When you name yourself the undisputed (unofficial) king of rap, you’d better live up to the reputation. Champagne Papi Drake is doing his darned best, as his most recent birthday present to himself can attest.
On October 24, Drake turned 35 years old, and he’s been partying all last weekend and the current week, as one does, when one is worth an estimated $180 million and is the highest selling rapper in the world. This meant several birthday parties and the most lavish gifts that regular people can only dream of – and, of course, they included expensive cars and even more expensive watches.
Drake is known for several things, his artistic endeavors aside: he loves expensive cars, he collects expensive watches, and his idea of luxury real estate is a flashy, bespoke Las Vegas resort-style mansion. Naturally, celebrations for his 35th birthday party touched on these. For instance, his friends got him the Rolls-Royce Phantom he used to rent back in 2007, in order to pretend he was rich enough to have bought it.
However, the best present came from Drake himself: a Richard Mille piece that is said to have set him back $5.5 million. There are conflicting reports as to where he got it, since Drake posed with two different jewelers (Dave Bling and Pristine Jewelers), and both claim to have brokered the deal for him, just as there are as to which Richard Mille piece this actually is.
Initial reports claimed this was a one-of-ten Richard Mille RM 56-02, which was launched in 2014 for $2.2 million. Then, it was said that the piece was actually a one-of-five RM056, the world’s first production watch with a sapphire crystal case, launched in 2012 for $1.8 million. One of the jewelers in question says it’s a RM 56-01, which came out in 2013 and also cost $2.2 million.
The RM 56-01 was also made in only five units, but the same jeweler says it’s a one-off, which means that there’s only one in the world and Drake is wearing it on his wrist, so maybe it’s a personalized RM 56-01. This alone would explain the $5.5 million price tag, though limited-edition Richard Mille watches do have this kind of huge resale value.
We might never know the exact model of Drake’s newest watch, but we do know this: it’s completely see-through, it’s beautiful, and it’s painfully expensive. We wouldn’t expect anything less from the man for whom custom or one-off pieces have become the norm.
Drake is known for several things, his artistic endeavors aside: he loves expensive cars, he collects expensive watches, and his idea of luxury real estate is a flashy, bespoke Las Vegas resort-style mansion. Naturally, celebrations for his 35th birthday party touched on these. For instance, his friends got him the Rolls-Royce Phantom he used to rent back in 2007, in order to pretend he was rich enough to have bought it.
However, the best present came from Drake himself: a Richard Mille piece that is said to have set him back $5.5 million. There are conflicting reports as to where he got it, since Drake posed with two different jewelers (Dave Bling and Pristine Jewelers), and both claim to have brokered the deal for him, just as there are as to which Richard Mille piece this actually is.
Initial reports claimed this was a one-of-ten Richard Mille RM 56-02, which was launched in 2014 for $2.2 million. Then, it was said that the piece was actually a one-of-five RM056, the world’s first production watch with a sapphire crystal case, launched in 2012 for $1.8 million. One of the jewelers in question says it’s a RM 56-01, which came out in 2013 and also cost $2.2 million.
The RM 56-01 was also made in only five units, but the same jeweler says it’s a one-off, which means that there’s only one in the world and Drake is wearing it on his wrist, so maybe it’s a personalized RM 56-01. This alone would explain the $5.5 million price tag, though limited-edition Richard Mille watches do have this kind of huge resale value.
We might never know the exact model of Drake’s newest watch, but we do know this: it’s completely see-through, it’s beautiful, and it’s painfully expensive. We wouldn’t expect anything less from the man for whom custom or one-off pieces have become the norm.