When Mark Zuckerberg announced on 28 October 2021 that the parent company Facebook would be renamed Meta with immediate effect, not only Facebook but also Zuckerberg seemed to have undergone a transformation. From now on, ‘Zuck’ played it cool. He replaced his long-time signature look – a grey t-shirt paired with blue jeans – with a penchant for gold chains worn over oversized t-shirts and switched from a neatly cut hairstyle to casual curls. Shedding the nerd image for the jiu-jitsu fighting, guitar playing, USA flag-waving, surfing patriot, he embraced his new role with ease. Now, there is little left of the man who once championed a simple personal style. An important part of Mark Zuckerberg’s new image is his impressive watch collection. The almost weekly additions to his collection, which now numbers over 10 watches, show that the (currently) third richest man in the world seems to have finally adopted the lifestyle of a billionaire, proving that even the most passionate minimalist is not entirely impervious to the allure of a luxury lifestyle.
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As each new addition seems to outdo the previous one, not only in terms of price but also complexity, it would be a missed opportunity to not take a closer look at Mark Zuckerberg’s watch collection.
Hardly any other complication is as closely associated with Patek Philippe as the perpetual calendar: Not only did the manufacture produce the first wristwatch with a perpetual calendar (No. 97’975), but also the first retrograde perpetual calendar (reference 96 No. 860’182) from 1937. Moreover, the Maison launched the first perpetual calendar produced in an – admittedly small – series: the reference 1526.
One of these traditional timepieces became Zuckerberg’s first wristwatch, as he personally confirmed his choice in the Instagram comments to his post with the simple words ‘5236P’. The salmon-coloured reference 5236P, housed in a platinum case, is one of those models that you might not initially pay much attention to due to its minimalist design concept, but it is definitely worth taking a look at the many details on the dial. The moon phase display at six o’clock conveys the movement of the moon around the earth and is framed by the small seconds. At twelve o’clock, there is a display, first introduced by this watch, which shows the day of the week, the date, and the month in a window. It is complemented by a display for the leap year cycles at the four o’clock position and a day/night display at eight o’clock. What did Zuck splash out for this timepiece? Around 139,050 euros.
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Another Patek Philippe that was spotted on Zuck’s wrist is a slightly modified version of the special edition 5303R-010, limited to just twelve pieces. It premiered at the ‘Watch Art Grand Exhibition Singapore 2019’ and was a first in two respects at the time: Not only has there never been a minute repeater whose striking mechanism is visible from the dial, but this special model also allows for a clear view of the tourbillon mechanism on the dial side, which is traditionally only visible through the sapphire crystal caseback at Patek Philippe.
But there is another advantage of this Ref. 5303R-001 that goes beyond the complexity of the dial and its aesthetic contrast of rose, white gold and steel tones: the Ref. 5303R-001 lets the wearer not only see the time, but also to hear it. This is thanks to the minute repeater, a complication that has been a Patek Philippe tradition since 1845, when the first pocket watch with this very complication was created. Today, every single timepiece that leaves the manufacture undergoes a final quality inspection by Patek Philippe’s CEO Thierry Stern, who personally approves each watch. With a list price of approximately 765,140 euros and a market value that could exceed 1.1 million euros, Ref. 5303R-001 is the most expensive timepiece in Zuck’s collection.
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The third Patek Philippe watch was spotted during Mark Zuckerberg’s foray into the world of music, when he teamed up with rapper T-Pain to record a new version of the 2002 song ‘Get Low’ as the duo ‘Z-Pain’. Zuck dedicated his interpretation of the song to his wife Priscilla, as the song was playing at the college party where the two met more than 20 years ago. The watch he wore in the recording studio is a gem-set version of the now discontinued reference 5960, which was the first Patek Philippe model to combine an annual calendar with a chronograph. Zuck’s model, the 5961R-010, presents an extremely aesthetic combination of a red-gold case with a black dial. Its list price is currently around 163,620 euros.
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Founded by Heinrich Moser in 1828, H. Moser & Cie. is a company steeped in history. In 2012, it was given a new lease of life when it was acquired by MELB Holding, the Meylan family’s holding company which is run by Betrand Meylan. His brother and the Maison’s CEO, Edouard Meylan, restructured and modernised the brand. Ever since, they have been able to introduce at least one new manufacture movement every year. One particular example of this is the HMC 814 manufacture calibre with a power reserve of at least 3 days, which is installed in the Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton. The tourbillon is an important component of the movement and is considered the most refined element of a Moser watch. What sets Moser apart is not only their in-house production of all the necessary components, such as the escapement, the balance and the balance spring, in large quantities, but also their role as a supplier for other watch brands. Another particularly beautiful element of the watch is the exposed mainspring barrel. As the central element of a mechanical movement, it releases the stored energy to the watch and provides an insight into its mechanics.
All Moser watches, and especially the Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton with its skeletonised dial, showcase a return to the roots of watchmaking and an attempt to break it down to its essence: Exclusivity is not just archived through price or branding, but through sophisticated and profound craftsmanship – in Moser’s case, distilled to its very essence. The Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton, with a price tag of around 84,000 euros, was spotted on Zuckerberg’s wrist as he raced through off-road terrain in a dune buggy.
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Independent watchmakers are becoming an increasingly important part of the watchmaking world: the special appeal of their creations lies in the fact that independent watchmakers are not subject to the rigid specifications of a parent company and can autonomously determine the design, time, and craftsmanship that go into their pieces. One of the watchmakers who regards this concept of dedication to detail and craftsmanship as a sensory experience is François-Paul Journe. He is a luminary in the watchmaking industry, having earned the most accolades at the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, the watchmaking world’s equivalent of the Oscars. His creations see the light of day in a restored industrial building in Geneva’s Rue de l’Arquebuse, where he conceives and designs innovative mechanics surrounded by a select group of specialised craftsmen. What makes these rare timepieces further stand out is their manufacturing process: each calibre is supervised by the same watchmaker from start to finish.
Zuckerberg now owns a total of three publicly known timepieces from the independent watchmaker. A fact that has led to speculation that the secret buyer of the F.P. Journe Tourbillon à Remontoire d’Egalité, sold at Phillips in November 2024 for CHF 7,320,000, was none other than Zuckerberg himself. The watch is the second wristwatch that Journe has ever produced and the first that he has ever sold.
Appearing as a guest on the YouTube series ‘Huge If True’, Zuckerberg sported a F.P. Journe Chronomètre Souverain Havana with a 40 mm platinum case. The watch, as elegant as it is rare, takes its name from its ‘Havana’ dial, a warm brown colour that is a rarity in the watch industry. It is an expression of François-Paul Journe’s watchmaking expertise in its purest form. A simple hand-wound watch with an indication of time and power reserve, where you will not find highly complex complications or a tourbillon. But don’t be fooled: F.P. Journe would not be F.P. Journe if not only the exterior but also the interior was refined down to the smallest detail. Like most F.P. Journe movements, the calibre 1304 is made of solid 18-carat red gold, has a frequency of 21,600 revolutions per minute, a free-sprung balance with variable moment of inertia, which ensures precision and shock resistance. On top of that, it has perlage, anglage and Côte de Genève finishes. Its retail price is around 40,910 euros.
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Legend has it that the lineSport collection was born from a customer’s desire for an F.P.Journe that he could also wear to his next marathon. This led to the conception of the very first Centigraphe Sport, made entirely from aluminium. But F.P. Journe did not stop at the case when choosing a different material, they also made the movement out of aluminium. All in all, these attributes ensure that the watch weighs less than 55 grams – including the wristband. Mark Zuckerberg also wore one of these models when he spoke about artificial intelligence at the Meta Connect conference. In addition to the rubber inserts at the ends of each link of the bracelet, the watch also has rubber inserts on the sides of the case and on the titanium crown to effectively protect the watch from shocks. The dial features three sub-dial counters that can be used to measure time intervals of hundredths of a second, twenty seconds and ten minutes.
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The story of the next watch in Mark Zuckerberg’s collection is said to have occurred as follows: It all began in 2009 with Mrs Eleanor Coppola gifting her husband, famous director Francis Ford Coppola, the Chronomètre à Résonance. Thrilled by this extraordinary watch, Coppola invited the timepiece’s creator to his ‘Inglenook’ vineyard in Napa Valley. In 2012, they finally met and Francis Ford Coppola confronted Journe with a special question: whether there had ever been a watchmaker who could design a watch that displayed the hours the way the elderly did – by counting them off on their fingers. That same year, Journe began developing a timepiece that made this form of time display possible. The result was the F.P.Journe FFC Blue, a unique piece from the renowned manufactory. This watch, with a blue hand on the dial, was sold at the Only Watch auction for a price of 4.5 million euros. This movement laid the foundation for a small series inspired by this unique piece, which used five fingers to tell the time. In an episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, it was revealed that Mark Zuckerberg is one of the lucky owners of one of these exceptional pieces. These watches are manufactured in a strictly limited edition and are not expected to exceed an annual production of just 15 units. Their market value is around 874,000 euros (excluding taxes).
On 10 September 2024, Mark Zuckerberg did something unusual at the Chase Center: during a live talk in front of 6,000 people, he talked about Meta’s corporate strategy, reminisced about the early days of Facebook and shared his thoughts on the future of AI, VR and AR. The watch on Zuck’s wrist, a De Bethune Starry Varius from the DB25 collection, was equally exceptional. The independent watch brand De Bethune, belonging to the American watch retailer The 1916 Company (formerly Watchbox, Govberg Jewelers) since 2021, adds a silver-coloured hour and minute ring to the dial of its Starry Varius, as well as polished rose gold indices, with a blue centre in the middle that references the Milky Way.
The manufacturing process of the dial’s main theme begins with a raw titanium plate, which is first polished to a mirror finish, painted and finally subjected to a thermal bluing process that creates more depth. After drilling holes in the dial and inserting the stars, the final step is to apply the veil of the Milky Way to the dial, which is then finished with gold leaf and laser engraving. With around 20 models produced each year, the DB25 Starry Varius is as aesthetically pleasing as it is rare and has cost Zuck more than 80,000 euros.
Another watch from Zuck’s collection is a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Kingsman Knife, released in 2020 as a special edition of 100 pieces for the ‘Kingsman’ film series of the same name. The unique aesthetic of the watch is defined by the crown, which is not located on the side, but at the 12 o’clock position. The 40 mm case with a height of 4.25 mm is rounded off by a V-shaped crown guard, a tribute to the company’s Couteau pocket watch from 1907. At its launch, the Master Ultra Thin Kingsman Knife Watch was offered at a price of 29,000 euros.
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Since its release in 2014, the Octo Finissimo has established itself as the figurehead of the Bulgari watch division and has since set several world records. With the Octo Finissimo Ultra, Bulgari demonstrated who the winner in the competition for the world’s thinnest watch was by knocking the thinnest watch at the time, the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept, off the first place with a total height of 1.80 mm in March 2022. But another competitor, who nobody had really seen coming, responded rapidly: Richard Mille crowned itself as the new winner in the race for the thinnest mechanical watch as early as July 2022 with the RM UP-01, a watch with a case height of 1.75 mm. The latest creation, for which Richard Mille demanded a hefty price tag of CHF 1,700,000, beat Bulgari by 0.05 mm.
At least until Bulgari presented another coup in April 2024: the Octo Finissimo Ultra Mark II once again surpassed the Richard Mille RM UP-01 by 0.05 mm. This unrivalled height at the time was made possible in part by a caseback made from tungsten carbide – a particularly hard material made from tungsten powder and carbon – which also serves as the base plate for the BVL 180 movement consisting of 170 parts. Although the record for the world’s thinnest mechanical watch is currently held by Konstantin Chaykin, a Russian watchmaker, and his ThinKing with a height of 1.65 mm, the fascination for the mechanics remains. In an Instagram video, Zuckerberg was seen wearing one of the 20 examples of the Octo Finissimo Ultra Mark II worldwide. The price of the Octo Finissimo Ultra Mark II is 600,000 euros. In other words, 352,941.18 euros per millimetre.
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With his most recent public appearance, sporting a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1, Zuckerberg caused quite a stir on social media. This extremely rare watch, whose worth is estimated at almost 900,000 US dollars, also took centre stage outside the watch scene when Zuckerberg announced significant changes to Facebook and Instagram policies: the abolition of external fact-checking and greater emphasis on political content. The Hand Made 1 is a watch that – as the name suggests – highlights the manual labour that goes into it. According to the watch manufacturer, 95 per cent of its components are produced using hand-operated tools. According to the company, only two to three pieces leave the workshop each year, with each watch requiring 6,000 hours of labour.
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Mark Zuckerberg’ horological mania, sparked by Anant Ambani’s wedding and his statement ‘Watches are Cool’, seems to have no end in sight. However, despite the large number of watches that have become known in recent weeks and months, he demonstrates a keen sense of taste: instead of opting for mainstream models, Mark Zuckerberg chooses watches that emphasise the art of watchmaking, exciting stories, and technical complexity. Instead of a Royal Oak, for example, he opted for the lesser-known Code 11.59, a chronograph with a tourbillon. He gave another nod to his taste in a New Year’s Instagram post, which featured an extremely rare Rolex Daytona Cosmograph Ref. 6239 – better known as the ‘Paul Newman’ – on his wrist. All of these choices show that Zuckerberg is either well advised or has familiarised himself intensively with the world of watchmaking. We can’t wait to see what models he adds to his collection next.
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