In the United States, collecting watches and playing basket ball are practically the same thing. There is an exclusive group at the highest levels who sets unique and difficult-to-find examples. To compete for the best, one must be at the top of their respective fields, yet both basket ball and collecionism require an athletic foundation. Of course, scherzo! In actuality, LeBron James does not possess the superpower to win every match. The story is different outside of the camp, where it is possible to access even the most exclusive and rare treasures. Un exemplu for tutti: anche dopo la demoralizzante sconfitta di sera a Denver contro i Nuggets, LeBron James ha ancora trionfato grazie an un colpo vincente: sfoggiava al polso un’edizione speciale del Richard Mille RM 11-03. The Lakers are categorically making a clean court of all the best players in this particular category.
Few models have defined a certain type of collector in recent years like the RM 11-03. The bulky and aggressively shaped case makes it immediately recognisable. The Richard Mille man is such an avid car enthusiast that he turned his watch buttons into accelerator pedals and designed the dial to look like a supercar dashboard. The watch was once considered the “secret handshake of billionaires” thanks to the IYKYK airwaves it broadcast to other 0.01% members. Now it is something more like the billionaire’s hunting horn that announces the wearer’s status long and loudly.
At his peak, here’s what kind of consideration this Richard Mille had: «Among a group of individuals whose life consists of speeding around in 1,000 horsepower supercars, being transported by helicopter to partying all night on yachts moored on the coasts of the most seductive locations in the world and then recovering horizontally and often in a state of connubial bliss on their private jets, the Richard Mille watch is the access badge to an ultra-exclusive alternative reality that most people do not will ever have the slightest possibility of access,” Wei Koh, the founder of the watch magazine Revolution, wrote in 2018. WOW!
James, of course, is part of this imaginary RM club along with many other prominent figures and by pure coincidence, it seems that Tom Brady recently purchased one as well. The 11-03 James Blue Quartz Edition represents an even higher and more exclusive level of collectibles. The brand created it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the career of Jean Todt, former Ferrari CEO and predecessor of Mohammed ben Sulayem in the role of president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile which oversees Formula 1 races. The inspiration did not very important when the watch looks like such a mighty timepiece.
Il Patek Philippe Nautilus di Lewis Hamilton
Speaking of signaling membership in an exclusive club of the ultra-rich, meet Lewis Hamilton sitting courtside at the Lakers game wearing a Nautilus. We are in the presence of a model that has come a long way since it was first designed and launched in the mid-1970s. Once Patek’s quintessential sports watch, the casual alternative to its more complex and elegant options, today it has become a calling card for collectors with the most money and power. Patek was forced to discontinue one version of the watch, the marine-dial 5711, because its popularity threatened to consume the company which has much broader ambitions than producing the world’s most coveted steel sports watch. Hamilton has taken a step forward compared to that discontinued piece: made of rose gold and equipped with a chronograph, it is now the companion of Leonardo DiCaprio, a great collector of Nautilus rarities.
L’Audemars Piguet Royal Oak di Kyle Lowry
Like Hamilton’s Nautilus, Kyle Lowry’s watch is a highly upgraded version of an iconic 1970s sports watch. The Royal Oak also began life as a stainless steel piece and, in the five decades since its debut, has seen all sorts of high-end editions. Lowry’s Royal Oak, made of blue ceramic and featuring a perpetual calendar, is a prime example.
Il Casio F-91W di Eric Andre
So far I have shown you some exorbitantly expensive watches, but here is one that you can buy immediately for 30 euros. The Casio keeps perfect time as long as the battery runs, and like the Royal Oak above, it comes in its fun shade of blue.
