Nicole Kidman, Cindy Crawford, and Daniel Craig Land on Planet Omega in New York

There is no shortage of spectacle in the world of watchmaking. In fashion, zeitgeist-shifting moments in the form of intricate runway sets and celebrity-packed front rows are expected, so one might be surprised to learn how the watch world can up the ante. Such was the case when Omega chose to take up residence at The Chelsea Factory in Manhattan, where not one, not two, not three, but a whopping four nights of festivities celebrated the opening of Planet Omega, a week-long exhibition showcasing timepieces that rarely see the light of day.
Night one, its grand opening, saw Nicole Kidman swan through the room, first in look by Tory Burch and later in head-to-toe Balenciaga, as stylist Jason Bolden stood nearby. "I want to go and see the watch that went to the deepest part of the ocean,” Kidman told Vogue. “I’m heading straight to it.” Yes, included in the array of museum-worthy pieces is one hulking scientific feat in the form of the Seamaster Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional, which reached 35,876 feet below sea level when it was fastened to the exterior of a submarine piloted by Victor Vescovo. It s shown alongside specimens like The Ladymatic, Omega s first women’s watch from 1955, JFK’s very own timepiece complete with “President of The United States John F. Kennedy” inscribed on the back, and Elvis’ 18-karat gold wristwatch adorned with 44 brilliant-cut diamonds, a gift from his record label, RCA.
“The reason I love watches is yes, the quality and the history of them, but it keeps you off your phone, because when you use your phone as a watch to tell the time, I think you end up being pulled off in a different direction,” she mused. “So, when you literally tell the time by your watch piece, that is that it s so healthy for your mind. I discovered that years ago, actually. I think it s why it s now becoming so fashionable, and people are really gravitating towards them again, because they know we re all trying to keep a balance.” Ironically, the night also marked the end of the Screen Actors Guild strike, meaning such balance would be harder to strike than ever. Following the night’s festivities, Kidman would embark on the release of three new female-directed projects including Expats, a limited series by Lulu Wang filmed in Hong Kong, Baby Girl, an A24 film by Halina Reijn, and a reunion with The Undoing director Susanne Bier, The Perfect Couple, due out next summer.
The festivities carried on Friday night with a dinner hosted by Daniel Craig, who held court with Omega’s private clientele hailing from all corners of the globe. They dined alongside the former Mr. Bond himself, in addition to a coterie of Olympians, including Allyson Felix, Oksana Masters, Nathan Chen, and Noah Lyles, leading most of the evening’s dinner chatter to focus on the upcoming summer Olympics in Paris. Monday evening called for another silver screen star, Andrew Garfield, who celebrated alongside Hannah Waddingham and Swatch Group CEO, Arnaud Michon. "This feels just like a beautiful new friendship for me,” Garfield told guests on stage. "I get to continue my instinct for storytelling with another storyteller and this whole company. It feels like a very natural fit, this kind of elegance, beauty, and craftsmanship.”
The grand finale? An evening with Cindy Crawford and Kaia Gerber, bien sûr. The mother-daughter duo, sporting matching gold timepieces, took to the stage to delight guests with their fondest watch-related memories as Sean O’Pry, Sistine Stallone, Conor Dwyer, and DJ Isaac Hindin-Miller looked on in the crowd. “I jokingly said I wanted the Constellation timepiece, but in platinum, and [former Omega CEO Nicolas G. Hayek, Sr.] had one made for me as a thank you for some of the work I had done, so I have the one-and-only platinum Constellation,” Crawford told guests. “It’s in my safe, but it should be here in this exhibit. It’s breathtaking.”