One on One: Five Minutes With DJ Khaled On His Luxury Watch Collection

With a list of collaborators that stretch to the far ends of Hip Hop, DJ Khaled has become a cultural phenomenon, producing electric beats for the likes of Kanye West, Drake, Niki Minaj, Ludacris and a host of the hottest names in the industry. However, his celebrity isn’t solely based on musical prowess. The DJ has become the unlikely king of the social media platform snapchat, inspiring millions with brilliantly funny and strangely life-affirming videos about finding the major keys to success in life, wherever they may lie, and hustling for whatever “they” don’t want you to have. Khaled has turned daily minutia, like watering the grass, eating breakfast, and lounging in the hot tub into 10-second bursts of hilarious self-affirmation. He’s the internet’s biggest optimist, with over 6 million followers on Snapchat. He’s also managed to infuse popular culture with a litany of irresistible catchphrases (like “Bless up” “major key.”) and a number of instant-classic Snapchat stories.

If you asked him, DJ Khaled would tell you that a major key of success is having a great wrist game. The music producer has an ever-growing collection of luxury watches in a variety of styles for every occasion, from the boardroom to the beach. Like many others before him, his collection started in a very familiar place. “My first major watch purchase was a Rolex. Definitely have to have a Rolex. It’s timeless.”

From there, his collection has expanded to include many Swiss watchmakers, but Khaled feels most at peace with a Hublot on his wrists. “once I started learning the watch game, I got into Hublots. I’m a big fan of Hublot for a lot of reasons. They have a lot of variety. If I wanted to be casual with it, smooth with it, I’d get something simple with quality. If I wanted to get something spendy, I might get some Rose Gold with diamonds in it and a crocodile band, know what I mean. Just a different vibe.” Already, Khaled has seven Hublots in his collection, and a timepiece from the brand can often be seen in his popular snaps. Some of his favorite pieces are Hublot’s collaborations with D-Wade. “Hublot is my daily piece. I got six or seven Hublots. Sometimes I rock my D-Wade because I’m always at Miami Heat games. I already have two D-Wade Hublots.”

Over time, DJ Khaled has come to appreciate luxury timepieces not just for their stylistic potential, but for the artistic and technical expertise that go into crafting them.

It’s fitting that DJ Khaled has cultivated such a strong interest in luxury watches. He found the perfect  time to tap into social media and music to create a massive worldwide brand for himself. “Timing is everything” says Khaled. We couldn’t agree more.

Photo Credit: Haute Time. For more information, please visit the official Hublot website. Follow Haute Time on Instagram to catch all of the new releases as they happen.