Similar to certain famous athletes and Hollywood stars, many prominent musicians enjoy having a fine – sometimes extravagant – timepiece on their wrist. While some prefer to keep things reserved and discreet, others opt for loud and flashy luxury watches. There is a long list of musicians who are either devoted watch lovers or simply stand out due to their watches of choice. Here, we’re taking a closer look at four famous artists from the music industry and their watches.
- Drake – No Holding Back
- Sir Elton John – Luxury Watches With a Purpose
- Ed Sheeran – Passion for Collecting
- Eric Clapton – Top Prices at Auction
Drake – No Holding Back
Canadian rapper and actor Aubrey Drake Graham, aka Drake, has been a household name on the watch scene for years. He has a penchant for unique and pricey luxury timepieces. Drake’s sizable collection is in constant flux and growing all the time. Alongside classics from Patek Philippe, his watch box is home to timepieces from Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Richard Mille, and Jacob & Co.
The latter brand is known for crafting artistic luxury watches with unique complications and exclusive designs. Drake is the owner of a Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino with a tourbillon (ref. AT160.40.AB.AB.ABALA), among others. Beneath the sapphire crystal of this rose gold timepiece, there is a functioning roulette wheel with a freely moving ball. The watch is limited to just 88 pieces and costs an eye-watering $450,000.
While it’s not as complex technically-speaking, a good example of Drake’s taste for bling is his Rolex Sky-Dweller Iced Out ref. 326959TBR. The case and bracelet of this rare white gold timepiece are paved with countless diamonds. The whole thing is rounded off with a meteorite dial featuring eight additional diamond hour markers. If you want to keep up with Drake, you’ll need to fork over in excess of $1.2 million.
Another interesting piece in Drake’s collection is the Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar 5740/1G. This ever-popular and hard-to-find model features a white gold case and blue dial. Priced upward of $250,000 (as of October 2023), this is actually one of the more affordable timepieces in Drake’s lineup.
Sir Elton John – Luxury Watches With a Purpose
British singer and composer Sir Elton John may not be known for his extensive watch collection, but he’s certainly been spotted donning some fine timepieces in his time.
One such model is the 38-mm Chopard Imperial Quartz Chronograph. This watch’s white gold case and clasp are encrusted with 303 diamonds, putting its value just north of the $50,000 mark. Only 200 copies of this model were ever made, and part of the profits went directly to the AIDS Foundation founded by Sir Elton John himself. The famous Brit has also launched his own Mille Miglia line with Chopard, profits of which likewise benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
No watch collection is complete without a Rolex, right? Well, Elton John won’t be left behind. He’s opted for a Rolex Day-Date ref. 228206 from the brand with the crown. This 40-mm platinum timepiece features an ice blue dial and baguette-cut diamond indices. As of October 2023, a new specimen costs around $83,000.
The singer also owns a Franck Muller Cintrée Curvex ref. 1752 QZ D 1P PT. The case of this 35-mm watch is made of platinum and likewise set with diamonds. The list price for an example with a black dial is approximately $30,000.
Ed Sheeran – Passion for Collecting
British singer-songwriter Edward “Ed” Sheeran, born in 1991, is on par with Drake when it comes to their passion for watches. Sheeran’s collection includes watches from pretty much every luxury brand, and their total value is estimated at multiple millions of dollars. We’ll cover a few more watches this time around since Sheeran’s collection is so extensive, but this is still only a small sliver of the whole shebang.
Sheeran’s cheapest watches are probably his $130 Casio G-Shock DW-6900NB-7DR, and his MoonSwatch “Mission to the Moon,” which you can currently buy new for around $400 on Chrono24. Slightly more expensive is his Swatch X Blancpain Scuba Fifty Fathoms Atlantic Ocean, which comes in closer to $550.
His rose gold Rolex Yacht-Master 40 ref. 116655 is in a whole different price range. Here, the average cost of an unworn example on Chrono24 is round $28,500. Of course, this is a drop in the bucket by Sheeran’s standards.
His Rolex Daytona “Paul Newman” ref. 6239 with a black dial is worth closer to $85,000. But there’s no way he could settle with just one Daytona. No, Sheeran also owns a white gold Rolex Daytona Rainbow ref. 116599RBOW worth some $390,000.
However, the value of these timepieces pales in comparison to two of the Brit’s watches from Richard Mille and Patek Philippe. From the former manufacturer, Sheeran owns, among others, a Rafael Nadal Tourbillon RM27-03. This watch, made of Richard Mille’s proprietary Carbon TPT composite, is ultra-sporty with its red and yellow color scheme. Its tourbillon technology is no less impressive. Only 50 examples of this model exist, and the market price is a staggering $1.4 million.
There is no way of knowing how much Ed Sheeran spent on his Patek Philippe Nautilus Tiffany 5711/1A-018, but we do know that the list price for the platinum timepiece, which was limited to a run of just 170 pieces, was just north of $52,000. At the end of 2023, however, the market price is still hovering around $2.5 million, making it perhaps the most valuable watch in Ed Sheeran’s collection.
Not to be ignored, Sheeran also owns a number of valuable timepieces from Audemars Piguet, A. Lange & Söhne, and Hublot.
Eric Clapton – Top Prices at Auction
British guitarist and songwriter Eric Clapton has been an avid watch enthusiast for many decades. He made headlines in 2012, when he sold his platinum Patek Philippe ref. 2499 at Christie’s. Only 349 copies of this model were ever made, and at the time, the watch fetched 3.43 million Swiss francs (approx. $3.65 million).
In additional to several Pateks, Eric Clapton owns or has owned numerous Rolex models. One notable example is his Cosmograph ref. 6263 “Albino“ without a Daytona inscription. In 2015, he had the watch auctioned off for $1.4 million, with proceeds going to charity. The watch with a silver dial, silver subdials, and a Bakelite bezel had an average market value closer to $100,000 at the end of 2023.
As a Rolex collector, there are, of course, a few Submariner variants in Clapton’s lineup. One such watch is a vintage Submariner “Red” ref. 1680. The watch earned its moniker from the red Submariner inscription on the dial. It’s valued at around $27,000.
Clapton likewise owns a Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 116710. This watch is this first GMT-Master II that Rolex equipped with a ceramic bezel. A green GMT hand is also characteristic of the model, which was discontinued several years ago. Unworn copies of this Rolex will set you back around $16,000 (as of the end of 2023).
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