Luke Bryan’s Watch Collection is As Hot As His Career!
We don’t know about your taste in music, but we bet we know something about your taste in watches — you love the best of the best. And this is precisely what the artist, composer, singer, American Idol judge and all-around cool guy Luke Bryan does as well.
The country boy Luke Bryan — born Thomas Luther “Luke” Bryan — shines among the brightest stars of country music, and sports an impressive collection of accolades — like fourteen number-one hits in the charts and winning in 2013 the Country Music Association Awards “Entertainer of the Year” award, as well as selling over seven million albums and 27 million singles worldwide, something which puts him as the topmost country music artist of this time.
But despite all his current success, the guy came late into the music business and did not have an easy start, at all.
Before The Stardom
As he was about to move to Nashville to pursue his musical career, disaster struck his family: his brother died in a car accident — as Luke himself told in an interview
“My older brother, Chris, was unexpectedly killed in a … car accident … I’m kind of hyperventilating talking about it. … You never truly … move beyond it.”
So, he decided to stay close to his family, in a way to help soothe the deep injury that this happening had caused.
His mother, LeClaire, said: “We knew Luke at some point would come to Nashville. But … you can’t leave your family, and … I couldn’t bear the thought of him being away.”
And the guy showed true to his good nature, eventually ending up in Georgia Southern University and graduating in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
2007 was the crucial year for Luke. And not only for good reasons.
He finally made it to Nashville, when he was 31 years old — after his father asked him “to pack his truck up to pursue a career in music”. And boy, he was right!
But his debut into the music scene was met with another tragedy: the unexpected death of his older sister, Kelly, several days after organizing friends to attend his debut at the Grand Ole Opry.
“My only older siblings… gone from the world, in a flash, in two… two different, crazy, tragic manners, that… we’ll never know, and never understand.”
When he recounts his past, he just says “That’s just been the frustrating part about my venture in music. It seems like, gosh, every time we are climbing out of something like that, the rug gets pulled out from under our family again. It’s going on 20 years”.
But this last, tragic event did not stop him from becoming the artist we know now, with his jolly, goofy grin filled with warmth. He has been through all kinds of pain in his personal life, but he still keeps smiling. He has an infectious optimism even in the face of the direst adversity, and this is one of his best qualities. For him, as one of his hits say, “Most People Are Good.”
And he’s not shy of shedding a tear here and there. As all grown up men with a heart of gold tend to do.
LUKE BRYAN’S CAREER: FROM THE GROUND UP TO THE STARS
His debut single was “All My Friends Say”, which reached number 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart. And in August 2007, Capitol Nashville — which put him under contract — released Bryan’s first album, “I’ll Stay Me”.
His second single, “We Rode in Trucks”, peaked at number 33 while “Country Man” reached number 10.
It was after his first album that in May 2009 he released his fourth single — one of his most famous songs, “Do I”, which made it to number 2 of the chart. Very good, but still not at the top.
This last song was included on his second album released in October 2009, “Doin’ My Thing”, which finally skyrocketed him into the heavens of music.
Inside it you would find the first two songs which made it to number one of the charts — “Rain Is a Good Thing” and “Someone Else Calling You Baby”. This album, which was judged “more relaxed” by the critics, contained a very interesting cover of OneRepublic’s “Apologize”, which revealed Luke Bryan’s qualities — and his reassuring, pleasurable baritonal voice — also to the non-country music world.
His success thus spread over all of the music charts, not limited to straight country music: his first compilation album, “Spring Break… Here to Party”, released on March 5, 2013, made it to number one on both the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the first album of his career to top the all-genre album chart.
From that moment onwards, everything seemed almost easy.
His appearances as a Judge in “American Idol”, together with Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, and his performance singing the National Anthem, both in 2017, secured him in the topmost layer of American music artists.
In fact, Luke is a somewhat atypical country singer.
He cites as the most important influences in his music, among the classic country stars like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Alabama, and Merle Haggard, such different artists as the Beastie Boys and Run D.M.C. ”I think there’s been somewhat of a change with our generation. You know, nobody grew up more country than me, but I mean, I had Beastie Boys playing on little boomboxes and Run D.M.C. and all forms of music, so through the years, I just think it’s all constantly blending together.”
For sure, this guy has something much more complex under the hood than what a first glance would reveal. For example, his fascination with beautiful watches.
And he possesses an amazing collection, which is literally worth millions: but as he pulls in some 52 million per year if we must believe in what Forbes says, for sure Mr. Bryan should have some pocket change to play with.
LUKE BRYAN’S WATCH COLLECTION
We are convinced that the broad views of Luke Bryan are also a signature trait in this particular aspect of his personal life.
As a watch connoisseur, he has collected pieces from almost every high-end and luxury manufacturer, from the most traditional to the most innovative, and almost every one of them showing an excellent, almost understated good taste: you won’t find anything too showy or flashy at his wrist, no sir.
Taking a look at his extensive collection which would send any serious watch aficionado drooling, we could not really find any common themes there, except two: a definite appreciation for chronographs and the darker colors of the spectrum, between which the dark brown plays a good part.
Most probably, Luke Bryan the collector just takes the pieces that fancy him at the moment — but for sure he has a very refined taste and a knack for selecting the best of the bunch, as you will see.
But he is no watch snob, at all.
Apart from several mind-bogglingly unreachable pieces which represent the diamonds of his collection, he is no stranger to some definitely affordable timepieces a lot of us mere mortals could buy, as you will certainly notice.
So, let’s start with a few watches from the most notable brands coming from the huge collection that he has displayed publicly during the latest few years.
Ready? Because we are.
ROLEX
Let’s start with the basics, then. The House of the Crown could not miss from Luke Bryan’s wrist — and he shows the array of the “usual suspects” there, most often in precious metals.
He has been seen wearing several Rolexes:
- Platinum Daytona ref. 116506 sporting a brown Cerachrom ceramic bezel and an ice blue dial
- White gold GMT-Master II ref. 116719BLRO with a red and blue Cerachrom “Pepsi” bezel
- Classic Submariner ref. 116618LN, with case and bracelet in solid 18kt yellow gold
But apart from this precious trio, he has also displayed a much more understated — and always pleasurable — Milgauss ref. 116400GV, with an unusual green sapphire crystal and black dial housed within its 40 mm stainless steel Oyster case.
It is a perfect combo to show its outstanding orange details, including the signature seconds hand made in a lightning bolt shape.
AUDEMARS PIGUET
The watches from the Young Prince seems another good hit for Mr. Bryan.
He has been seen wearing at least a couple of similar Royal Oaks:
- A stainless steel Royal Oak Chronograph Ref 26320ST.OO.1220ST.03, with its traditional blue tapestry dial and signature AP bracelet — the one he chose to wear during his performance at the SuperBowl — and a, ahem, “less subdued” version of the same watch in rose gold case and bracelet with a brown dial.
- A “regular” Royal Oak Extra-Thin 39 mm with an 18kt yellow gold case and blue dial with Petite Tapisserie pattern, complete with contrasting applied yellow gold hour-markers.
BREGUET
Luke has been displaying publicly at least one model from the very refined maison Breguet:
- A Marine Royale Wristwatch 45.00 mm 5847BR/Z2/5ZV in rose gold (a shade of metal he seems to love much), water resistant to 300 meters, with its signature chocolate dial, featuring a power reserve indicator, and a handy mechanical alarm.
Very useful to wake up in the morning when he is on tour, don’t you think?
HUBLOT
Between the brands Luke wears, you will be finding also Hublot, with one of its most intriguing references:
- Big Bang King 300 meters
A massive luxury dive watch, the Big Bang King displays an oversized 48mm case in palladium with a black ceramic bezel. The dial, as fitting for a diver watch, is very legible with large stick luminous markers and large luminous center hands. The watch is complemented by a black rubber strap with a palladium buckle.
IWC
Not a very common choice among famous personalities, a few of the most peculiar watches from the maison from Schaffhausen have graced the wrist of Mr. Bryan in more than one occasion.
The Aquatimer 2000 meters that he has worn on several concerts, for example, is based on the IWC Ocean 2,000, which was a collaboration with Porsche Design made back in 1982. This one, with its white dial, is made in titanium with a matching bracelet and could reach the depth of 2 kilometers underwater unscathed (but well, you are not supposed to).
From the deep water to the air, another striking model from the brand is the IWC Big Pilot’s “Top Gun” Boutique Edition “Red”, Black Dial, in a Limited Edition to 250 Pieces — an assertive, imposing timepiece with a high-tech ceramic case housing a perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display, moon phase display and 7-day power reserve.
PATEK PHILIPPE
The New King and Luke Bryan? It’s a match.
We have seen him wearing one of the most sought-after watches from the maison: a very stylish Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Chronograph Black Dial Automatic ref. 5960/1A-010 in steel, complete with its steel bracelet. A watch which, having been in production for just one year, sure begs to become a very collectible item.
The dark shades in colors — as we said — seem to be attuned to him much, as he also owns a black dial, rose gold Acqunaut as well — precisely the Ref. 5167R-001 in 40mm, worn on a black rubber strap. Sexy and elegant, with a streak of bad-boy-ish attitude, no doubt.
RICHARD MILLE
Last but not least in his amazing lineup, Mr. Bryan shows a mesmerizing array of Richard Mille timepieces. Among the beauties we have seen adorning his wrist, we can find a really rare and awe-inspiring piece:
- The RM 022 Tourbillon Aerodyne Dual Time Black Carbon Limited Edition, a watch incorporating aerospace engineering to create a finely crafted luxury timepiece.
Manufactured in only 10 units, the RM 022 takes the honeycomb-patterned titanium aluminide alloy, originally developed for the wings of supersonic fighter aircraft, of its predecessor, and houses it inside a new tripartite case made of woven carbon fibers glued together with a special high-tech resin. Absolutely mind-boggling and visually stunning.
Between the other Richard Mille timepieces in his collection, we have noticed:
- RM 63–02 World Timer Titanium Skeleton Dial 47mm
- RM 67–01 Extra Flat Automatic 18K Rose Gold with a skeletonized dial
- RM 63–01 Dizzy Hands in rose gold and rubber strap, a watch that takes its conceptual inspiration from a poem called “Le Temps” by 19th-century French poet Gérard de Nerval.
The list of brands and watches could go on and on — but if you follow his Instagram account (@lukebryan) and the ones of his fans, we are pretty sure you are going to find many more, as he is definitely not shy about sharing his passion with his people.
Between the others he has displayed so far, we could notice also some lovely timepieces from:
And we can be sure that you are going to find others as well.
