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Pharrell’s impact on style over the decades is immeasurable. So I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised that when the opportunity came to pillage his wardrobe through his auction site Joopiter even other celebrities wanted all the way in. Just the other weekend, Frank Ocean wore the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept from Joopiter during his infamous Coachella set. Now, it appears Ocean wasn’t the only one who wanted a piece of Pharrell’s style. Kim Kardashian wore a very special version of a Casio G-Shock x Bape DW-6900 customized by Jacob & Co.
There is no mistaking the watch on Kardashian’s wrist for anything other than Pharrell’s former G-Shock. After all, most G-Shocks do not come remade in white gold and set with almost 11 carats of black diamonds like Kardashian’s. There’s a reason the Joopiter site called this the “unauthorized” G-Shock in its product description.
The watch is an incredible artifact combining everything that was hot in hip-hop in the 2000s. Few watch brands had a tighter grip on rappers than G-Shock, and Pharrell helped popularize Bape during that period, too. Of course, a watch was never really ready for TRL until it had been blessed with diamonds by Jacob Arabo of Jacob & Co. Pharrell managed to condense all that history into one single timepiece. Is it weird that it feels like a steal at a final hammer price of $73,750?
Not visible on Kardashian’s wrist in the outrageous caseback with a caricature of Pharrell—first created for the cover of his 2006 album In My Mind—rendered in diamonds. It’s amazing to see the pieces from Pharrell’s collection blown up and scattered around Hollywood. Drake and Kid Cudi both got chains from the auction, the former purchasing multiple lots to wear all at the same time. Now, Skateboard P claims Kardashian as the latest celebrity to come under his influence.
There were a ton of great pieces this week so let’s get right to this super-sized edition of Watches of the Week.
Rodgers’s favorite scent at the moment must be New Car Smell. The quarterback has a new team in the New York Jets and he wore a just-released watch to his introductory press conference. Zenith just announced his Automatic Pilot at the end of March as part of Watches & Wonders. It’s the only watch that can write out “Pilot” on the dial thanks to some very prescient trademarking by brand founder Georges Favre-Jacot. A pilot watch for the brand-new Jet? That makes too much sense.
There are a few perks to being the founder of LVMH, aka the richest man in the world. Like everyone alluding to Succession whenever they talk about your family—leave your phone in the PJ toilet if you drop it, Bernard! Also, getting a custom one-of-one Tiffany Nautilus. The original version of this watch without a Perpetual Calendar sold for a staggering $6.5 million at auction and there are 170 of them in production. Arnault’s version is equipped with a perpetual calendar function, which will keep the accurate day of the week and date until the year 2100. One of the biggest flexes in the world. (Take a closer look at it here.)
Barrymore continues to blow me away with her watch collection. She wore an excellent version of Rolex’s entry-level Oyster Perpetual to the Time 100 gala this week. This model has a dial similar to Rolex’s Explorer, with 3, 6, and 9’clock written out in impossible-to-miss Arabic numerals.
Speaking of beloved versions of the Oyster Perpetual, James wore maybe the most desirable of the modern OPs this week. In 2020, Rolex released a suite of colorful Oyster Perpetuals, none of which was more popular than this turquoise (Tiffany-adjacent) dial. Naturally, Rolex quickly discontinued these watches. However, the Crown cheekily put out a “Bubble” OP this year which features every color from that 2020 collection on one dial.
The Yacht-Master was developed as a luxury alternative to the Submariner and it really lives up to that purpose on Jenner’s model. The Momager’s watch is slathered with diamonds on both the dial and the bezel. Her and boyfriend Corey Gamble have been lighting up the Staples Center Crypto.Com Arena courtside seats with their watches recently.
No one in Hollywood is having a better time than Ke Huy Quan right now. You can see the joy he brings to these events, meeting his fellow actors—look at these hugs! look at these jumps!—and getting dressed. He played this one perfectly: matching his black tie with a beautiful red-carpet-ready Omega with a black dial and black leather strap.
Some people were just born to wear Cartier Tanks. Guys who just so happen to have a PhD in elegance and personal style: Timothée Chalamet, Tyler, the Creator, and Rami Malek are all in that club. It’s safe to add Law to that list, too.