It’s no secret that John Mayer has one of the most impressive watch collections in the world – OG Oracle Time readers will know that we first covered his collection more than six years ago. It’s a collection absolutely chock full of absolute screamers and it’s expanding all the time. Just this past weekend, Aug 5th, he picked up his latest timepiece, the colourful Rolex Day-Date Ref. 128239-0056 with jigsaw dial nicknamed the Emoji, one of the most talked about watches of the year. Taking a look John Mayer’s other recent purchases and again it’s a story of hype watch after over hyped watch.
Let’s kick it off with Mayer’s new watch, the Emoji. These off-catalogue Day-Dates were first announced back at Watches & Wonders in spring and they sent ripples through the entire watch community.
Rolex Day-Date Ref. 128239-0056 ‘Emoji’
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The puzzle ’emoji’ watch follows in Rolex’s odd tradition of occasionally releasing watches that completely go against the design and style ethos that they’ve carefully established over decades. Gone is the stately elegance of the Day-Date and instead we have an enamel dial in a riot of colours featuring a jigsaw motif, an emoji date window and words of affirmation instead of a days window.
It’s very much a love it or hate it kind of design depending on which side of quirky/ugly spectrum you think it falls on. Clearly John Mayer loves it though because he bought the Ref. 128239-0056 in white gold in spite of the fact it doesn’t fit his typical sports watch aesthetic. Maybe he just wants some affirmation from his watch before he goes on stage.
Image credit: Instagram
I don’t think there has been another watch to cause this much buzz so far this year. So, is it actually over hyped or is there some element that’s actually cool? Well, yeah, there is. It shows that Rolex aren’t stuck in their ways and are willing to take a risk. Considering how often they release new collections that are exactly the same as the previous versions, for them to do something radically different is exciting.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Music Edition 15601BC
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Next up for John Mayer is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Music Edition 15601BC, which he bought shortly after its launch in summer last year. In some regards, it’s similar in concept to the Rolex Emoji in that it takes a core aspect of the watch and reinvents it in a colourful and fun way. Where the Rolex swapped the day-date function for emojis, this AP takes the signature Tapisserie dial and turns it into an equaliser/VU Meter display.
One of the world’s biggest music artists and a music edition RO, it’s a match made in heaven, if you look past the fact it does feel rather… obvious. However, the aventurine glass dial and the wealth of gems used to create the colourful pattern that’s cool in principle and it’s a clever reimagining of the RO design that executes on its concept perfectly.
Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A Olive Green
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Hopping back in time by another year to 2021 and John Mayer added the Patek Philippe Nautilus Ref. 5711/1A to his watch collection. The 5711/1A was the swansong of the 5711 as it was the final regular collection reference launched before the model was discontinued altogether. It’s also partially responsible for the popularity of green watches that entire year until the surprise 5711 Tiffany Edition made everyone go mad for turquoise.
If you need proof that Mayer is seriously committed to buying hype watches, the fact that he was able to buy one of these shortly after its launch shows just how high up certain lists he really is. It’s also a watch that sits perfectly alongside the other sports watches in Mayer’s collection with its 40mm diameter case in stainless steel with integrated bracelet. It’s powered by the Calibre 26-330 S C automatic with 45-hour power reserve.
Again we come back to the argument of is it over hyped or is it cool? Arguably it isn’t possible to be cooler than a watch that has, to at least a small extent, helped to shape the industry for years after it was launched. The definition of “cool” is fashionable or desirable and this watch was at the spearhead of multiple trends. You might not be a 5711/1A fan, but the influence it has had makes it objectively cool.
Unique piece and something to have in rotation but I would opt for the “John Mayer” Daytona over this if one could only have one or the other but in a perfect world the obvious answer is both would immediately improve any collection.