From the start of brand awareness, the “sponsorship”, the connection among horology and athletes have always been quite strong, from the modest origins where a business simply rewarded the individual with a wristwatch to carry, to the contemporary days when instead we have contractual agreements crafted by professional lawyers determining when and how this professional friendship is finalized. If we look at old magazines and newspaper advertising, which give us a unique perspective on past types, we can see that this connection was always important in establishing some horology brands as leading companies in one or more fields.
Cristiano Ronaldo is worth about €422 million and is among the most recognized football players in the world. A part of that personal wealth is accounted for by his impressive watch collection. Let us discover and be awed here what watches belong to his collection.
1. Franck Muller and Jacob & Co
Among the most notable is a watch that has sparked a lot of debate among watch collectors is the magnificent timepiece adorned with diamonds and rubies that he wore at a press conference in 2018, and whose identification was hotly contested between Franck Muller and Jacob & Co. Even when there seems to be more agreement on Franck Muller, it can be seen that the two watches have some very close specifications.
The Caviar Full Baguette by Jacob & Co is part of the Caviar line and features the manually wound caliber JCBM05 with a 100-hour battery-life and one-minute flying tourbillon, all housed in a gold case adorned with 216 rubies and 585 baguette-cut white diamonds, totaling 42k of undetectably embedded pretty stones.
The Invisible Setting Imperial Tourbillon, on the other hand, is a Franck Muller wristwatch with a tourbillon at 6 o’clock on the dial and 474 baguette-cut diamonds, which are surrounded by 21 rubies with a 2.42k weight. A total of 122 diamonds are mounted on the dial. There are 44 diamonds on the frame and 40 diamonds on the bezel. Multiple precious stones adorn the belt, including 70 rubies and 268 diamonds.
2. Hublot Big Bang
Ronaldo was seen in a locker room sporting a “plain” Hublot Big Bang Automatic Chronograph. The Big Bang is indeed one of Hublot’s most straightforward and athletic watches, with its chronograph function and stainless steel round case. This edition perfectly encapsulates the artistic muse, Jean-Paul Biver’s, important promotional motto, “the art of fusion,” which includes a rubber band. Such that, mixing conventional elements with more aggressive and bolder ones to create a unique look that can be admired or despised, but cannot be overlooked, can also be seen in other businesses.
A Big Bang of this kind — and there is a huge variety of them — hovers around the $6,000 mark: so, especially from Ronaldo’s viewpoint, could be considered a sort of daily beater. The footballer, in addition, wore a variety of other styles from the venerable Swiss watch company. CR7 was there when the St. Catherine’s Airport in Funchal and Madeira was called “Cristiano Ronaldo” International Airport, and when he revealed the bronze sculpture of himself, depicted by the newspaper, he wore a $38,000 Hublot Aerofusion King Gold Chronograph.
This Classic Fusion Chronograph has an astonishing black dial with a date window at 6 o’clock and two counters and a wide 45 mm case made of Hublot’s “King Gold” unique alloy, which is said to be darker than regular red gold. A stylish black crocodile leather harness with a King Gold deployant buckle complements the dark dial.
3. TAG Heuer Carrera
For a long time, CR7 served as a brand ambassador for TAG Heuer, becoming the first soccer player to join the St Imier’s organization in this capacity. In discussing their collaboration, Ronaldo praised the brand’s ideology of something like totally changing the game, pushing the boundaries, and making own rules, calling it a real pleasure to be a part of such an influential and pioneering tradition. Aside from titles, he has owned some impressive TAG Heuer timepieces, such as this $180,000 TAG Heuer Carrera Mikrotourbillon S.
The Mikrotourbillon S is so pricey because it has two tourbillons, one for driving the chronograph escapement and the other is for daily timekeeping. The tourbillon spins once per 5 seconds, and the chronograph’s escapement pulsates at a mind-boggling 360,000 times per hour (50hz). Consequently, this remarkable mechanical watch will record 1/100th of a second. The Mikrograph is a re-edition: TAG (then Heuer) performed the same trick in 1916 with the first Mikrograph, a stopwatch capable of such feats, a device that made Heuer the attractive option as the approved provider of timing devices for the 1920 Olympic Games.
Ronaldo’s collaboration with the watch company extended to the simple display of the luxury watches, and he even co-authored a more accessible timepiece, the CR7 version of the Grand Carrera chronograph, which features a skeletonized action with a grey matte finish that reflects its outdoorsy and rugged style. This watch is available to the general public for about $2,500, but it sounds quite luxurious.
For the supreme soccer lover, the brand has also released a Formula 1 Cristiano Ronaldo CR7 chronograph in a black and green version customized to show these people of football, from the green that should invoke grass to the striped backdrop of the dial characteristic of football players’ jerseys, and is fitted with a NATO brace in same colors. At $1,500, the Formula 1 is TAG’s entry-level set, showcasing a quartz Ronda action, making it one of the most inexpensive souvenir watches with a Ronaldo theme.
4. Rolex
Among the Rolex watches of CR7 is the prestigious Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona in yellow gold with a black dial, the reference 116528 with dial 116598, a style that the star athlete appears to admire and has supported him in many key moments during his illustrious career. Another is the Rolex Sky-Dweller Everose, approximately $50,000, which is among the most complex modern Rolex watches, with an annual list and several complexities such as dual time zone, month, and date.
In A Nutshell
Reverting to the accessories Ronaldo has been photographed sporting throughout his long professional life, we must admit that the unexpected shots are much more informative than the deliberately orchestrated social activities such as press briefings and dinner parties.