Jay-Z clearly doesn’t believe in resting on one’s laurels.
Not only is he one of the most successful musicians of all time, having sold over 50 million albums worldwide and boasting 23 Grammy Awards in the trophy cabinet – the most by a hip-hop artist – but he’s also officially the very first hip-hop billionaire, thanks to his incredible business acumen.
Now, he’s turned his hands to movie production, teaming up with acclaimed producers Lawrence Bender, James Lassiter and Jeymes Samuel on The Harder They Fall, a modern African-American take on a classic Western. Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) hasn’t just produced the film but has also written original music for its score. What an artist.
Speaking of artistry, Carter picked a rather artistic watch to wear to the London premiere of the film: a rare Cartier Crash Skeleton Platinum worth around US$78,000. It’s not the sort of timepiece we’re used to him rocking but it’s the perfect watch for an auteur like him to wear on the red carpet.
The Crash has always been one of Cartier’s most elusive and distinct watches. While you’d easily be mistaken for thinking it was originally intended to be some sort of Salvador Dalí homage, the inspiration for the unusual timepiece actually came from a client’s damaged Baignoire watch that was brought to their London boutique in 1967, which had melted when he got into a car accident.
Cartier has only ever sporadically released the avant-garde watch, making it of particular interest to collectors. Other high-profile owners of the watch include Kris Jenner; Tyler, the Creator; as well as Jay-Z’s protege Kanye West.
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But Jay’s Crash is particularly special. Released back in 2014 as a limited edition of only 67 units (in reference to its 1967 genesis), it’s a luxurious take on the thing: featuring a platinum case and a unique, skeletonised in-house manual-winding movement – where the bridges of the movement form melted Roman numerals – it’s an exceptionally special watch.
Check out some of Jay-Z’s other impressive watches below.