Jay-Z Spotted Wearing Patek Grandmaster Chime at the 65th Grammys

Music legend, husband of another music legend and one of the most lucrative record producers of his generation, Shawn Carter, a.k.a Jay-Z, is known for his acquired taste in many things. Let’s start with cars and his unique Rolls Royce Boat Tail (equipped with a bespoke Bovet 1822 watch). And because you’re reading MONOCHROME, he’s got some pretty fascinating watches too. His Rolex Daytona can be seen as almost entry-level, even if its an Everose gold model. Much more intriguing, he’s the owner of the one-and-only Rolex Perpetual Calendar known, a watch modified by Franck Muller. The man knows his watches. And to prove it, he was spotted wearing Patek Philippe’s most complex watch yesterday at the 65th Grammy Awards, the $2.2 million Grandmaster Chime 6300G. Although it’s not the first time he’s been spotted wearing this black dial model, all eyes were on his wrist. 

Jay-Z is a genuine watch enthusiast. We’re not talking about just amassing expensive and demonstrative models for the sake of showing off. There’s more to Carter’s watches than just that. The collection of Jay-Z is eclectic and rather fascinating. It ranges from the classics – iced-out Hublots or Royal Oaks, or ultra-expensive Richard Mille models – to models that are much less mainstream… Just the fact that one knows about the existence of a perpetual calendar in a Rolex Datejust case says a lot about knowledge. The ownership of the watch too. And yes, Jay-Z owns the watch that Rolex never officially made.

Yesterday, at the 65th Grammy Awards, Mr Carter – accompanied by his wife Beyonce – showed up with the biggest piece of horological artillery possible, wearing a watch that was spotted already on his wrist on the occasion of Diddy’s 50th Birthday party. The man was posing with many of his guests, and one image caught the watch community’s attention, Jay-Z, casually rocking a Grandmaster Chime 6300G. Not your average watch and one that needs special occasions to be worn.

It seems that yesterday’s 65th Grammy Awards ceremony was a big enough event for the man to rock the watch again… And admittedly, it pairs well with his tuxedo. The man outdid himself once more with what’s known as Patek’s most expensive, most exclusive piece (a handful of watches made a year, with a price tag well above $2 million). The ceremony closed out with a live performance by Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend, and Fridayy, who delivered their own take on “God Did” (even though during this performance, he changed his PP for another watch).

Jay-Z attends the 65th Grammy Awards on February 05, 2023, in Los Angeles, California – Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Jay-Z attends the 65th Grammy Awards on February 05, 2023, in Los Angeles, California – Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

As a reminder, the Patek Philippe 6300G is the second, slightly redux version of the 2014 Grandmaster Chime, the brand’s most complex wristwatch, created for its 175th anniversary. Only six examples of this particular piece were produced with hand-engraved yellow gold attire and a two-face display thanks to a rotating case. The swivelling case is necessary to show all 20 complications – including a grande sonnerie, a minute repeater, a date repeater, a perpetual calendar, an alarm and more.

The Patek Philippe 6300G followed two years later and swapped the engraved case for a sleeker white gold case with a Clous de Paris (hobnail) motif. In this edition, one of the two dials is black with a hobnail pattern in the centre. Priced at $2.2 million at the time of its launch, it is, to this day, the most complicated Patek you can order, even though a model has since replaced this specific edition with black dial with blue dials. And Jay-Z has made this watch the ultimate red carpet accessory…