Usher’s Diamond-Studded Chopard Will Make You Say “YEAH!”

Last week, at the 55th NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles, Usher took home a hat trick of major trophies—for Entertainer of the Year, Outstanding Male Artist, and the President’s Award—but the most impressive hardware of all might’ve been the watch on his wrist.

The Alpine Eagle, Chopard’s modern luxury sports watch, rides a fine line between a utilitarian use case and a more luxurious remit. Usher’s version, however—a reference 295363-1001—falls firmly into the latter category, iced out as it is in full-cut and trapeze-cut diamonds. Indeed, virtually every corner of the 41mm white gold case and integrated bracelet is covered in shimmering stones, turning a practical, tool-adjacent model into a six-figure signifier of prodigious wealth. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)

There’s not a lot of contrast to its dial, but if you can manage to tell the time on this particular Alpine Eagle 41mm, it’s due to Chopard’s 01.03-C automatic movement with 60 hours of power reserve, 182 parts, and 27 jewels. Produced by Fleurier Ebauche, the movement manufacture owned by the maison, it’s visible via a sapphire caseback—virtually the only surface on the watch not covered in diamonds. The Alpine Eagle’s shine didn’t seem to be enough for Usher, who paired the watch with a matching, 48.16-carat diamond necklace, a 4.28-carat diamond ring, another 17.69-carat diamond necklace, and a 1.63-carat set of earrings, all from Chopard’s collections.

Usher is a long-time watch collector, and has been seen in all manner of pieces from the likes of Rolex, Panerai, Breitling, Cartier, and other marques. While most of those are hard-wearing, perfectly respectable tool watches—Daytonas, Navitimers, Royal Oaks, etc—none was perhaps perfectly suited to match the singer’s flare-legged tuxedo quite like the iced-out Alpine Eagle. Launched in 2019, the Alpine Eagle is one of the newer luxury sports watch collections from the bigger brands, but its origins are much older: It’s based in part on the St. Moritz, created by brand scion Karl-Friederich Scheufele back in 1980 when he was just 22 years old.

In a modern twist on this horological story, Karl-Friederich’s grandson, Karl-Fritz Scheufele, saw his grandfather wearing a St. Mortiz and commented that it was precisely the type of watch that Chopard should be making today. Indeed, the collection’s integrated bracelet, high-end construction, robust movements, and good looks are precisely the sort of things that excite the modern collector, who often wants a watch that can do double-duty as a daily driver and an impressive heirloom.

Since its debut, the Alpine Eagle collection has grown and captured some mindshare amongst grizzled watch industry vets. And while it may not yet have achieved Royal Oak or Nautilus status, it’s an impressive lineup that includes some genuinely beautiful watches—Usher’s being no exception.

Ramy Youssef’s Cartier Baignoire

In the lead up to hosting SNL tonight, Ramy Youssef wore what is seeming more and more like the watch of the year: the Cartier Baignoire. Present in the maison’s catalog since 1973, the elegant, ovular Baignoire is ostensibly a ladies’ model, but this hashardly stopped male celebs from donning its delicate profile, which is most often seen either in precious metals or accompanied by a small fortune’s worth of diamonds. Youssef’s version appears to be a vintage reference in yellow gold paired to a green leather strap. (A similar iteration on green leather is part of the current Cartier catalog, but unlike Youssef’s, its bezel is diamond-studded.)

Glen Powell’s Omega Constellation

While it often plays third fiddle to the Speedmaster and Seamaster, Omega’s Constellation is a notable collection born from the pursuit of chronometric accuracy above all else. As seen on the wrist of Glen Powell this week, the modern version measures a contemporary 41mm in diameter (though it’s also available in other sizes) and features a funky, integrated black leather strap. The black ceramic bezel, with its white Liquidmetal numerals and “claws,” presents an idiosyncratic look, while the dial with its mix of feuille hands and 6 o’clock date placement is a compelling mixture of vintage and new inspirations. An acquired taste, to be sure, the modern “Connie” very much does its own thing.

Kyle Lowry’s De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius

Sixers guard Kyle Lowry is a man with high-end tastes. Case in point, his De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius in 18K rose gold: This substantial, 42mm dress watch’s functionality may be limited to simply telling just the time, but its titanium and white gold inner constellation dial is customizable to a location designated by the client. (Want it to depict the sky over Vladivostok in mid-August? De Bethune can do that, I guess.) Beyond the incredible hand-work that goes into producing its impressive display, the DB25 is powered by the brand’s hand-wound DB2005 movement with twin barrels, 160 parts, and substantial 6-day power reserve. The type of watch one discovers when one becomes bored with, well, all other watches, the DB25 is a welcome sight amongst other, more predictable fare from big-name maisons.

Kevin Hart’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak

Ain’t nothing like a diamond-studded, tourbillon-equipped Royal Oak to get a watch lover’s attention. Kevin Hart rocked a 37mm Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin RD#3, one of the maison’s most impressive ROs, while picking up his Mark Twain Prize for American Humor this week. With its 32 baguette-cut diamonds framing the bezel and 12 more as the dial indices, this smaller luxury sports watch is a white gold standout in the Swiss watchmaker’s catalog. Its automatic, in-house Calibre 2968 is ultra-thin, resulting in a case depth of just 8.1mm, while its smoked blue Petite Tapisserie dial is truly beautiful. If you’re looking to fly under the radar, this is not the watch for you.