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Actor Dwayne The Rock Johnson spotted wearing Montblanc

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was spotted on the set of Watch What Happens Live wearing a Montblanc 1858 Small Second — a timepiece that quietly carries one of Swiss watchmaking's more legitimate manufacture pedigrees. The casual Hawaiian shirt setting made the choice all the more striking: this is a dress-leaning field watch sitting on the wrist of one of Hollywood's most physically imposing men, and it worked.

The 1858 Small Second reference visible here features a 40 mm stainless-steel case with a flat bezel, a matte black dial populated with luminous Arabic numerals in a classic military-legibility layout, and a dedicated small-seconds subdial positioned at 6 o'clock. The dial carries the Montblanc star logo at 12 and the brand name centered — hallmarks of the 1858 line. The bracelet is a finely woven stainless Milanese mesh with a fold-over clasp, giving the piece a 1940s field-watch aesthetic without resorting to a simple leather strap. Based on the dial configuration and mesh bracelet, this aligns closely with reference 116098.

Montblanc's 1858 collection is rooted in the Minerva manufacture acquired by the Richemont Group in 2006. Minerva, founded in 1858 in Villeret, produced chronograph movements of exceptional quality for over a century. The entry-level 1858 pieces use the in-house MB 17.29 manual-winding caliber — a no-date, small-seconds movement with 42-hour power reserve and 18,800 vph frequency. It is hand-wound, which reinforces the vintage field-watch narrative the collection is deliberately telling.

From a collector's perspective, the 1858 Small Second occupies an interesting position: it delivers genuine manufacture movement credentials and strong design coherence at a sub-$5,000 price point, a segment where most competitors are sourcing ETA or Sellita movements. Montblanc doesn't always receive full collector respect, but the 1858 line has steadily earned critical acknowledgment for authenticity of purpose.

Johnson has previously been seen in Rolex Submariner references, reflecting his affinity for functional, legible dials. The Montblanc 1858 Small Second retails at approximately $5,000 and trades close to retail on the grey market, reflecting steady but not speculative demand. For a watch worn casually on daytime television, it signals a collector sensibility that goes beyond pure status signaling.