Nicolas Duvauchelle — watch collection

About Nicolas Duvauchelle’s watch collection

Nicolas Duvauchelle is a French actor who has built one of the more quietly compelling careers in contemporary French cinema. Born in 1980, he came to wider attention through roles in films such as À l'origine (2009), Les Yeux de sa mère (2017), and the Canal+ series Les Revenants. Known for taking on morally complex, often intense characters, he has earned a reputation as one of the more serious dramatic performers of his generation in France. He is not a red-carpet fixture in the conventional celebrity sense, which makes sightings of him — and his watch choices — relatively rare and, for that reason, worth noting.

The Nicolas Duvauchelle watch collection, as documented so far, centres on a single but telling sighting: the Cartier Santos de Cartier Large in stainless steel (reference WSSA0018). He was photographed courtside at Roland-Garros wearing the watch on its integrated full steel bracelet, paired with casual sportswear. The Santos de Cartier is one of the most historically grounded references in Cartier's catalogue — originally designed in 1904 for Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, making it widely regarded as one of the first purpose-built wristwatches. The WSSA0018 variant measures 39.8mm and features the model's characteristic squared case, exposed polished screws on the bezel, and an integrated bracelet with a deployant clasp and QuickSwitch strap-change system. It is a practical, wearable piece that carries genuine horological context without veering into overt luxury signalling.

What the choice suggests is a preference for watches with historical substance over novelty or ostentation. The Santos is not a flashy selection — it is a considered one. For an actor who tends to avoid the promotional circuit and lets his work speak for itself, a Cartier Santos worn casually at a clay-court tennis tournament reads as consistent with that disposition.