Ed Sheeran has come clean as a committed watch collector with an eclectic taste in buying pieces from watchmakers based in the countries in which he does gigs.
In a self-authored piece for Hodinkee, the singer and songwriter says he bought his first serious watch, a Hublot Big Bang from a shop in Hamburg, when he was 20 years-old and as touring Germany in 2011 following the release of his first album ‘+’ .
That watch did not quite ignite a lifelong passion, but Mr Sheeran’s next watch did.
He played a free gig in New York for a friend’s daughter and as a thank you was given a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5726A, “which is still, to this day, my favorite and most worn watch. I wore it on my wedding day. It’s just awesome,” he says.
Experiencing the joy of being gifted a beautiful watch must have left a lasting impression because, on his current tour he has given Tudor watches to his entire touring crew.
“I had a custom-engraved Tudor Black Bay made for every single one of my touring crew on the tour for the last gig – and it is currently my everyday watch while off tour. There’s about 80 in existence, which I think is quite cool,” he tells Hodinkee.
