The NBA’s Carmelo Anthony Talks Watches

Carmelo Anthony admits that he knew nothing about luxury watches when he was drafted by the Denver Nuggets back in 2003. The Syracuse standout was so naïve about the value of fine timepieces that he gave the watch that was gifted to him for being a first round draft choice to his brother, not knowing that the A. Lange & Söhne model carried a price tag of six figures.

Anthony wised up fast and wouldn’t make a mistake like that now. The 31-year-old gentleman baller for the Knicks now has a collection numbering between 22 and 25, all of them from legendary watchmakers like Rolex, Hublot, Richard Mille and Patek Philippe. He keeps them in a six-foot case that he describes as, “It’s a wine case, a cigar case. It’s custom-made for the gentleman.”

He admits that he was initially drawn to the flashiest, bling-iest timepieces. “When I came into the NBA, everybody wanted to get iced out [from] Jacob the Jeweler. And I kind of started with just the big diamond watches and all of that.”

Anthony soon developed better taste and began to choose quality over flash. “I don’t like to boast, but I am like one of the first guys [in basketball] to embrace the world of timepieces and watches. I know the history for each brand and [I like] sharing that knowledge with everybody else. I would rather meet the watchmakers than the watch [company] CEOs.”

So did Anthony ever get the A. Lange & Söhne back from his brother? “It’s a funny story,” he said. “When I started learning about the [watch collecting] game and A. Lange, I called my brother and said, ‘I need that A. Lange back.’ He said, ‘No, I’m not giving it back to you.’ He didn’t even know what it was, but it was his now. He didn’t give it back. But I am glad my brother got it and not a complete stranger.”