Will Smith marks his award show return with a stunning vintage Universal Genève Polerouter
Borna BošnjakThough it’s unlikely as significant as the moment that forever etched Will Smith into the annals of meme history, the Fresh Prince’s Grammys 2025 appearance will undoubtedly be significant to watch nerds. If you’ve spent any time on Watchstagram during an award show, your feed would have undoubtedly become inundated by whatever it is the celebs are wearing. This is usually limited to high-end unobtainium and the latest and greatest from the big-box brands. Will Smith, however, is joining the select few who brought us something to truly fuss over. With the help of Eric Wind of Wind Vintage, his choice of wristwear for the 2025 edition of the Grammys is a 1950s Universal Genève S20217-7, with a double-signed dial by retailer Joyeria Milos.
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Clad in an all-black, crystal-studded get-up custom-made by Balmain, I’ve got to admit that a Polerouter is an unexpected choice, especially for someone who’s usually stuck with modern, and quite sizeable. Though the watches he’s worn never amounted to the amount of bling on his jacket, we’re still talking pieces like the Royal Oak 15500, Ulysse Nardin Marine Torpilleur, and the now infamous Cartier Drive, all of which come in at over 40mm.
Whatever the reasoning behind his decision might’ve been, it’s one you won’t see me complaining about, and one that’s especially commendable when presented with an entire line-up of watches from Eric Wind’s stock. Judging by the Instagram story posted by Smith’s stylist, the double-signed Polerouter won against some stiff competition. No less than nine Rolexes (the 9083 UFO being a personal favourite), a few Heures (including a lovely Seafarer), an Enicar Sherpa, a Vulcain Cricket, and a Royal Oak graced the table, and even then, I have to agree with Mr Smith here – the Polerouter stands out.
Thankfully, Smith didn’t fall victim to the celeb wristshot. Instead of wearing the Polerouter loose and low as if he’s borrowing his dad’s watch (which might work in your favour in some cases), the watch remains hidden in plain sight. While I have to give thanks to our own Zach Blass for sending me the reel above, being Time+Tide’s resident Universal Genève obsessive, I wanted to see whether I could find anything interesting about this particular reference.
An on-wrist pic from Eric Wind gives us a better look at the dial. It’s a lovely, creamy take on the recognisable Polerouter crosshair, though with added intrigue thanks to that dealer stamp at 6 o’clock. Wind’s information links it to a Havana retailer, while some quick forum reading points me to Joyeria Milos y Quintana, based on a Polerouter that featured both “Joyeria Milos” and “Cuervo y Sobrinos” on the dial, the latter being a well-known Cuban jeweller.
The case of this particular Polerouter is even more curious. You might’ve noticed that Wind’s Instagram post describes it as a reference S 20217-5, while my introductory paragraph lists it as a S 20217-7. While this is absolutely an example of Vintage Enthusiast Wankerness™, I actually found the exact same watch that Smith is wearing on the Polerouter Reference website, albeit without the steel bracelet. The watch has a non-luminous cream/white dial, making it a -7 reference, while a -5 would be a silver dial with lume – like this example sold by Mr. A and co. over at Avocado Vintage. In any case, these S20217 models were among the earliest Polerouters, equipped with the bumper automatic calibre 138SS, with 35.5mm cases and those signature twisted lugs. After a vintage Cartier and Omega fiesta during the Golden Globes, award show watch spotting in 2025 is looking like it’ll be serving up some treats.