Shaped watches continue to grab horological headlines and land on the most famous wrists in the multiverse. In a world saturated with vintage reissues and luxury sports watch clones, timepieces with oddball case architecture allow both designers and collectors to stretch out, show off their style and taste, and differentiate themselves from the crowd.
Michael B. Jordan clearly agrees. Appearing at the Spider-Man: Brand New Day premiere in, well, a Spider-Man t-shirt, he wore a curious, shaped watch unfamiliar to all but the most dedicated auction catalog sleuths: the Vacheron Constantin “Prestige de la France.” Housed in an elongated, trapezoidal case with a thin, cabochon-set crown, it looks not unlike a vintage riff on the Cartier Tank but comes with a fascinating French-inflected backstory.
In June of 1972, the Comité de Prestige et de Propagande Nationale de France—a French organization that promoted French cultural excellence—bestowed upon Vacheron Constnatin its “Diplôme du Prestige de la France” award. In honor of the award, the Genevan watchmaker designed a new model that encapsulated the house’s watchmaking expertise in multiple arenas: there was the subtle curving case; the sparse dial with thin baton indices and hands; the precious metal construction; and, in early examples, the hand-wound cal. K1050, a thin movement measuring 2.8mm tall with a Gyromax free-sprung balance and Geneva Seal-level finishing.
Though versions of the Prestige de la France exist with entirely polished finishing, MBJ’s features a lovely diamond-set upper case bout and thin, smooth bezel that plays against a yellow gold case and a lovely anthracite dial, creating a multi-tone look that is at once sophisticated and restrained. The integration of the simple alligator leather strap into the hooded lugs is reminiscent of certain Gilbert Albert designs for Patek Philippe, while a dedicated caseback engraving featuring a laurel wreath and individual serial number speaks to the model’s prestige and importance.
Produced in several references and configurations throughout the 1970s, the Prestige de la France was very much of its time with respect to both aesthetics and mechanics. A revival of sorts in the form of the 1972 Prestige Collection in 2013 brought the model to a contemporary audience, though its debut in the midst of the luxury-sports-watch craze may have done it few favors. Now, in 2026, it seems like precisely the right time for a resurgence of interest in such a design…or perhaps a fresh interpretation?