Jacques Dutronc wears an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Jacques Dutronc wears an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak as Philip in Gilles Paquet-Brenner's U.V., a French film set during a summer holiday on the Mediterranean coast. Dutronc, who's better known in France as a singer and songwriter than as an actor, brings a particular kind of weathered cool to the role. His biggest hits came in the 1960s, and by 2007 he'd settled into a second career playing characters who carry their years with style.

The Royal Oak on Dutronc makes sense for both the actor and the character. The watch was designed by Gerald Genta in 1972 and has aged into one of the most recognizable luxury sports watches ever made. Its octagonal bezel, exposed screws, and integrated steel bracelet were revolutionary at launch and now read as classic. On a man of Philip's generation and apparent means, vacationing on the French coast, the Royal Oak is the kind of watch you buy once and wear for thirty years. It doesn't chase trends, it doesn't need to be explained, and it looks equally correct with a linen shirt or a dinner jacket. Dutronc himself has been photographed wearing AP in his personal life, so this may well be his own piece rather than a wardrobe selection.