Those pesky celebrities have it all, the money, the clothes, the yachts and the lifestyles and whether we like it or not we’re forever chasing rainbows and aspiring to be like them. They definitely are rainbows, since we’ll never get there, their image is a carefully constructed masterpiece and it’s this that makes them attractive. Well we’re going to be scientific about it, and deconstruct those expensive and unattainable  images into something much more realistic. Here’s our list of expensive celebrity watches, and their much cheaper alternatives. Most lists go to ten, but ours go to eleven.

Zach Efron

The tweenage heart throb Zach Efron is well known for his Disney credentials, as early as 2006 Newsweek said he was “arguably the biggest teen star in America right now”. So three years down the line, Efron is no longer a teenager, dare we say he’s becoming an international style icon? GQ seem to think so, and in this recent photo shoot he was seen sporting a Rolex Yacht Master, and we think he wears it pretty well.If you want to replicate the exact look, expect to pay up to £6000. Alternatively, you could pick up the  Gc Trend Quartz, a fantastic build, chronograph watch with a roman numeral dial, it was £250, but you now get your hands on one for just £175. Get it here.

The alternative:

Chris Pine

Chris Pine has just landed himself a place in Sci Fi history with a lead role in the latest Star Trek film and the box office figures suggest he’s probably in for the long run. With all the original characters there’s plenty of room for development in the story, we’re predicting at least two more films. So what does the modern Captain James T. Kirk where when he’s out and about? A much more affordable unit than Mr Efron, it’s a Hamilton Khaki Aviation Qne and it’s yours for just £400. That’s still plenty of money, so how about you try the DKNY chronograph in black, a well built watch and it’s just £175. Get it here.

The alternative:

Fidel Castro, Socialism and Steve McQueen

He’s the man behind the icon of Che Guevara, the political thinking engine of the more culturally appealing iconic cigar smoker. So what does this quiet revolutionary wear to make sure he stays on top of his schedule? It’s not exactly the watch you might expect one of the worlds truly impassioned socialists to wear, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. This extravagant beast costs £4500 which makes us wonder whether he’s really a man of his principles or whether this photograph is actually fake. One thing to remember is that Fidel did have a taste for fine American crafted cars, so maybe that taste spilt over into fine watches? Switzerland is a fairly left of centre country, so maybe those Rolex rogues thought they’d ship a few watches through this revered political icon.

One dead give away about the photo is that Fidel is wearing two watches, one appears to be a humble leather strapped heirloom and the other a  Swiss masterpiece. You can make up your own mind. If Fidel hasn’t sold you on the watch, we know for certain that Steve McQueen wore one, and he’s probably the coolest man who ever lived. If you are sticking to your socialist agenda then why not get your hands on the Tissot PRC 200, it’s just £275. They’re fantastically built watches with Sapphire Crystal Glass faces, Che would be proud! Get it here

The alternative:

Brad Pitt

Hands down the best looking man on the planet. So much so that one of his film’s narrative was entirely based on teasing into waiting for him to look sexier and sexier. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was about as interesting to watch as Sunday League football but it proved a very interesting point; people will pay money just to watch Brad Pitt look good. So what watch does he wear? A Tag Heur Monaco in this photo, and for the money we’re not overly impressed. Maybe it’s the square face, maybe it’s the fact it’s juxtaposed with Brad’s face, maybe it’s the leather strap, but it just doesn’t bode well. The price tag is £1700 if you’ll settle for just one additional dial, and quite a bit more if you won’t. Click here if you want it.

There aren’t a huge amount of square faced watches on the market, but we’re of the mindset they’re soon to come back into fashion. If you agree and want to start pushing this trend out early, you can grab the Tissot Quadro gents Quartz watch. At just £375 it has a brown face, an Italian leather strap and pretty oversized numbers. Get it here.

The alternative:

Barack Obama

This guy is Mr Perfect right now, sure he’s got a few whining critics but he took the world by storm towards the end of 2008. One thing that has always been intriguing about Obama is his endless drive. This guy goes for jogs, he plays basketball, he has kids, he takes his wife out for romantic dinners and now, he runs the free world in his spare time. What on earth keeps this guy going? A Jorg Gray 6500 Chronograph to be precise, and going by Fidels pesky standards, Obama is the king of thrift. This stylish number is just £300! You don’t even need to pay that much for a watch this stylish. Why not try the Accurist Chronograph Ms52B, it’s a huge manly beast and it’s a steal at only £90! We reckon you’ll be hard pushed to tell the difference. Buy it here.

The alternative:

Leo DiCaprio

The film Blood Diamond Leo’s is trying to sell us a message, to rid the world of all the evils of Diamonds. Don’t get us wrong, we know that those rare little rocks are hardly the most ethical jewels, but like Fidel and his Rolex, would an ethical do gooder wear a £2000 watch? Probably not, but we certainly would. This blue faced Brietling Chronoavenger is a much nicer watch than Brad “ages backward” Pitt’s, it has a solid blue face, three chronograph dials and solid performing hands. If you don’t fancy forking out your hard earned wages on an over priced watch then you can opt for Nautica’s BFC 46 with a Swiss movement Chronograph and water resistant to 200 meters. It’s £375, get it here.

The alternative:

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg has come a long way since his days as Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Renowned for his bad boy image what does this rapper turned actor use to keep his cool coming? It’s an 18k gold Rolex GMT Master II Ceramic. Now you may or may not know that on the streets ceramic is often used by crackheads to smash your car window and steal your stuff, and Wahlberg (whether you believe it or not) likes to talk about his troubled “car jacking” days. Maybe he has a ceramic based watch just in case he needs to break and hot wire a car on his way home from a film shoot. If you can afford the minimum  £15,000 price tag for this watch then you probably have moved away from the car jacking industry. At fifteen grand you’re not likely to be getting this watch, but if you like the style we’ve found an alternative. The Seiko kinetic driven gold plated watch with a champagne dial. There’s a serious drop off in price on this piece, it’s just £210, so grab it here.

The alternative:

Pharrell Williams

First and foremost, would you believe that Pharrell is actually 36? It doesn’t really matter, but…you know, we thought he was younger. We’d roll with somewhere along the lines of 28, so he’s stolen eight years from us. Despite his ability to convince the world he’s eternally young, there’s no question about his status as a style icon. Unfortunately for you, it doesn’t look like you’ll be getting your hands on one of his watches any time soon since he’s wearing an Audemars Piquet Royal Oak Concept. Crunch those words into eBay and you’re looking at a price tag of around $250,000… credit crunched.

You’re never going to get a watch like this for anything less than an obscene price, but looking at some of the eccentric design, the use of colour, and the general transparency of the watch we think we’ve come up with a decent alternative. It’s a definite head turner coupled with a fantastic brand at just £175; The DKNY medicine man with a TV test face and wrist wrapping strap. Click here to get it.

The alternative:

George Clooney

This king of suave made the ladies swoon in Oceans 11. In our most humble of opinions he’s the American Hugh Grant, one dimensional, overly stereotypical, but ultimately quite charming. We know he’s a fan of Nespresso, the super fast coffee ready in just minutes from those rogues at Nescafe, but what does this scotch on the rocks kind of guy keep his wrist warm with? It’s an Omega Seamaster Professional. We’re not quite sure what a “professional” watch is, maybe it means you’re only supposed to wear it if you get paid. Maybe it means it’s made by professionals, and maybe that’s as stupid as it sounds. None the less, as ridiculous as the name is, it’s a decent watch but at £2000 it’s definitely a over priced. For a similar high quality watch with an eye catching style you could snatch the Seiko Blue Velatora. Tt has three chronographs dials and in our opinion a much nicer face than Clooneys Seamaster.  It’s less than quarter of the price of the Omega so get it here.

The alternative:

Orlando Bloom

He’s the face of Legolas in Lord of the Rings, and he’s also a practising Buddhist. Spirituality and being an elf must go hand in hand. This down-to-earth chap likes to include remain in “real life” as much as possible, so much so that whilst filming Kingdom of Heaven in Morocco he adopted a dog. That’s how the real world works isn’t it? He also has an elvish tattoo on his right wrist that says “nine” in Tengwar script. Weird.

Anyway, you’re probably interested to know what watch he wears? It’s a stylish Bremont ALT1-C, and so far our money is on this one as the best looking there of the lot. It has an Italian leather strap with hand stitching, cream face with two black chronographs and a silver case. At £3500 this is one expensive beast, but why not go for the similarly stylish Seiko leather strapped Chronograph. It’s well built, with a quality leather strap, a gorgeous white face, and more function than you can shake a shiny stick at. At £275, this really is a superb watch, get it here.

The alternative:

Daniel Craig

Everyone needs a bond watch now and then, but who needs four pens? What appears to have happened here is that Daniel Craig, of James Bond fame, has stolen the autograph pens of many avid fans waiting for hours to see their favourite fella. When you can afford a Rolex, do you really need to bother with stealing soft tipped pens? Come on Craig, sort it out.

As for the watch, it’s a Rolex Daytona 6263, which contrary to what you might think, does NOT mean it tells you the time too fast. This piece could cost you as much as £50,000 - £60,000 so don’t expect from Santa this Christmas… White faced watches with black offsets are fairly rare, so our alternative would need some modification. It’s the TW A1GP Chronograph, it has a white Arabic dial with date window, a quartz movement but unfortunately comes with a rubber strap. If that white and black look does it for you then a new strap on this watch and you’re away. We’re not sure why such a high quality watch was released with a rubber strap, strange indeed. It’s yours for £495, get it here.

The alternative:

So there you have it

That concludes our list! Of course you may have noticed that not a single female made it in, but don’t worry, we’re already working on the next entry that will be exclusively for the ladies. If you think we’ve missed a trick, let us know in a comment!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Top 10 Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.