Impressive Celebrity Watch Collections
Ever wondered what sort of hobbies famous celebs take up in their free time? Outside their busy careers, they easily share one common interest: luxury watches. That’s hardly a surprise, after all, with great wealth comes excellent access to opulent finds!
A watch, regardless of its worth, is a powerful tool that tells time and communicates one’s personal style. As such, these impressive collections represent a window into the secondary passions of these public personalities.
John Mayer
For the better part of the last decade, the watch world orbited around John Mayer’s wrist, gravitating toward the pieces he wore in public, and the ones he rhapsodized about in the media. Widely accredited for single-handedly spiking the value of individual watches, John Mayer is renowned for being one of the most influential watch collectors on the planet.
His collection, which many would not dare numerate in writing due to its sheer size, features countless iconic and notable timepieces such as:
- 6265 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona with a rare green Omani Khanjar in its sixth subdial;
- A custom Arab dial 6265 Rolex Cosmograph Daytona with no visible Rolex branding;
- The 6269 and 6270 ‘Original’ Rolex Rainbow Daytonas with diamonds in the bezel and a baguette pave dial. Experts suggest that there are only an estimated 8 to 10 authentic 6270 ‘Original’ Rolex Rainbow Daytonas in existence.
Other notable timepieces include:
- The Rolex Rainbow Daytona 116598 in 18k gold;
- Audemars Piguet Concept Royal Oak Tourbillon Chronograph;
- Rolex GMT Master II 116719BLRO in white gold with a black dial;
- Patek Phillipe 5004G with a Salmon dial and luminous hands;
- Audemars Piguet Concept GMT Tourbillon in white ceramic — amongst a multitude of others.
Robert Downey Jr.
Arguably one of the most celebrated watch collectors in the media, Robert Downey Jr.‘s extremely impressive selection of timepieces showcase not only his incredible wealth but provide a window into his personality, style, and notable life experiences. His collection, first unveiled in an online GQ video, starts off with a one-off Breitling ‘Pathfinder’ made exclusively for an elite group of 28 men in the British Army’s 16th Air Assault Brigade. The collective, known as the Pathfinder Group, is a reconnaissance group responsible for marking and clearing parachute drop zones and helicopter landing zones. As such, Robert Downey Jr.’s watch dial showcases the insignia of one of the British Parachute Regiments.
Other notable watches in his collection include:
- The Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX3 Tourbillon GMT;
- Omega Speedmaster Moon Professional;
- Bamford Watch Department Customised Rolex GMT Master II ‘Ghost’;
- Rolex Submariner ‘Hulk’;
- Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner;
- A vintage Baume & Mercier;
- Bell & Ross Titanium Orange;
- A Patek Philippe Nautilus Moonphase Steel ref. 3712.
Robert Downey Jr.’s watch collection showcases the ideal balance between timelessness and sophistication while remaining relatively attainable. These qualities, despite his spending power, showcase an aspirational yet highly individualised aspect to watchmaking which so many adore.
Jay Z
Not only is Jay Z one of the most influential hip-hop artists of our generation, but this A-list celebrity is also one of the biggest watch collectors in Hollywood. From name-dropping his favourite watch brands in songs to finally unveiling a portion of his collection to the media, Jay Z’s most notable possessions include:
- The Rolex Sky Dweller 326938 in yellow gold;
- Patek Philippe Nautilus Annual Calendar 5726A-001;
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso;
- Rolex Daytona Everose Gold 116505–0013;
- Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Carbon;
- Rolex Day Date 2 Platinum 218206;
- Rolex Day Date 40 ‘Arabic Dial’ Special Edition;
- Richard Mille RM 056 Blue Sapphire;
- Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime 6300G;
- Patek Philippe World Time 5130P;
- Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph 5130P.
While all of Jay Z’s timepieces are iconic and highly coveted across the globe, many observers agree that the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso and Richard Mille RM 056 Blue Sapphire stand out the most for their aesthetic and functional value. The Richard Mille RM 056 is especially known for its highly skeletonised RM 056 movement which showcases a manual winding tourbillon movement with hours, minutes, chronograph split seconds, power reserve, torque, and function indicators.
Complete with a front bezel, caseband, and back bezel cut and milled from solid blocks of sapphire, the Richard Mille RM 056 is revered as a feat of engineering and a strong visual statement. After all, the production of this sapphire structure took years of research and testing in order to ensure an adequate response to the demands of strength and comfort.
Kevin Hart
An untrained eye would hardly notice that American stand-up comedian, actor, and producer, Kevin Hart is also an avid watch collector. Rewarding himself in the form of luxury timepieces, this celebrity is known for making calculated watch investments, and it shows in his collection.
With over 17 watches under his belt, Kevin Hart’s collection tells a story of his life experiences and career opportunities. The most notable include the Patek Philippe 5960/001G-001 which is inspired by the brand’s first-ever self-winding flyback chronograph with an Annual Calendar introduced in 2006 and made entirely in-house.
Unveiled in 2013, Kevin Hart’s specific 5960 complication was launched to celebrate the opening of a new Patek Philippe boutique in Moscow. Complete with a blue dial, and vintage black or brown calf leather strap with white stitching, this watch showcases guilloche pushers that recall the “vintage” models from Patek Philippe.
Other notable timepieces in his collection include:
A Factory-Set 40mm Rolex GMT Master II 116759SANR in white gold, which allows travellers to read the time in two time zones simultaneously through traditional hour, minute, and seconds hands, a triangle-tipped 24-hour hand, and a bidirectional rotatable bezel with a 24-hour graduated Cerachrom insert;
A discontinued 40mm Everose Gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 116505, a Rolex Day Date II 218398 in solid yellow gold with a factory-set diamond bezel and a factory-set diamond dial with two rubies;
A Rolex Day Date 18946 which offers fundamental gains in terms of precision, power reserve, resistance to shocks and magnetism, ease of use, and reliability;
and a discontinued solid white gold Rolex Sky Dweller 326139 which is revered as the most complicated watch Rolex has ever produced.
Ultimately, no matter what watch you wear, your personal style decisions make a statement on who you are and what is important to you. The watches you collect throughout your life, depict the experiences and notable milestones you have accomplished. A complete collection does not need to showcase a multitude of brands and iconic models, it could simply be one brand or one type of complication which piques your interest. As such, these impressive celebrity watch collections are just some examples of the diversity in preference that exist in watch collecting.
