When the guitarist John Mayer takes the stage this week in Las Vegas, to cap Dead & Company’s 10-week residence at the Sphere arena, his wristwatch is bound to loom large on the venue’s massive LED screen.
“I happen to have a job where my wrist is naturally looked at,” Mr. Mayer, 46, said last month on a video call from his home in Los Angeles.
That suits the longtime watch collector (and downright watch nerd) just fine.
“The number of people who come up to me and ask me what I’m wearing is far greater than the number of people who come up to me and say, ‘Love your music, or how’d you write that song?’” he said. “People want to know about watches more than anything. They’ll say, ‘Gotta ask: What do you have on?’ It’s such a great entree to conversation.”
One of Mr. Mayer’s favorite talking points is his new collaboration with the Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet (A.P.). After three years of development, in March the brand introduced a Royal Oak perpetual calendar wristwatch designed by Mr. Mayer.
Limited to 200 pieces, the $180,700 timepiece, encased in 18-karat white gold, featured a blue metallic dial inspired by the night sky as well as some subtle aesthetic details that Mr. Mayer conceived.
“When you look at this perpetual calendar, the first thing you should see is the time,” he said. “You shouldn’t see the vastness of the universe when it comes to timekeeping if you’ve got 15 minutes to get to a meeting.”
The brand in March also appointed the singer-songwriter as what it called its “creative conduit,” a new role established for Mr. Mayer that even he struggled to define.
“There’s no point of reference for bringing someone in in this way,” he said. “To me, it’s a little bit like being a computer hacker that gets hired by the F.B.I. Maybe the way I would put it is ‘all-purpose utility go-to guy.’”
In a wide-ranging discussion, Mr. Mayer talked about the new position, why he is so passionate about collecting and what it is like to be the watch world’s celebrity poster child. The interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
You bought your first watch, a Rolex Explorer II, when you were in your early 20s.
I would have been 23 or 24. And I remember thinking, “I now have a Rolex before I would have gotten out of college, had I stayed in college.” And I remember that being a really strong statement to myself and, psychically, a statement to people who were really worried about me, that maybe they didn’t have to be.
Were you drawn to that particular model for a reason?
It was all I knew. It was like, “I want to get a car and I hear Cadillac’s the best.” It’s fair to say that Rolex, culturally, is a watch that everyone relates to success and making it. And just like everyone else, I thought that was the one. But the way a lot of people’s minds work when they buy watches is it starts a journey. I would talk about it and show it to people. And then certain people would go, “Ever heard of this brand or that brand?”
I found that watch collecting was something that I could get into on the road. And that’s what I appreciated about it. It’s a highly portable pursuit.
What was driving you to collect?
I love specifications. I love feeling myself going from not knowing to knowing. I collect knives. I can feel myself going from not knowing blade steel types to knowing blade steel types. And I love the learning curve. I love now watching other people on that curve and helping them scale it. It rewards dedication over time.
Do you have any favorite resources for learning about watches?
Now, I think it’s the community. One of the things I’ve always made sure to do is never position myself as a know-it-all. I’ve always been really honest about saying, “I don’t know about that.” I mean, I still don’t know a thing about [the independent watchmaker] MB&F. And I don’t think that you have to be an across-the-board knowledge base for everything. I think if you just know what it is you love, then you’ll naturally learn more as you love more.
How does it feel to be the go-to celeb when it comes to watches?
I mean, I suppose that’s true. How does it feel? It feels great. Because I want to see people get the right pieces. I want to see them get into collecting the right way.
My new thing is getting people to slow down. There’s this conspicuous consumption that we all fall into sometimes where we get one, we get excited, and it brings us to another. And my new thing is getting people to appreciate what they already have.
Let’s talk about your new relationship with A.P. In March, you jointly introduced a perpetual calendar wristwatch that you initially designed as a unique piece. Tell us about it.
I’d met François [Henry Bennahmias, the brand’s former chief executive] before and started to get the bravery to ask for unique pieces. I asked him, “If I submit a request for a unique piece, would you be interested in fulfilling it?” And he said, “Show me what you have in mind.” This was the summer of 2021.
I started looking at the Code 11.59 perpetual calendar, which has adventurine on the dial. I’m pretty good at Photoshop so I very meticulously rendered a version of the watch [in a Royal Oak case] that I sent to him. And he liked it so much, he said, “What if we made these and offered them to other people?”
I’ll never forget March 7, 2024, when the watch was announced. I was in Milan with A.P. and I went back up to my room after a couple of meetings and I just laid on the bed and looked for the very first time, almost like the first time you hear your own music on Spotify after you’ve been listening to it on Dropbox forever. I was now seeing the watch on Instagram and seeing people respond to the watch. And that moment of me just in my hotel room soaking that up. That was an hour of my life that I’ll never forget.
Did the creative conduit role emerge out of this collaboration?
At the very beginning, I think the back and forth was based on this being a celebrity collab. And I think in my expressing my ideas, there was this respect that started to build. Maybe I’ll go so far as to say there was a little bit of friction because there’s the way they do things, like any brand, any company, and there’s the way I think.
And then the shoulders started to drop because the ideas I was giving were in their interests. It was never tough. It was never conflict. But it was two dogs at the park circling each other. And through that friction started to grow a great level of respect for one another to the point where I think I was being sent things to weigh in on that no one else had been sent to weigh in on, like verbiage of website. And to me, the greatest sign of respect is what I call creative trust. “Weigh in on this.” I think they started to appreciate my instincts and we started to kind of fall in love. There’s no other way to put it.
What are you now doing for the brand?
I’m a musician. I don’t make watches, but I have a way of seeing things that I think is powerful. And giving this hybrid perspective that is one-half client, one-half “guy who makes stuff,” too — I think that’s the best way to put it. It’s feedback, but it’s also going to be talking to clients. People already come to me for stuff, and I find myself an extension in some ways of representing the brand.
Recently, I went to Geneva for a week or so to meet with A.P., gave my notes and left. Maybe they get taken and maybe they don’t. But it’s a really great lesson in checking your ego. I got back on the plane and I went, “All I want to do is give a perspective. Maybe it gets used, maybe not.” I hate to be overly metaphoric, but I’ll play guitar parts on someone’s record that may or may not be on the final version. I love playing on the song more than I need to be on the release.
Your collection includes lots of other brands, notably Patek Philippe and Rolex. Are there any brands you consider underrated?
Let me put it this way. Since I am a paid consultant, I will not say a brand. But I think you’re going to see people really go for mid to late ’80s, early ’90s — small size, all gold, ’80s wealth watches.
Are you a fan of independent watchmaking?
I am a fan. I know there are really hard-core enthusiasts of independent watchmaking, and I just haven’t broken into that world. But I really love Kikuchi Nakagawa. These watches are so Japanese. They’re based off of kind of a Patek Ref. 96, very simple, time-only dress-ish watch.
Your passion for watches seems to rival your passion for music. How do you explain that?
Touring is tough. I like it. I do it. I will do it my whole life. But I am the painting other people look at, or other people listen to, or whatever. My love of watches is my opportunity to not be in a painting and just appreciate paintings.
Going to Geneva felt like I was going to rock ’n’ roll fantasy camp. You might say, “But John, you’re a rock star. Why does going to Geneva with A.P. make you feel like a rock star?” And the answer is because it’s external.
As a musician, I get to use all parts of my brain to think about something innate and internal. But to be invited into not just the family of A.P., but really sometimes into the situation room of it all, and to be privy to a small part of it, you’d be shocked at how that makes me feel. It’s like, “I can’t believe I get to do this.”
