Discover why stars like Tyler the Creator and Kendall Jenner are championing the mini watch revival, with styles from Cartier, Rolex, Tudor, Longines and Audemars Piguet

Feb 27 , 2025

A-listers like Paul Mescal (pictured), Tyler the Creator and Kendall Jenner are popularising the wearing of mini watches from marque brands. Photo: Getty Images

Blend vintage charm with modern fashion by wearing one of these tiny timepieces from marque brands – as the likes of Hailey Bieber, Paul Mescal, Jonathan Bailey and Emma Chamberlain are

A glimpse at reasonably close range of Paul Mescal – wearer of impossibly small shorts and a man of Old Hollywood-era appeal – in a tiny gold Cartier Baignoire watch at the Sydney premiere of Gladiator II was all the proof required that the small watch trend isn’t going anywhere.

Mescal, a Cartier ambassador, has certainly been doing the Lord’s work himself to immortalise the idea that small watches are indeed for everybody.

Cartier Mini Tank and Panthère watches. Photo: Handout

He’s not short of options. At Watches and Wonders in April, one of the most buzzed-about timepieces was Cartier’s teeny Tank Mini, measuring just 24mm x 16.5mm. The Tank Mini was photographed, it must be mentioned, on many a big and hairy wrist. From Cartier’s canon of small, design-led watches, it follows the 2023 introduction of the internet-breaking Baignoire.

The grail watch – its slim, gold bangle an alluring hybrid of watchmaking and jewellery – has been worn by everyone from Tyler the Creator to Kendall Jenner and Emma Chamberlain.

Mescal isn’t the only celebrity embracing daintier timepieces. Hailey Bieber has an impressive collection of miniature watches, including an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and a Patek Philippe Nautilus. Jeff Goldblum, another man of impeccable personal style, wore a bejewelled Tiffany & Co. cocktail watch to the Met Gala in May. Jonathan Bailey, as part of his inimitable Wicked press tour wardrobe, paired a custom silver Versace chain-mail shirt, crisp white trousers and a small watch from Omega.

Jonathan Bailey wore at tiny watch to the premiere of Wicked in Los Angeles, in November 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

The enduring appeal of small watches – with smaller sizes found everywhere this year, from Tudor to Tag Heuer – has been attributed to many things, including renewed appreciation among collectors and fans alike for vintage timepieces.

As Brynn Wallner, founder of women’s watch-focused digital platform Dimepiece, points out, these timepieces were typically smaller than today’s offerings. Until around the 1970s, the average watch size for men was about 38mm. This is now considered something of a sweet spot for both men and women.

“This trend also has some history to back it – before oversized watches became the standard post-Y2K, everyone wore smaller watches, from petite Jackie O to boxing powerhouse Muhammad Ali. It wasn’t so much a style statement as it was a matter of availability … 44mm Panerais didn’t exist then. With fashion’s intrinsic cyclicity, and the 70s and 90s enjoying a sustained ‘moment’, watches are being included in this conversation in a way that may not have happened just five years ago,” says Wallner.

Jeff Goldblum at the 2024 Met Gala, sporting a mini Tiffany & Co. watch. Photo: Handout