Rhuigi Villaseñor . Road seeing it, he might like watches a bit too much. “If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t be like the clocks,” joked designer Rhude. “It’s dangerous to love them all.” Lacking a time machine, Villaseñor lives in danger: collecting the holy grail Patek Philippes and Audemars Piguet test to see if their idols (and now clients) wear them too. Here he walks GQ through what has been in his rotation lately.
Villaseñor Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1R watch.
Courtesy of Rhuigi VillaseñorGQ: How did you start collecting?
Villaseñor: When I founded Rhude, I made quite a bit of money with a bandana t-shirt and hoodie. Watches are one of those things that I spend my money on. My first purchases were a 36 mm Rolex Datejust, an all-gold Day-Date, and another Datejust, all at once. I am the type of person, if I do that, I will try to start the collection as soon as possible. That is really stupid, but whatever.
From there, you added some legendary watches, like the rose gold Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept, and the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar.
For me, these are welcome things in watch collecting. I remember I wore this Perpetual Calendar; A friend of mine said, “How? Where? When?” Pharrell wore it in the “Frontin” video and I remember saying, “That watch, I need that.”
How much have hip-hop and music videos told you about your watch-watching preferences?
It was inevitable — without Hodinkee, and GQ Haven’t written about watches yet. The watch world is very old and closed. But if you look back, Jay-Z rapped about Richard Mille too soon.
His Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept GMT Tourbillon.
Courtesy of Rhuigi Villaseñor
Perpetual Calendar Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Openworked
Courtesy of Rhuigi VillaseñorAP created the Royal Oak Concept line in 2002 as a place to test its most futuristic and cutting-edge ideas. What drew you to this piece?
I am not yet at the level to buy a concept whip, but this is a concept watch. It’s a rubber watch — the closest thing to a mature G-Shock. I remember, again, seeing Pharrell wearing it, and I said, “Damn, what is that?” [More recently] I was in the office with [Jay-Z] and he wore one. I kept quiet about it, and then a few weeks later I went to buy one.
