Musicians have long had an eye for great timepieces, and it’s no surprise: Like music, horology is built on a combination of mathematics and creativity—science and soul in equal measure. From the early days of jazz to British Invasion blues to modern pop and rap, these artists were early adopters of watches that went on to become legends in their own right.
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Elvis | Hamilton Ventura
Image Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images When the King strapped on a futuristically asymmetrical Hamilton Ventura for his 1961 romantic comedy Blue Hawaii, he catapulted it into a sphere of fame far beyond the brand’s typical horological orbit. But like Elvis, the Ventura was ahead of its time: Created by American industrial designer Richard Arbib, it was the world’s first battery-powered watch.
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Miles Davis | Breitling Navitimer Ref. 806
Image Credit: Gilles Petard/Getty Images The most famous trumpet player in history—and arguably an even better composer—was also one of the most stylish men of his, or any, age. A constant throughout several decades of Davis’s life was a Breitling Navitimer reference 806, often worn on a Bund-style leather strap.
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Kanye West | Cartier Crash
Image Credit: Neil Mockford/GC Images/Getty Images Always one to go against the grain, Ye made headlines in 2019 when he gave wrist time to a diminutive, surrealist timepiece. While the Crash has been a collectors’ darling for a while, the fact that West was seen wearing one in the era of diamond-encrusted Swiss sports watches presaged the current inflation of secondary Cartier models—particularly the Crash.
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Jay-Z | Patek Philippe x Tiffany & Co. Nautilus Ref. 5711
Image Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Filmmagic/Getty Images Hova was the first celebrity to be spotted rocking one of the 170 instant-classic baby-blue-dialed Nautiluses, signed and retailed by Tiffany & Co., when they debuted in 2021—no surprise, as he’s a Tiffany & Co. brand ambassador.
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Eric Clapton | Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref. 6263 “The Oyster Albino”
Image Credit: Isaiah Trickey/Filmmagic/Getty Images Slowhand is the OG celebrity watch collector, and while he has owned several one-off Pateks, he’s especially known for his Rolexes—particularly a silver-on-silver version of the reference 6263 Daytona, one of just four known examples with subdials the same color as the dial, which sold at auction for $1.4 million in 2015.
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Keith Richards | Cartier Panthère
Image Credit: Sergione Infuso/Corbis/Getty Images The go-to timepiece for rock ’n’ roll’s enduring bad boy throughout his 1980s heyday was a surprisingly classic gold Panthère de Cartier. While Richards has owned and worn many watches, including many Cartiers, over the years, he’s most associated with the Panthère—a model that, like Richards, is lithe, unmistakable and somehow flashy and understated at the same time.
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Rihanna | Rolex King Midas
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images In January, Rihanna showed off a customized Midas while strolling through Harlem with boyfriend A$AP Rocky. The solid-gold piece is the only Rolex model designed by Gérald Genta and was rather less-heralded until the singer and beauty mogul brought it roaring back into the spotlight.
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John Lennon | Patek Philippe Ref. 2499
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images; Phillips Rumored to have been given to him on his 40th birthday, in 1980—just months before he was killed—Lennon’s Patek perpetual calendar chronograph has since been lost to time, its whereabouts unknown. Only two images of him wearing the watch exist, and he looks quite pleased in both.
