What Jay-Z has in his watch collection, from one of the most complicated designs ever made to a $6 million timepiece

Patek Philippe produced this watch in limited quantities from 1950 to 1985. Only 349 were made.

Jay-Z’s Patek Philippe 2499 was previously owned by Swedish watch collector and dealer Tony Kavak, who had a yellow-gold band specially made for the piece. As Kavak tells it, the watch wasn’t initially for sale.

“The watch is so exclusive that I often chose not to wear it in public, and I always wear my watches, that’s my philosophy,” Kavak told the watch site Bezl.

Still, he knew Jay-Z was the right person to own the watch.

“You should have seen his happiness,” Kavak said in an interview with another watch blog, Hours. “It just reminded me of how happy I get when I find something rare myself.”

Neither Kavak nor Jay-Z would reveal the deal’s cost, but in 2022, a similar watch sold at auction for $7.68 million.