Behind Ed Sheeran’s heart-wrenching croon is a man with some unexpected interests. He’s a lifelong fan of UK drill and a hobbyist beekeeper. He also has an enviable watch collection. It’s only right that John Mayer, fellow timepiece lover, recruited Sheeran to create his own G-Shock in collaboration with Hodinkee.
Fans will immediately recognize the watch’s vibrant yellow casing as a reference to the album art for his sixth studio album, Subtract. Black paint splatters along the strap match the album’s CD design — plus, there’s also a subtraction sign scrawled at the top of the watch face.
Ed Sheeran x Hodinkee x G-Shock, which officially launches October 18 via Hodinkee’s website, is the first of three collaborations with artists hand-picked by Mayer for their shared love of music and watches. Mayer had previously collaborated on his own trio of G-Shocks between 2020 to 2022. Now, it’s time to bring his buddies into the mix.
To accompany the release of the collaborative watch, Sheeran shouted out some of his favorite watches from his impressive collection. Highlights include his black ToyWatch, a stunning Patek Philippe 5230G World Time Piece engraved with his hometown of Framlingham, and an all-white Audemars Piguet — custom made for his global tour — featuring multi-colored dials to represent each of his studio albums.
While there’s no word on the other two collaborators Mayer has recruited for the remainder of the year, I hope he considers Mark Ronson, superstar producer and timepiece obsessive, next.
