Pharrell’s watch collection is as hot as a spacecraft upon re-entry

D.C. Hannay

Producer/musician/songwriter/fashion mogul-hyphenate Pharrell Williams has seemingly done it all. Since his early days producing and writing songs for the likes of Mystikal, Pusha T, and Jay-Z as half of The Neptunes, he’s a guy that never stops. Besides two solo albums and five with his group N.E.R.D., just look at this small slice of the musical output he’s produced, written, and/or performed: It’s a list not only stuffed full of monster hits, but songs that have been woven into pop culture’s very fabric. 

“Drop it Like it’s Hot” – Snoop Dogg

“I’m a Slave 4 U” – Britney Spears

“Hot in Herre” – Nelly

“Rock Your Body” – Justin Timberlake

“Milkshake” – Kelis

“Hollaback Girl” – Gwen Stefani

Not a half-bad singer himself, he joined Chic guitarist and superproducer Nile Rodgers in 2013 to play with everyone’s favourite French robots, Daft Punk. 

At one point in 2003, The Neptunes produced a stunning 43% of the songs on US radio. He struck platinum on his own in 2013 with the runaway smash Happy from the film Despicable Me 2, and in doing so, proved he could be the name above the title as well.  Other soundtrack credits include The Amazing Spiderman 2, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water, and the recent version of The Lion King. And, oh yeah, he won the 8th season of TV’s The Voice with singer Sawyer Fredericks. NBD.

Not content to merely conquer the music world, he’s also branched out to become a bold-faced name in fashion, as the brains behind the Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream brands. Williams also co-designed eyewear and jewellry for Louis Vuitton, a sneaker for Chanel/Adidas (he has a long-term partnership with the shoe giant), created collections for Moncler and Uniqlo, and even a fragrance for Comme des Garçons. As a tribute to his seemingly effortless style that remixes streetwear with haute couture, Pharrell was once named the “Best-Dressed Man in the World” by Esquire. While his fashion sensibilities often push boundaries (the infamous Vivienne Westwood “Buffalo” looked like a ten-gallon Mountie hat, prompting fast food chain Arby’s to ask for it back), he’s always been known as a leader rather than a follower. 

And part of his groundbreaking fashion game surely has to be his choice in wristwear. For someone with such a cool, easygoing demeanor, Pharrell’s watch collection is as hot as a spacecraft upon re-entry, and easily worth several million. 

His relationship with hip-hop’s premiere watchmaker, Jacob The Jeweler, goes back to the early ‘90s, when he was a fresh-faced kid from Virginia making beats with his buds, and setting the stage to blaze a trajectory through the music industry. Jacob Arabo has long kept the music community in fresh ice, and has name-checked Pharrell as his favourite customer.

Here’s a Jacob & Co. 5 Time Zone, fully encrusted in diamonds, one of Pharrell’s old-school faves.

Not extra enough? Check out Williams’ 4 Time Zone model with a tourbillon movement, fully set with rubies.

Never one to stand still, Pharrell pivoted from his iced-out early days when he discovered the high-tech insanity of Richard Mille’s racing-inspired timepieces. 

Many a Mille has been on his wrist since 2006, and it’s probably his favourite brand, considering his staggering collection, most of which retail in the neighbourhood of seven figures. He loves the brand so much, he’s an official ambassador. There isn’t space here to cover his entire RM arsenal, but a few highlights include this RM-011 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Flyback chrono, rendered in ultralight NPTP carbon.

Here’s Pharrell in the asymmetrical Alain Prost tourbillon model:

He’s also worn the ultra-busy Tourbillon Adventure model, made famous by Sylvester Stallone:

And not content to merely wear someone else’s design, Williams has created his own signature watch for Mille, which depicts an astronaut’s helmet reflecting the surface of Mars, and in the distance, Earth.

The RM 52-05 retails for nearly a million USD, and is limited to 30 pieces.

And although he loves his Richard Milles, he’s not averse to mixing things up. Pharrell has also been known to dip his toe in the pool of Audemars Piguet. He’s been spotted with a couple of choice Royal Oak Concept models, including this badass carbon version.

He’s also worn at least two versions of the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Skeletonised, the yellow gold and the platinum.

 

So while Pharrell may occasionally turn up to the Oscars dressed like Angus Young in formalwear, you can’t fault his style game, including his jaw-dropping watch collection. After all, it’s not like you or I could pull it off.