Ed Sheeran is an interesting young man. The British singer-songwriter’s last album, X, sold millions of copies in an age when you only need to sell 500,000 to have a number one record. And at the tender age of 24, when most pop stars are trashing hotel rooms, he’s instead amassed a small but tasteful collection of timepieces. Even the puppet in his “Sing” video is wearing what looks like a Patek Phillipe.
According to an interview with British GQ, Sheeran started collecting haute horology when he was gifted with a Nautilus Annual Calendar for playing a Bar Mitzvah in Russia. His watch wardrobe has grown to include a Hublot Big Bang and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore. But it’s his Richard Mille RM 030 Americas Limited Edition that seems to be receiving most of his wrist time lately: He’s been spotted wearing it to the Grammys, on tour in Shanghai and Dubai and at the Brit Awards (pictured here) last month, where he won Album of the Year.
RM 030 Americas Limited Edition timepiece
We like the fact that Sheeran actually wears his watches on a daily basis. Style-wise, the RM 030 Americas Limited Edition is perfect for a performer. The black case is crafted from carbon nanotubes, which makes it quite light for its size and the strap is simple black rubber, both touches that would also make it comfortable to wear onstage. It also has orange accents on the flange, hands and crown guard to complement Sheeran’s ginger locks.
The watch’s caliber RMAR1’s self-winding system is also intriguing: inspired by automotive mechanics, Richard Mille developed a unique declutchable rotor and a torque limiting crown to prevent over winding by being able to sense when the spring is fully wound.
Sheeran is also extremely likeable (he’s BFFs with both Taylor Swift and her ex John Mayer) so haters can’t hate when they find out that the RM 030 Americas Limited Edition is no longer available (he bought it in 2013 and only 30 pieces were produced). The good news is that the Richard Mille RM 030 Le Mans Classic is pretty close in looks, but with a white ceramic case and green accents instead of black and orange.
