Rapper-turned-businessman Jay-Z has caused a frenzy in the luxury accessory space, wearing one of the most exclusive timepieces in modern history. Many are trying to estimate the price of the watch, guessing it is more than $200,000 because it has been customized for the Roc Nation founder.
The “Can’t Knock the Hustle” chart-topper has been spotted rocking a rare white-gold Patek Philippe Ref. 5004 in a recent post on DJ Khaled’s Instagram. The post shows the two hanging out at Khaled’s house.
The two can be seen in a swiping gallery of pictures smoking cigars, eating expensive seafood and flexing with the timepiece. One image zeroes in on the beautiful details on the watch, including a perpetual calendar chronograph, a black dial, apertures for the day of the week, the month, and moon phases along with its silvery metal bracelet.
Experts at the Robb Report estimated the watch was more than the naked price of $200,000 because of its platinum bracelet.
This is not Hov’s first Patek
Instagram user Alex Todd, a self-described watch enthusiast, posted two weeks before Khaled an image of the mogul sporting another timepiece from the elite brand. On Todd’s Instagram, Jay-Z, who has a multimillion-dollar timepiece collection, can be seen with a 1-in-4 Patek Philippe 2499. The watch features Dauphine gold hands, a 38 mm perpetual calendar chronograph that has been integrated into an 18-karat yellow-gold bracelet and round chronograph pushers like Hov’s custom Ref. 5004.
The collector, whose most recent net worth is $2.5 billion, owns a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime that he wore to this year’s Grammy Awards. According to sources, he paid $2.2 million for the luxury piece that has mechanical gongs that ring on the hour and fractions of the hour and has two dials, both crafted from solid 18K gold plates.
Collecting Timepieces
Collecting pricey timepieces from the glorious three brands of Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet is a new way for celebrities to not only flex but to build collections. One reason many watch lovers today are purchasing the watches is that prices for these coveted watches are dropping.
Sources like research platform WatchCharts say luxury watches on the secondary market have made an 8 percent decline in value over the last year. That compares to a drop of 19 percent for the S&P 500 stock index and a 65 percent plunge for Bitcoin.
Despite the dip in value, according to McKinsey & Company, pre-owned watch sales hit $18 billion in 2019 and could surpass $30 billion by 2025.
Just two years ago, the luxury watches and jewelry market actually was on the incline, seeing nearly $57.3 billion in revenue. And if the Statista Consumer Market Outlook’s projections are accurate, the market will make an estimated revenue of $69.4 billion by 2025.
Celebrity Luxury Watch Sightings at the 2023 Grammys
The 2023 Grammy Awards saw a number of celebrities sporting high-end timepieces. Producer Pharrell Williams was seen wearing the Richard Mille 88 Automatic Winding Tourbillon Smiley. This piece is said to be super exclusive, and the “Happy” singer owns one of the 50 made. The listed price for the watch is $1.2 million.
South African comedian Trevor Noah, the event’s host, whose estimated net worth is $100 million, wore at least two different pricey watches during this year’s ceremony. One of the watches was a rare 18-karat rose, gold diamond-set Patek Philippe Nautilus, which resales for at least $320,000. The other was an Audemars Piguet perpetual calendar, which resales on the market for $293,000.
Another luxury timepiece collector at the awards show was Swizz Beatz. The Ruff Ryder producer rocked a unique Urwerk UR-120 (aka “Spock”) watch on the red carpet. Said to retail at $150,000, the timepiece is a Trekkie’s dream, paying homage to Star Trek’s Spock and his Vulcan heritage. The timepiece’s case is titanium and has a central carousel with three planetary gears, each bearing a satellite.
The UR-120 display features the iconic Vulcan salute with a split display that resembles the V-shaped hand gesture that accompanies the saying “Live long and prosper.” Another feature is when the gears move the satellite splits into a V, creating the Vulcan salute.
Even Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar was spotted wearing a $34,000 Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a turquoise dial. While not a six-digit piece, his watch is considered one of the top pieces in the market.
I am impressed I want to be rich lob Ioving God n life