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By Cam Wolf
One of the elements of NBA games that we lose in the NBA game bubble with fewer consequences, but with maximum laughter, is the assignment of positions on the field. Side seats in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere have long been unforeseen celebrity dating sites, big genuine changes and some of the most extravagant watches. It wasn’t until last year, the Toronto Raptors’ run to win the NBA Finals, that our beloved Drake wore a watch that professed his preference for all kinds of ambitious action. This year, of course, there will be no enthusiasts, outrageously noticed or not, sitting in front of the court. There will be no adjustments, no sexy clocks. Think of it as a kind of In Memoriam of the 2019-2020 season, nba superstar enthusiasts and their watches.
Outside of maybe Drake, no one contributes more colorfully to the watch discourse than Jay-Z. This column was basically born out of my inability to not write about Jay’s $2.5 million sapphire-case Richard Mille from jeweler Alex Todd. (Remember that name!) In November of last year, Hov sent out $40,000 Rolex Daytonas as VIP party invites. Then he wore a $2.2 million reversible Patek Philippe to Diddy’s 50th birthday bonanza.
But Jay not only reserves his gala watches, awards ceremonies and iconic anniversaries for his fellow rap moguls. The court in the Lakers game is also a smart opportunity to showcase one of the most mythical clocks in the universe. And in March, just before the NBA season was suspended, Jay wore that gold Rolex.
The original story of the watch is that in the late 1980s, watchmaker Franck Muller, who was about to launch his own brand, took an undeniable Datejust and ended up endowed with multiple complications. He installed a lunar phase and a perpetual calfinishar, complications that never appear, never in a Datejust. It is an exclusive watch, or as they say in watchmaking, an exclusive piece. The clock came off the radar for a while before appearing on the Instagram account of … Alex Todd. “Unique 1 of 1 Rolex manufactured through Franc Mueller. Not before he comes … [sic] He wrote on Instagram. It’s not hard to join the dots from there and find out how Jay ended up dressed in this legendary Rolex land edge.
The host of the daily program has established himself as one of the most trusted obsessives of the game. Like any budding collector, it started with featured pieces, such as the beloved Patek Philippe Nautilus and the iconic Rolex GMT-Master II you use here. And like every insatiable collector, he’s fallen into a rabbit hole and can’t get out of it. Just a few months after dressing up in this watch for the Lakers Christmas Game, Noah gave the Grammy impression in a blingy edition of some other “Pepsi” GMT encouraged through soft drinks featuring 23 diamonds, 18 rubies and 18 sapphires on the bezel. Only.
Okay, so it’s not as exciting as wearing a Richard MIlle during the game, but Odell Beckham Jr. pulled out a very cool watch to wear to a game. You wouldn’t know it from looking at the super-fine gold watch, but the whole design was oriented around one single goal: making the piece as thin as possible. This Richard Mille “Extra Flat” led to some interesting design quirks, like the partially skeletonized dial, and the numerals that look as if they’ve been strung up like Christmas lights around the face. (The numerals are actually made of metal and mounted to titanium rails, but the other description sounds prettier.)
The bassist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is not usually watchmaker, so I was very pleased to see one of our main authors have compatibility in this special Rolex GMT. The Submariner is one of the most recognizable and iconic watches ever made, but, unsurprisingly, Flea has discovered a style that stands out from the crowd. The bonus issues here to adjust the clock with your Lakers fan have no compatibility.
Slime language. Slime Season 1, 2 and 3. Slime. “It’s a slime.” Sending live snakes to the media to celebrate the release of a new album. This Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. All those elements are interconnected. Young Thug incorporated the concept of “slime” – Young Thug for a friend, essentially – into his universe, and that extends to his watches. When you look at this green illuminator Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore, what is the first word that comes to mind? It’s going to have to be mud, right?
A Gold Date Rolex Day-Date before Flair’s jeweler puts it in his hands.
You don’t get a full song from Migos Offset member and Metro Boomin manufacturer titled “Ric Flair Drip” without delivering the merchandise. The current world heavyweight champion of the world has not given up on the brilliance for which he excelled in the 1980s. Want to know what Ric Flair Drip looks like? Take a look at this Rolex Day Date with gem time markers. Courting!
Hou the angels the angels the angels! Jalen Ramsey is not a watch that we see very much in nature, if we ever see it. This very special edition of Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore was produced in collaboration with Arnold Schwarzenegger for his 1999 film End of Days. “This is the first Royal Oak Offshore to have a connection to celebrities; has opened an entirely new address for AP,” Paul Boutros, head of watches in the United States for the Phillips auction space, told GQ in April. “He told AP, ‘I need the watch to have a blos angelesck case, yellow numbers and hands, and of course I do. They made a limited edition of 500 watches.
Collaborating with celebrities is now a popular procedure for AP, which has watches like Jay-Z and LeBron James. However, the corner of Los Angeles Rams has returned to the origin of this trend with this watch.
Update: An earlier edition of this article incorrectly knew the Flea watch as a gold Submariner. It’s a GMT-Master.
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