These Days, Watches Are for Almost Anywhere but the Wrist

Given the outsize effect that Taylor Swift suddenly seems to have on everything from the Super Bowl to the U.S. presidential campaign, it was no surprise that her Grammy appearance in a choker featuring a vintage Concord watch had media proclaiming the start of a trend.

But recently a growing number of celebrities, from Emma Chamberlain to Julia Fox, have been displaying their own unconventional approaches to telling time.

Rihanna, for example, had a white gold watch, blinged out with more than 70 carats of round and emerald-cut diamonds, clasped around her ankle when she appeared at the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas in November.

“She has a reputation for wearing fashion in a different way,” said Benjamin Arabov, chief executive of the New York City jeweler Jacob & Co., which made the $400,000 timepiece. “The F1 was her first appearance after her pregnancy, and she wanted to come out with a bang like she always does.”

“We’ve seen this world explode,” said Brynn Wallner, the founder of Dimepiece, a digital platform on all things horological, based in New York City. “And with more people getting into watches, more people are starting to experiment with wearing them.”