Hello folks!
I came to notice that the watch community is less prone to be interested in watches once worn by jazz icons.
Sadly not as much information are to be found online besides very few articles. Here's what i could find.

Let's start with maybe the most known watch, Miles Davis' Breitling Navitimer.



And later on, Davis was seen wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day Date.



Duke Ellington wore an elegant ( platinum? ) 1928 Tank à guichets.



He also wore an utterly stunning 1948 ref. 1563 in yellow gold, displayed at the Patek Philippe museum.


Interesting to point out that Benny Goodman also wore a Patek but the exact reference is not disclosed.


Jazz Clarinetist Sidney Bechet was Girard Perregaux ambassador and wore a Gyromatic ref. 7317



Legendary Jazz singer Billie Holliday was Gifted this Platinum and diamond set Gruen watch in 1938.




Dizzy Gillespie is well known with his signature GMT Master on Jubilee bracelet and later switched on an Oyster bracelet.
I've worn my Rolex GMT-Master for 30 years. That's the thing with Rolex; they last forever. " –Dizzy Gillespie (1987)



Lots of jazz watches are still missing, any contribution will be greatly appreciated to serve as a reference for watch collectors and jazz amateurs alike.

Thanks for looking.

 

Absolutely fantastic post! Thank you for posting this - I'll have to dig through my Jazz LPs to see if I can see any watches now.

 

Nice post. Love Billie Holiday and now I know what she used to wear.

 

As I was listening to my LPs when I read this post, I took the time to go through my jazz albums, looking for watches. Hardly any to be found, perhaps these musicians weren’t as flashy as Diz and Miles?!?

Now I own an fair few LPs, but as they’re predominantly Blue Note the photos of musicians play second fiddle to Reid Miles’ graphic design ideas. The only examples I could find were Ike Quebec (a washed out gold-dialled watch), and the following:

Wes Montgomery from the 60s (nice lugs, period-appropriate fixaflex bracelet)



And Blue Mitchell from the early 80s (looks like a Seiko 5, with day/date and crown at 4, on a funky strap)

 

Really interesting Rob! Thank you for sharing. I totally agree, most jazz musicians were not as flashy as todays musicians.
Found a couple more watches but the tricky part is identifying them. Perhaps the fanciest one i found today is Satchmo's gold watch, a gift from from Ben Pollack in 1929 and inscribed on the caseback " Good luck always. To Louis Armstrong from Musicians on Broadway "
He wore it proudly quite regularly.



I think he's wearing the same watch here with Ella Fitzgerald.



Any idea what model could it be?

Ps : Love Reid Miles' work. A true genius to say the least. Every blue note cover is a work of art which established the label's visual identity.

 

Fantastic post, thanks for this. I once met George Benson and spent a evening chatting with him over a drink and he was wearing a Piaget I think. It was a jewel incrusted watch for sure, very thin and on the small side.

 

Oh I am here for this - fantastic thread!

 

Love this thread!

 

Chet Baker. Cartier Tank?

 

Great thread - life / history can be like a ball of wool - but pick on a small detail / follow that thread and it makes it easier to unravel things / lots of new information pops up.

 

Of course, you can get your very own Blue Note watch...



No surprise to see the great man Herbie with a cool watch, not sure what it is though:



And I’ll finish with this great seven-hander

 

Who remembers Tim Weisberg, pioneering jazz/rock artist from the seventies?


His 1971 debut album prominently featured a Rolex GMT. I wonder if he still has it?

 

Thank you all for the positive feedback and contribution!

I thought so at first, now i think it looks more like a LeCoultre Sultan as the lugs' side of the case is thicker than the sides. Plus, after zooming in on this picture, i think the decorative grooves resemble those of the Sultan. it's really though to be conclusive from these pixelated pictures unfortunately.




An interesting and beautiful watch to say the least!

I think Herbie is wearing a Nike Oregon probably! Cool

 

Love this thread! Thank you

 

This is great stuff. Congratulations for creating such an interesting thread.

It made me curious to search for material to share here.

 

Marcus Miller wearing his stunning JLC Reverso Rouge:





And Wynton Marsalis’ has advertised many Movado models:

 

This reminds me to go back down the rabbit hole I was in a few weeks ago!
Drumming great Elvin Jones was often seen with different watches and I've been trying to figure it out.
Later in life looked like maybe a gold Tag Heuer judging from link bracelet.
Have seen some pictures earlier that look like a gold Day Date or similar like Bulova Super Seville.
This album cover features a square case... any guesses?
Most pics and videos are hard to tell with those genius hands always in motion!

 

Here’s Stanley Turrentine, “Mr. T”, wearing a Rolex of some sort ~

 

I've always wondered what Bill was wearing on this cover: