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with 5k words of njm chaebol theory in indefinite stasis i figured i would at least put some of my largely useless horological knowledge to work and finally make a compilation of one of the most visible displays of na jaemin's material wealth: his collection of insanely expensive timepieces. i do have to disclaim that i am not a watch expert/salesperson/etc i have not been professionally trained at all, watches are just a hobby for me so if there are any mistakes please be understanding (and feel free to send me a message if anything needs to be corrected) <3
1. AUDEMARS PIGUET // ROYAL OAK SELFWINDING - STAINLESS STEEL WHITE DIAL
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding in Stainless Steel with white dial is Jaemin's inaugural luxury automatic watch. It was first spotted on Jaemin in a 200502 vlive broadcast as seen above, and can be further spotted in a few Ridin era contents, like here.
The Royal Oak is AP's signature watch, introduced in 1972, which may be recognized by their iconic design of exposed screw heads in the bezel and integrated bracelet. Jaemin's watch is considered a pretty standard model of the 41mm Royal Oak as it has the simplest watch face design; aside from the date window this model is free of chronograph, moon phases or any other kind of complications. This watch belongs to the 15500ST series which is no longer in production. The updated series currently still in production is the 15510ST which bears a near identical appearance. On average this model sells at a 23.8% premium.
(Jeno also has an AP Royal Oak, but his is from the 26331ST series, which has a chronograph complication. Chenle also seems to have a Royal Oak Chronograph in a slightly different color way.)
2. ROLEX // COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA - PLATINUM WITH ICE BLUE DIAL AND BROWN CERAMIC BEZEL
Jaemin was first seen wearing the platinum Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in a fansign video call on 201208, during the NCT 2020 era. This watch makes several more reappearances, including a few subsequent fancalls with his infamous mint green hoodie, and perhaps more notably at the 230119 SMAs where he was twinning Rolex daytonas with Chenle. (Chenle's daytona seems to be the standard steel model with white dial.)
This is one of the more expensive Cosmograph Daytona models due to platinum being a rarer, more coveted material. The ice blue dial is also a feature unique to Rolex’s platinum watches, the only other rolex model with ice blue dial being the platinum Day-Date. At its peak, this watch has been valued up to $130k USD. It is currently the 3rd most expensive watch in Jaemin's collection according to market value and sells on the resale market at around $110k USD, a premium of 41.3% higher than the MSRP of $77,800 USD.
3. CARTIER // CARTIER DE SANTOS - LARGE MODEL, STEEL AND YELLOW GOLD
Jaemin was first spotted with what was assumed to be a Santos de Cartier in the 210701 radio show, but there was no clear view of the watch face and it was assumed to be all steel as it was difficult to gauge whether the bezel was gold or not. It is entirely possible that he has both a steel Santos and a steel and yellow gold Santos, but given that we haven’t seen him wear a steel Santos since that day, I’m inclined to believe he only has the gold one, which was clearly spotted at the airport on 221120 when he let Haechan wear it, and during ISTJ album jacket shooting here. I’ve seen this one misidentified by some as the Santos Galbee, but if you look closely (especially here) Jaemin’s watch has the curved gold bezel of the normal Santos and not the square bezel of the Galbee. Additionally, the case of the Galbee is roughly 1 cm smaller than the large model Santos.
Santos de Cartier does have many near-identical models making it a bit difficult pin down the exact one; however it is highly likely that Jaemin has the most popular Santos, ref. W2SA0009. This is the only one of Jaemin's watches that is not from a non-Swiss watchmaking house and the only one that has quartz rather than mechanical movement. While most watches made by fashion houses and jewelry brands are not valued much by watch collectors and considered "fashion watches" (/neg), Cartier is somewhat of an exception with their iconic and historical Tank and Santos and certain models can retain a bit of value. That being said, this is still the least valued watch in Jaemin's collection and the only one of his watches that sells at a discount, going on the resale market currently for $8,810 USD, about 24.7% lower than the MSRP of $11,700 USD.
Jeno and Renjun also have Cartier Santos watches as well, Jeno has a rose gold Santos de Cartier Skeleton with interchangeable straps, and Renjun has the classic medium Santos de Cartier in yellow gold.
4. PATEK PHILIPPE // NAUTILUS - ROSE GOLD
Jaemin's first Patek Philippe, glimpses of his rose gold Nautilus were first spotted during a 210706 radio show during hello future era and in a subsequent fancall the same day, but it became more front and center in his Adobe Photoshop collaboration video. Jaemin has worn this one many times to the airport as well.
Ref. 5711/1R-001 and the rest of the 5711 line is no longer in production, however Ref. 5712/1R-001 is a similar rose gold Nautilus model with a moon phase complication on the dial that is still in production. The successor series 5811 is still available as well. Introduced in 1976 and designed by Gerald Genta (who designed the aforementioned Royal Oak collection for AP just a few years prior), the Nautilus is considered one of Patek Philippe's most popular and iconic sport watch models and has great retention value. Currently, the Ref.5711/1R-001 goes for about $146,780 USD on the resale market, selling at a whopping 148.2% premium compared to the MSRP of $59,140 USD. This is Jaemin's second most expensive watch by market value.
5. PATEK PHILIPPE // NAUTILUS - MOONPHASE
In May of 2023 Jaemin debuted his second Patek, a moonphase Nautilus in the standard black-blue dial and steel hardware, at ICN en route to Macau for TDS2. You can also see it in the "Like We Just Met" Lyrics meeting video which was uploaded 230716 but filmed 230512. It makes a few other appearances at airports throughout the subsequent TDS2 stops.
As previously mentioned, Ref. 5712 is the Nautilus model with a moonphase complication. This watch sells on the market at about $94,552 USD, an 82.4% premium compared to its MSRP of $51,260 USD. Chenle also has this exact watch.
6. AUDEMARS PIGUET // ROYAL OAK DOUBLE BALANCE WHEEL OPENWORKED
The rose gold Royal Oak Openworked was first spotted on Jaemin on 240627 during his last minute visit to the Narcissism photo exhibition at CSSS Hannam, right before he headed to the airport en route to Singapore for TDS3. It makes a few more appearances at some subsequent airport departures. I assume he bought this piece for himself as a means to celebrate the photo exhibition launch and/or the completion of his photobook project.
This is Jaemin's most expensive watch to date, not only considering market price but also at MSRP. It sells for approximately 75% more than face value. Audemars Piguet's Openworked watches are a type of skeleton watch, known as such because they remove non-essential metal parts so the internal movement usually covered by the dial is visible. Exposing the mechanism is a testament to the brand's technical prowess, putting the gears, balance wheel and escapement on display. Jeno also owns a skeleton watch, though his is from Cartier.
on quartz vs. automatic/mechanical movement
Quartz vs mechanical movement is long standing debate in the watch community, with each having their own merits and flaws. Quartz movement refers to a battery powered watch; it is the more accurate timekeeping device and requires less constant maintenance. The value of mechanical watches lies in the craftsmanship and history; they are often handmade and require more intricate components and intensive labor to make due to the complexity of the movement. As such, mechanical watches are generally more expensive, and many luxury watchmakers only make mechanical watches. Some also require manual winding in order to keep the movement accurate if not worn regularly. Because the mechanism is so delicate (unavoidably mechanical movements will get dirty and lubricant will dry out), ideally the watches should be periodically disassembled, cleaned and lubricated. An oft used comparison is that of a photorealistic painting vs the photo itself—the painting will have more character despite being less accurate to the subject and the photo will be the most accurate at the expense of some character and history behind the creative process. Generally, people who are not watch enthusiasts do not see the value in paying more money for a less accurate device, but for watch aficionados, each piece is like owning a work of art.
on the brands
Rolex is probably the most widely recognizable brand in his collection, but Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, (and Vacheron Constantin) are swiss watchmaking brands considered "The Holy Trinity" for their longstanding history and prestige in the horology world. Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875, creating the first minute-repeating movement for wristwatches in 1892, the world’s first skeleton watch in 1934, and cutting-edge thin watches in 1986, while Patek Philippe was founded in 1839 and created/popularized complications, such as the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in mechanical watches. Rolex, while not exactly considered highly prestigious among the watch crowd due to the mass production and oversaturation, still has their more valuable models and Jaemin's platinum Daytona is considered one of them. Cartier also is well known for jewelry but their history in watchmaking also lends itself to higher regard than the average jewelry watch.
terminology
> you can find me on twitter or retrospring
> i could probably do a mini post for chenle and jeno's collections if that's something people are interested in but.. not now... haha.
> 10/17/24 4am - ill probably need to revise this at some point but hitting post for now <3
- all prices are in USD
- msrp = manufacturer suggested retail price, which is the sticker price from any authorized dealer
- market price = average pre-owned price estimate, an average of what it goes for on the current resale market
- all prices accurate as of oct 1st 2024.
- listed in order revealed
- watch terminology glossary here
don't say damn
1. AUDEMARS PIGUET // ROYAL OAK SELFWINDING - STAINLESS STEEL WHITE DIAL
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Selfwinding in Stainless Steel with white dial is Jaemin's inaugural luxury automatic watch. It was first spotted on Jaemin in a 200502 vlive broadcast as seen above, and can be further spotted in a few Ridin era contents, like here.
The Royal Oak is AP's signature watch, introduced in 1972, which may be recognized by their iconic design of exposed screw heads in the bezel and integrated bracelet. Jaemin's watch is considered a pretty standard model of the 41mm Royal Oak as it has the simplest watch face design; aside from the date window this model is free of chronograph, moon phases or any other kind of complications. This watch belongs to the 15500ST series which is no longer in production. The updated series currently still in production is the 15510ST which bears a near identical appearance. On average this model sells at a 23.8% premium.
(Jeno also has an AP Royal Oak, but his is from the 26331ST series, which has a chronograph complication. Chenle also seems to have a Royal Oak Chronograph in a slightly different color way.)
2. ROLEX // COSMOGRAPH DAYTONA - PLATINUM WITH ICE BLUE DIAL AND BROWN CERAMIC BEZEL
Jaemin was first seen wearing the platinum Rolex Cosmograph Daytona in a fansign video call on 201208, during the NCT 2020 era. This watch makes several more reappearances, including a few subsequent fancalls with his infamous mint green hoodie, and perhaps more notably at the 230119 SMAs where he was twinning Rolex daytonas with Chenle. (Chenle's daytona seems to be the standard steel model with white dial.)
This is one of the more expensive Cosmograph Daytona models due to platinum being a rarer, more coveted material. The ice blue dial is also a feature unique to Rolex’s platinum watches, the only other rolex model with ice blue dial being the platinum Day-Date. At its peak, this watch has been valued up to $130k USD. It is currently the 3rd most expensive watch in Jaemin's collection according to market value and sells on the resale market at around $110k USD, a premium of 41.3% higher than the MSRP of $77,800 USD.
3. CARTIER // CARTIER DE SANTOS - LARGE MODEL, STEEL AND YELLOW GOLD
Jaemin was first spotted with what was assumed to be a Santos de Cartier in the 210701 radio show, but there was no clear view of the watch face and it was assumed to be all steel as it was difficult to gauge whether the bezel was gold or not. It is entirely possible that he has both a steel Santos and a steel and yellow gold Santos, but given that we haven’t seen him wear a steel Santos since that day, I’m inclined to believe he only has the gold one, which was clearly spotted at the airport on 221120 when he let Haechan wear it, and during ISTJ album jacket shooting here. I’ve seen this one misidentified by some as the Santos Galbee, but if you look closely (especially here) Jaemin’s watch has the curved gold bezel of the normal Santos and not the square bezel of the Galbee. Additionally, the case of the Galbee is roughly 1 cm smaller than the large model Santos.
Santos de Cartier does have many near-identical models making it a bit difficult pin down the exact one; however it is highly likely that Jaemin has the most popular Santos, ref. W2SA0009. This is the only one of Jaemin's watches that is not from a non-Swiss watchmaking house and the only one that has quartz rather than mechanical movement. While most watches made by fashion houses and jewelry brands are not valued much by watch collectors and considered "fashion watches" (/neg), Cartier is somewhat of an exception with their iconic and historical Tank and Santos and certain models can retain a bit of value. That being said, this is still the least valued watch in Jaemin's collection and the only one of his watches that sells at a discount, going on the resale market currently for $8,810 USD, about 24.7% lower than the MSRP of $11,700 USD.
Jeno and Renjun also have Cartier Santos watches as well, Jeno has a rose gold Santos de Cartier Skeleton with interchangeable straps, and Renjun has the classic medium Santos de Cartier in yellow gold.
4. PATEK PHILIPPE // NAUTILUS - ROSE GOLD
Jaemin's first Patek Philippe, glimpses of his rose gold Nautilus were first spotted during a 210706 radio show during hello future era and in a subsequent fancall the same day, but it became more front and center in his Adobe Photoshop collaboration video. Jaemin has worn this one many times to the airport as well.
Ref. 5711/1R-001 and the rest of the 5711 line is no longer in production, however Ref. 5712/1R-001 is a similar rose gold Nautilus model with a moon phase complication on the dial that is still in production. The successor series 5811 is still available as well. Introduced in 1976 and designed by Gerald Genta (who designed the aforementioned Royal Oak collection for AP just a few years prior), the Nautilus is considered one of Patek Philippe's most popular and iconic sport watch models and has great retention value. Currently, the Ref.5711/1R-001 goes for about $146,780 USD on the resale market, selling at a whopping 148.2% premium compared to the MSRP of $59,140 USD. This is Jaemin's second most expensive watch by market value.
5. PATEK PHILIPPE // NAUTILUS - MOONPHASE
As previously mentioned, Ref. 5712 is the Nautilus model with a moonphase complication. This watch sells on the market at about $94,552 USD, an 82.4% premium compared to its MSRP of $51,260 USD. Chenle also has this exact watch.
6. AUDEMARS PIGUET // ROYAL OAK DOUBLE BALANCE WHEEL OPENWORKED
ref. 15407OR.OO.1220OR.01
msrp: $101,100 ✧ market price: $175,696
msrp: $101,100 ✧ market price: $175,696
The rose gold Royal Oak Openworked was first spotted on Jaemin on 240627 during his last minute visit to the Narcissism photo exhibition at CSSS Hannam, right before he headed to the airport en route to Singapore for TDS3. It makes a few more appearances at some subsequent airport departures. I assume he bought this piece for himself as a means to celebrate the photo exhibition launch and/or the completion of his photobook project.
This is Jaemin's most expensive watch to date, not only considering market price but also at MSRP. It sells for approximately 75% more than face value. Audemars Piguet's Openworked watches are a type of skeleton watch, known as such because they remove non-essential metal parts so the internal movement usually covered by the dial is visible. Exposing the mechanism is a testament to the brand's technical prowess, putting the gears, balance wheel and escapement on display. Jeno also owns a skeleton watch, though his is from Cartier.
✧✧✧
on quartz vs. automatic/mechanical movement
Quartz vs mechanical movement is long standing debate in the watch community, with each having their own merits and flaws. Quartz movement refers to a battery powered watch; it is the more accurate timekeeping device and requires less constant maintenance. The value of mechanical watches lies in the craftsmanship and history; they are often handmade and require more intricate components and intensive labor to make due to the complexity of the movement. As such, mechanical watches are generally more expensive, and many luxury watchmakers only make mechanical watches. Some also require manual winding in order to keep the movement accurate if not worn regularly. Because the mechanism is so delicate (unavoidably mechanical movements will get dirty and lubricant will dry out), ideally the watches should be periodically disassembled, cleaned and lubricated. An oft used comparison is that of a photorealistic painting vs the photo itself—the painting will have more character despite being less accurate to the subject and the photo will be the most accurate at the expense of some character and history behind the creative process. Generally, people who are not watch enthusiasts do not see the value in paying more money for a less accurate device, but for watch aficionados, each piece is like owning a work of art.
on the brands
Rolex is probably the most widely recognizable brand in his collection, but Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, (and Vacheron Constantin) are swiss watchmaking brands considered "The Holy Trinity" for their longstanding history and prestige in the horology world. Audemars Piguet was founded in 1875, creating the first minute-repeating movement for wristwatches in 1892, the world’s first skeleton watch in 1934, and cutting-edge thin watches in 1986, while Patek Philippe was founded in 1839 and created/popularized complications, such as the perpetual calendar, split-seconds hand, chronograph, and minute repeater in mechanical watches. Rolex, while not exactly considered highly prestigious among the watch crowd due to the mass production and oversaturation, still has their more valuable models and Jaemin's platinum Daytona is considered one of them. Cartier also is well known for jewelry but their history in watchmaking also lends itself to higher regard than the average jewelry watch.
terminology
- automatic movement: mechanical watch with a mainspring that is wound by the daily movements of the wearer's wrist
- bezel: the raised part around the face of a watch that helps protect it and holds the crystal in place
- complications: anything on a watch face other than the time. simple complications include chronographs, alarms, dates/calendars, whereas intricate or grand complications can include perpetual calendars, tourbillons, minute repeaters, etc.
- chronograph: a function that allows you to measure time elapsed, usually looks like three small circles on the watch face
- movement: the engine or motor of a watch. mainly divided into quartz and automatic/mechanical
- mechanical movement: watch that runs without any electrical source
- quartz movement: usually refers to battery powered movement
> you can find me on twitter or retrospring
> i could probably do a mini post for chenle and jeno's collections if that's something people are interested in but.. not now... haha.
> 10/17/24 4am - ill probably need to revise this at some point but hitting post for now <3
Current Music: saturday drip - nct dream
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