Once again, Rihanna is making a strong case for extreme watches worn in extreme ways. At the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix this past weekend, the Barbadian superstar was spotted rocking a blindingly bejeweled Jacob & Co. watch around her ankle—just months after becoming the talk of the watch world by wearing a different Jacob & Co. stunner around her neck during Pharrell’s Louis Vuitton debut in Paris.
For that star-studded event in June, Rihanna wore a custom piece—featuring a watch geek-approved flying tourbillon and hand-wound movement—covered in 339 baguette-cut diamonds. This time out, she settled on a timepiece from the NYC jeweler’s Boutique Collection featuring 155 stones (mostly emerald-cut diamonds) in an 18-karat white gold setting. (If you’re wondering what kind of acrobatics it requires to check the time on your ankle, you’re missing the point.)
Taking inspiration from cocktail watches of the mid-20th century, the pieces in the Boutique Collection, while certainly eye-catching, are much more conventional than many of Jacob & Co’s ultra-complicated models inspired by films, astronomy, and more. Wearing one around one’s ankle, however, is new. Over the past few years, more and more women have been wearing watches in unconventional ways—to the degree that even The New York Times saw fit to comment on the trend.
Rihanna is a noted watch collector—in addition to Jacob & Co’s blingy wares, she’s also strapped on everything from classic Rolex Day-Date models to excellent choices from Cartier. And she’s not afraid to wear her luxurious goods in new places. In May, she wore a $600,000 diamond ring on her toe.
Given her wide-ranging, eccentric taste, there’s no telling what she’ll wear next—or, more importantly, where she’ll wear it. Maybe a thigh watch is on the way? Watch this space.