The world of luxury watches is undeniably competitive, with a touch of Top Trumps-like rivalry. It’s not merely about adorning a timepiece with opulence or cramming countless mind-boggling complications into a single watch. While these aspects certainly elevate the price, there’s a more intricate art involved in elevating the desirability of a watch to the outer fringes of the “status-sphere,” making it as culturally iconic as a pair of Nike Air Jordans or a Picasso painting.
In the realm of haute horology, the title for the world’s most exclusive and sought-after watch is a fiercely contested game, driven by marketing strategies and hype. In 2022, the most coveted watch is the Patek Philippe X Tiffany Nautilus 5711. This is the ultimate collaboration, an asset-class watch whose value is skyrocketing to astronomical heights, with one recently fetching a staggering $6 million at auction, despite a retail price of $52,635.
During the Super Bowl, the largest annual sporting event in America, LeBron James sported this watch, further solidifying its status as a pop cultural icon. It’s worth noting how the watch appears relatively small on LeBron’s imposing physique, almost resembling a women’s model. However, when Leonardo DiCaprio was seen wearing one courtside at a Lakers NBA game, it looked perfectly proportioned as a bold, masculine sports watch.
The power of this collaboration doesn’t stem from groundbreaking technical or aesthetic innovations. There’s no new movement, and aside from the turquoise blue dial, the watch’s appearance remains unchanged. Similar to a pair of Dior Jordans, its allure arises entirely from the combined prestige of two influential houses.
Tiffany, which LVMH acquired for $16.2 billion this year, has been undergoing a significant repositioning. Bernard Arnault’s 29-year-old son, Alexandre, took the reins as EVP of product and communications. His first strategic move was a brilliant one: enlisting Jay-Z and Beyoncé for an ad campaign in which they posed in front of a Basquiat painting while adorned with the brand’s jewelry.
Simultaneously, the legend of the Nautilus reached new heights when Thierry Stern, the president of Patek Philippe, made the decision to discontinue the highly sought-after 5711 model in 2021. He declared the Tiffany version, of which only 170 are available (to commemorate the number of years the two companies have collaborated), as the 5711’s swan song—a “gift” to the new management.
In the world of watches, where Jay-Z leads, many other celebrities tend to follow. Thus, the rapper’s endorsement of the distinctive turquoise-dial timepiece at an LA screening of “The Harder They Fall” late last year set the stage. Jay-Z initiated the hype, and subsequent appearances by Leo and LeBron have further fueled it. The question that remains is: who will be the next to sport this powerhouse of a timepiece? Time will tell.
