by Roy Keane tells a story about introducing Lee Sharpe to a watch salesman. Keane barely had any wrist accessories but was happy to pay what he thought was the £1,150 price. As it turned out, the watch cost £11,500, much to the amusement of the Old Trafford dressing room. “I still have it, and it has increased in value. Who’s laughing now?” Keane joked.
These days, Premier League footballers are following a similar path. But while Keane’s investment was unwitting, players now view wristwatches as a wise investment, as well as part of their post-match wardrobe. Owning a racehorse or crop involves a certain amount of risk, and Swiss luxury watches are the safest bet for footballers.
What other product increases in value when the buyer leaves the store? Although some of the watches on display in the Premier League each week can cost £200,000, they are one of those rare commodities that appreciate the moment they are bought. When they walk out the door with their timepiece, it is already worth more than it costs.
Chelsea and England goalkeeper Reece James recently gave an interview to GQ where he went through his collection, which the interviewer estimated was worth around £2 million to the photo. He talks about being addicted to his collection, looking for “safe” investments but also having a personal collection that suits his style. Harry Kane, Virgil van Dijk and Marcus Rashford are checked out as enthusiasts to watch.
At Manchester City, Fabian Delph and David Silva were considered trendsetters with the best watches in the world on their wrists. Now their open-top parades after trophies in their catalog of the world’s best horology.
That group of Premier League royalties has an advantage over other collectors. The main question for the general public is to get their hands on these new watches, even if they have the money. Popular Rolex brands have retailers with long, years-long waiting lists before a “Daytona” or “Batman” GMT arrives.
In the window of Rolex shops is the dreaded sign: For Exhibition Only. It’s no longer about walking into a store and buying a watch. What Premier League stars are a persuasive case for climbing the waiting lists. Managers have billions of fans scrutinizing every move on the touchline, players’ movements are in the picture when they leave the stadium. They also have the wealth to quickly expand their collections – and investments.
“The watch often reflects the character, and there are different watches for different moods and occasions” says Ramon Calliste, former Manchester United player who moved into the watch business after his playing career and owns Global Boutique in Mayfair.
“It’s always nice to see managers with a good eye for watches and watch complications. Some are a little louder, others are more subtle and won’t be wearing gold. They are horses for courses and at the end of the day, you can’t beat a Rolex.”
One of the iconic images of the Premier League is Alex Ferguson pointing at his digital watch, signaling to the referee that there is some way to go in stoppage time, or Fergie Time as it was known.
In the ten years since Ferguson’s retirement, managers are still reminding officers to keep their time but the Swiss wristwatches are probably among the most popular watches in the world where demand exceeds supply and those who are stalking the technical field know their Patek Philippe from. Dear Richard Mille. Even business suit managers are now seen with rare Rolexes.
A football cover is only a cursory glance as a shop window for horology. Hublot, a relative newcomer to the market, has flashed across the fourth official’s electronic board when it keeps track of how many minutes of stoppage time will be played. Hublot is also on Gary Lineker’s wrist for his promotional pictures for Match of the Day every week.
On match day, the watch is as much a part of the manager’s ensemble as the tracksuit, baseball cap or tailored suit. A kit change is rare in the technical area but there are subtle pieces for those who look closely.
In the Premier League, Pep Guardiola is the king of wristwatches. Two seasons ago he favored an understated Rolex Cellini – white dial, leather strap – then back to his Richard Mille 010 as Manchester City closed in on the title. For the Treble campaign, he often wore an A Lange & Sohne Datagraph – along with his lucky bracelet – which is a watch for the serious horologist.
Guardiola is not alone in using Richard Mille, whose tagline is “racing machine on the wrist”. The incredible cost of a watch – which trades for hundreds of thousands of pounds – comes from the “tourbillon” technology used. Roberto Mancini is the ambassador for the brand and the RM11-04 is named after him, which is a football inspired watch.
Other managers who clearly enjoy watches include Frank Lampard, who at Everton often sports a Patek Philippe, a brand as hard to buy at a retail price as Rolex. In his interview, James joked that Lampard has “more Pateks than the catalogue”. Brendan Rodgers has been spotted wearing Patek’s “Nautilus”, while David Moyes has also worn the Swiss watch on the touchline.
Clubs have links with companies, such as Tottenham and IWC, and Hublot is involved with Chelsea. But managers are allowed to spend their own. This season, Fulham’s Marco Silva is wearing a Rolex Explorer II.
Mikel Arteta also favors Rolex and wore a GMT throughout the All Or Nothing documentary, his watch telling him the time in different time zones, which may be the most important function for a manager after stopwatch. During his time at Spurs, Antonio Conte was a fan of Rolexes and owns the Daytona, the watch popular with actor Paul Newman.
Calliste saw the popularity of watches when he was a player at Old Trafford and their popularity has only increased.
“Even from when I was younger, 15 to 20 years ago people were into their cars and watches,” Calliste said. “It’s a different view now because they are seen as assets and investments. To look at some of these players that I’m still in contact with and have nice pieces in their collection and paid very good money many years ago, they kept them in an unexpected position and now they’ve gone through the roof That’s what we want from all our investment.
“There are always people who sell and it’s hard to know when to get in at the right time and get out at the right time but I believe it’s the people who keep at it that will win. You might get a wrong call but not all investments, if you go for it you might get 10 years of joy out of it and it might replace any profits.”
Dark side of the watch market
The dark side of the luxury watch market is that owners are being targeted by thieves. Robert Lewandowski’s watch was stolen outside Barcelona’s training ground when he signed the papers, and was later recovered by police. In general, these watches are increasing in value although the significant increase in value has leveled off recently. As the management cycle intensifies and jobs are lost, these investments remain valuable.
“I’ve been in this business for quite some time and I’ve chosen a great path for myself, seeing that these pieces are appreciated,” said Calliste. “They are going up in value, there is a healthy correction which is more realistic because it was becoming unsustainable how high they were going. It was getting more dangerous. You couldn’t walk around with a £80,000 retail watch which is now worth £400,000 on the gray market.
“If you get that multiple times a year, you’re further along. It’s the jackpot. Over the years there has been a significant increase. It’s hard to know where it will go, a slow incline is healthy compared to a fast incline. At the moment the market is stable. It has gone from strength to strength.”
