Whether you’re a fan of Manchester City or not, it’s impossible to deny that Pep Guardiola is one of the best managers of all time. To date, he’s won 33 titles across his career as a manager for Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Man City. And he’s done it all with style. In fact, the only thing more impressive than Pep Guardiola’s trophy cabinet is his watch collection, so let’s take a look.
Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller
One of the mainstays of Pep Guardiola’s watch collection is the Rolex Deepsea Sea-Dweller, which has accompanied him pitch side and in press conferences many times. Its 44mm diameter works well with his athletic physique and avoids being dwarfed by the other giant watches (read Hublots) frequently spotted on footballers’ wrists.
The Deepsea famously has 12,800ft water resistance, making it one of the most impressive divers around. For years Rolex led the game in this area and it’s only recently that watchmakers like Omega have thrown their hat into the ring with the Ultra-Deep.
IWC Big Pilot’s Watch
A Rolex is practically a guarantee when it comes to a football manager’s watch collection, so it’s the Pep Guardiola’s IWC Big Pilot’s Watch that gives the first indication that he has genuinely good taste in watches. The Big Pilot’s Watch is an icon of design, featuring a hyper legible display, large diameter and oversize crown. It’s the archetypical pilot’s watch style and a true classic.
Pep’s version is a classic in black and white with central hours, minutes and seconds, plus a 7-day power reserve indicator subdial at 3 o’clock. That power reserve is very impressive and comes courtesy of the 52110 automatic calibre with pellaton winding system.
Richard Mille RM010 Automatic AMC Blue
The watch that’s perhaps most emblematic of Guardiola’s time at Manchester City is the Richard Mille RM010 Automatic AMC Blue. Considering the stratospheric heights Richard Mille has achieved in the watch world, it hasn’t been around for that long in the grand scheme of things, founded in 1999. That makes the RM010 one of their earlier models as it was first produced in 2006 when they were still building a reputation as the premium, luxury, large sports watch brand.
Guardiola’s version is from a limited edition of 30 pieces and features a light blue strap and accents that match the signature colours of the Man City team. It houses the calibre RMAS7, a skeletonised automatic movement with hours, minutes, date and a variable geometry rotor.
Chopard Mille Miglia GT XL Speed Black FC Barcelona Chronograph
For many years Chopard’s sporty chronograph watches have been named after the Mille Miglia race, perhaps the most stylish road race in the world. In fact, Chopard are the official watch partner of the iconic race. However, in 2009 they produced a limited edition run of 50 pieces in honour of FC Barcelona’s perfect season in 08/09, when they won every championship that they were involved in. One of these special edition chronographs was awarded to every member of the team including the manager at the time, Pep Guardiola himself.
The special edition is based on the GT Chrono, which has a vertically stacked tri-compax layout with a 30-minute timer, 12-hour timer and running seconds. The case has a 44mm diameter and a black DLC coating.
Rolex Cellini
Unlike the majority of watches in Pep’s collection, the Rolex Cellini isn’t a macho sports or tool watch. Instead, it’s a dress watch with far more classical watchmaking roots and an elegant aesthetic. Recently we wrote about every model Rolex have discontinued in 2022, including all Cellini models except the moonphase, making Guardiola’s time only reference a rarity.
It has a relatively understated design with a thin fluted bezel and matching crown, displaying effortless class. The same goes for the dial, which has long bar indexes interrupted by a minute scale, giving the piece a unique appearance.
Cartier Santos 100 Gold
Another throwback to Pep’s time at Barcelona is the Cartier Santos 100 Gold. The Santos occupies a weird position in the zeitgeist where people are starting to remember that it’s a seriously cool watch after a few years when it flew somewhat under the radar. Which was largely due to its discontinuation in 2016 prior to returning in 2018.
In keeping with Pep’s preference for larger timepieces, the Santos 100 is the largest Santos model ever produced with proportions of 51.1mm x 41.3mm. The broad surfaces of its thick bezel are perfect for showcasing the lustre of gold.
Richard Mille RM 022 Aerodyne
We can’t finish this article without mentioning another of the grail Richard Milles in Pep Guardiola’s collection, the RM 022 Aerodyne. It’s a manual wind tourbillon wristwatch with hours, minutes, a dual time zone indicator, a power reserve indicator and a torque indicator. However, what makes it an exceptional piece is the composite material it’s made from, which contains titanium and carbon nanofibers. At the time of production, it was one of the most advanced materials in the world.
The suggested retail price for this watch is near enough £500,000 but today their grey market value is close to double that. A literal million-pound watch.
