing. At roughly 6'4" and around 250 pounds, Dwayne Johnson is one of the few people who can wear a 54mm case without it looking absurd — his frame turns what would be a comically oversized watch on most wrists into something that reads as proportionate. The piece needs a presence to match it, and Johnson has presence to spare.
Beyond the physical, there is a cultural logic. Jacob & Co. has spent three decades building relationships with the world's most successful entertainers — from Jay-Z and Drake to Floyd Mayweather. The Billionaire III is not aimed at the traditional watch collector. It is aimed at the individual for whom a $3.3 million timepiece reads as a natural expression of extraordinary success — and a first-ever Met Gala appearance, in an outfit deliberately designed to challenge convention, was about as visible a stage for it as the brand could ask for.
THE WATCH WORLD'S VERDICT
The traditional watch collecting community has a complicated relationship with Jacob & Co. The brand's aesthetic sits far outside the restrained Swiss traditions of Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Söhne or even Rolex. Diamond-set cases, animated movements and celebrity associations are not the hallmarks of what most serious collectors consider great watchmaking.
And yet the Billionaire III contains genuine technical work. Setting 714 diamonds across a fully functioning skeleton mechanism — without compromising the timekeeping — is a real feat of execution, and one that tends to get less credit than it deserves from the enthusiast community. You can dislike the aesthetic and still acknowledge the craft.
What the Met Gala moment demonstrated above all else is that luxury watches have crossed from specialist hobby into mainstream cultural conversation. A timepiece on a celebrity wrist now generates the kind of attention previously reserved for haute couture. For the watch industry — and for platforms like Stories To Watch — that is a significant shift.
BILLIONAIRE AT THE MET — A QUIET TRADITION
Johnson's watch was not the first Billionaire to walk those steps, which is exactly why "most expensive ever" overstates it. In 2023 Usher wore a roughly $5 million ruby-set version, and the line has surfaced at the Gala more than once in recent years. The Billionaire traces back to 2016, when Jacob & Co. released the original with 656 diamonds; the III, with 714, is the current high-water mark of the family. Johnson's appearance adds another chapter rather than rewriting the record.
JACOB & CO. — WHAT COLLECTORS SHOULD KNOW
For collectors approaching Jacob & Co. for the first time, the brand offers more than diamond-set celebrity pieces. Their Astronomia collection — featuring a rotating three-dimensional tourbillon visible through the dial — is one of the most mechanically ambitious watch families in contemporary production. The Astronomia Solar, with its miniature sun rotating on a four-arm carousel, is genuinely extraordinary independent of its price tag.
Secondary-market values for Jacob & Co. are volatile and heavily dependent on celebrity association and cultural moment. A high-profile placement like this can lift attention on the pieces involved — though with only 18 Billionaire III examples made, open-market data points are scarce, and any "value" figure should be treated as indicative rather than firm.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE — CELEBRITY AND THE WATCH MARKET
The Rock's Met Gala watch is part of a broader cultural moment for horology. Cristiano Ronaldo's collection runs into the tens of millions and generates daily coverage; the Kevin Hart Netflix roast became a parade of high-end pieces; Formula One drivers, NBA stars and entertainers now wear watches that would have been confined to specialist publications five years ago.
This mainstreaming of watch culture represents a genuine opportunity. An entirely new generation of potential collectors is discovering horology through celebrity wrists — and then doing what every curious person does in 2026: searching for more information. Stories To Watch exists to be the destination they find.