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The Collector's Edition With Ben Clymer – Featuring Kevin Hart

Published on Thu, 16 Feb 2023 18:05:00 +0000

For the next installment of The Collector's Edition, Ben chats with actor, comedian, producer, entrepreneur, and watch guy, Kevin Hart.

Synopsis

In this episode of Collectors Edition, host Ben Klymer sits down with comedian, actor, and entrepreneur Kevin Hart at Foxwoods Resort Casino during a stop on Hart's Reality Check Tour. The conversation explores Hart's deep passion for luxury watches and how he became one of the most visible watch collectors in entertainment.

Hart traces his watch journey from humble beginnings with an unknown branded watch to his current extensive collection featuring Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Rolex. He explains his philosophy of associating watches with career milestones, treating each significant purchase as a commemoration of hard work on specific projects. His first meaningful watch was a stainless steel Submariner, followed by a Day-Date at age 25, but it was his first rose gold Royal Oak from AP—purchased after selling his TV show "The Big House"—that marked a turning point in both his career and collecting journey.

The interview reveals two major moments in watch culture that Hart was inadvertently involved in: accidentally revealing the AP ceramic perpetual calendar before its official launch (much to AP CEO François-Henri Bennahmias's frustration), and his connection to the controversial Black Panther commemorative watch, which held special significance due to his friendship with the late Chadwick Boseman. Hart discusses his evolution into vintage collecting, the importance of authentication, his auction-watching habits, and his current partnership with Audemars Piguet. He also touches on his 25-car collection and offers advice to new collectors: take your time, build relationships with brands, and let your collection grow with your journey rather than rushing to acquire everything at once.

Transcript

Speaker
James Stacy Hey, it's me, James Stacy, and as promised, the Hodinky Radio Feed is back with a special presentation. The next installment of the Collector's Edition with Ben Klymer. This episode features Ben chatting with actor, comedian, producer, entrepreneur, and watch guy Kevin Hart. As you can imagine, it's a fun one. So let's get to it
Ben Klymer . Alright guys, welcome back to another episode of Collectors Edition. We've got a good one here for you today. We are actually in I would describe this as suburban Yes. At Foxwoods Hotel Resort Casino with Kevin Hart. How are you, man? Good man. How are you? I'm good. A little tired
Kevin Hart . Yeah. A lot tired, but I'm alright. And what are you doing here at Foxwoods? I am performing. It's a stop of my reality check tour. So uh we doing three shows. Uh it was one last night, two today. Yeah. Sunny. Then I get on the plane and leave right after. And you go back home to LA. Back home, LA. Wife will probably want a bunch of time, me, the kids, so I'm looking forward to not having a tour date, but uh getting dragged while being home. That's what the kids tend to do to me. So it'll be a lot lot of of lot of activities. I understand. A lot of activities going on. I understand. And I can't say no. Yeah. You have to have the same energy that you have for work. That's the rule. That is the rule. Yeah. So good lu
Ben Klymer ck to me. Well I appreciate you doing this. I mean I think I'm sure you guys are or you you guys at home might might know, but I mean Kevin is something of a of a watch world kind of hero. Because you're out there, you're wearing something amazing almost every single day, basically every day. Yes. And ranging from A P to Pat tech to Rolex. I mean all all the good stuff
Kevin Hart yes Y.es, I'm a watch guy. So uh, you know, the brands that are significant to the world of watches, I've fallen in love with for a very long time now. I'm in a partnership with AP, so I wear A P's all the time now. So I have to like keep a lot of stuff on ice, which is you know, that's tough. Like if you if you're a real watch person, the toughest thing in the world is to not wear certain watches. So for a duration of time, I'm only wearing a piece. But I love AP, so it's it worked, it fits. But the world of the rest of my collection, I'm like, I wish I could. Oh I uh And how'd you get into it? I got in the watches so So I fell in love with the idea of time, right? And what I started to do was associate watches with the work that I was doing. So after a project, I was like, you know what I want to get? I want to get a watch. Because a watch is like the clear definition of the hard work that I put into something. And when I look at a watch, I can associate that with something that I spent time on
Unknown . So my mom would get mad, her blood pressure would rise and she would just pass out. You could always tell when she was gonna pass out because the sentences would stop making sense. You know, she would just be yelling, you know. Uh Kevin, uh take your fo
Kevin Hart ot uh off the boy and um put it Early on in my career coming to LA you know you take a lot of general meetings and the people that I was meeting with they always had on nice watches and I was like my watch sucks. My watch what was it, Jack? Oh my God. I had like a it may have been, I don't want to say it sucks because the guy's a nice guy. It was a brand watch that was an individual's brand. Okay. And he was trying to have his own watches. It was like diamonds in the watch and I was like, Oh my God, this is a good watch. And I don't know, I probably paid like a thousand dollars for the watch. Yeah. And I got around people, nobody ever knew what what my watch was. They would always, what's that? And I was like, oh, this is a it was the guy's name. And I don't understand. He's he's no, this is his watch. He's making these. So these are diamonds in the watch. Oh, oh.. Okay Like nobody ever cared. And I was like, what kind of watches these? And guys just had on factory watches. They were plain, nice watches. Um, and unless you understood or knew, you didn't know the value of the watch. So I started to ask. I was like, what how much that watch cost? And the numbers varied. But these were all like uh, you know, studio heads or execs or owners of. And I was like, wow, man, it's like a really polished, nice business, clean look attached to a nice watch. Like, I like the look of that. Yeah. I remember the first, the first watch that I bought that like that gave me like okay this is this is a nice watch yeah you made it it was a submariner i had a stainless steel sub yeah and the reason why i wanted the stainless steel sub it was like it was an everyday watch. It was plain, but it can go with so much. And I was like, I'm gonna spend the money, but I can actually wear this watch. I can get the most out of this watch. And then it was like, okay, well I have this. Well, what's the next version of what's like the the next level above where this is? And I think I was like 25, 25 for my birthday, I bought a day told it. Still a great watch. Still a great watch, right? And I was like, okay, this is it. This is I'm in a good place. And then well then the education started to come of the other brands. Because all I knew about was Rolex in the beginning. That's all I knew. Right. I didn't I didn't know anything else. So then I started to like ask about other brands, like what were other cool brands? I think I went through a Jacob the jeweler phase. Everybody does at one point. Yeah, which was not bad but not good to me as well, right? Like you you think that that's the stuff that you want and of course you have no knowledge. So um the world of factory once again it I wasn't hammered in yet. And then I got educated on AP and I found out about the AP watches. That was through the world of hip-hop, Jay-Z. I remember when Jay-Z started talking about it. Of course. 2005. Yes. That's when that was like, okay, wow. All right. Well, this is a good brand. Jay-Z's wearing it. Yep. He's talking about it. I mean, I need to know what it is. Yeah. You know what cracked the code for me was like really like what was he going through? Petech, uh of course that was like another one. Rashad Mill, I went through a Rashad Mill phase as well. So it was like I had my knowledge and I had the wheelhouse that I wanted to be in. And then I said, okay, well I wanna make good investments. I found that they could be treated as art. So what are the investments? What are the correct purchases? Where does my money stay still and not take a significant dip? And as I gained that knowledge then my taste started to grow as my money started to grow. Right? So you started to make more money, your taste and watches change. Yeah. So now it's uh it's signific
Ben Klymer ant. And are there any pieces along the way, so you mentioned the Samara and the Daytona that like really mean something to you th Oh my god. First time you did this. First time so yeah. I me
Kevin Hart an I can go down a list from each one. I'd love to. I think my first my first royal oak from AP, right? Um this is like the Royal Oaks were were were it at this at this time. There was a period where you know they had so many, but I really wanted the uh it was the rose gold the rose gold and they had like the rubber, the band on them, right? And I was like, this is the watch that'll that this is like this is it. If I get this watch, I don't need anything else. Like this will be my last watch. This is this is it. And it's this is me jumping out the window. Like the price of this watch was me really going for it. I'm gonna spend it. I'm gonna do it. I don't care. The next check I get, I'm gonna go get this watch. I remember I got the watch. And literally I I just looked at this watch every single day. And it wasn't even about wearing it. It was the fact that I got it. Like I I said I wanted to get it and I worked hard to get it and I got it. And I got it. It was based off of a television show called The Big House and the Big House is loosely based on my family. The stories of my family are what put me in position to sell the show to make money, but it was like me realizing that I can be honest about my life. I can be honest about where I've come from, what I've been through, like, etc. I can talk about my life and I can actually I can actually gain from it. Like I can like where I come from is cool, it's interesting. Oh my god, that's when it clicked. That's when the world of comedy clicked. So that watch was a significant stamp of knowledge in the entertainment business of how to progress by being authentic. Right? Like that's when it was like, okay, transparency, authenticity, that's how you sell that's how you create um the big house was my first version of doing that my first turb was an AP that's a big watch for me. That was done after my second scary movie. Yeah. And then after that when I started touring, then that's when I became a monster. Yeah. Once I got into the world of touring and I associated the watches with the tours, then it was no looking back. I got into the world of vintage. Yep. Probably in like 2016. Mm-hmm. So what type of stuff there? I'm all across the board. Yeah. Because vintage is tricky. If you don't have the right people around you, you can get burnt. Yeah. Right? Like, so I definitely got burned. You know, rightfully so. Uh uh with the thing that you think you have you don't know. So you actually don't have, yeah. Yeah, you know, wait, what do you mean? I was told this was an original Paul Newman. What are you talking about? Yes. It's ridiculous. What do you mean this isn't? Yeah. Yes, it is. They said it was. So I went through that phase. I've actually got into like some vintage APs too, like really, really nice ones that I've been finding. I just like to be different. I don't I don't like to have what everyone else has. Yeah. So I like the idea of the search and find. So the watch auctions, um So you follow the auctions? Yeah. Yeah. I just like I don't look at watches all day. Yeah. I will. It's better than porn to me. I will look at a watch sheet from an auction all day. What's selling? Why do they go from here? When watches dip, when they spike back up, what's hot? What are people buying? What are they not buying? You know, like I just like to know. I like to be in a conversation. Just being aware so that when you do have the opportunity, you can probably get something really good depending on the market. Like right now, the market's going back down. A little bit. So I'm paying uh just paying close attention to see if there's something that is in the wheelhouse that you can possibly get for a
Ben Klymer steel. Yeah, of course. So I mean one of the watches that that you kind of introduced to the world, whether you was intended or not, was the ceramic corner And people said, oh, okay, like Kevin Hart's wearing this thing, I guess it's real thing. And now it's the hottest watch in the world. What was the story behind it? How did that come to be?
Kevin Hart So uh this is actually funny. It's a funny So Francois, he uh so I'm doing a movie and I'm like, yo, dude, this is like a real big action movie. It's huge, like give me I need a nice AP to wear in the movies. Something like understated, not overstated, but can be a really nice look. So Francois like, okay, I got it. This is gonna be good. I got I got the perfect thing. And one day I get home and I got like three watches that were sent to me. But there's no messages or notes on the watches. Like they're just sent. I'm like, oh, okay, they sent me the watches. I'm like, you know, these are watches that I said that I wanted to buy. So they got it. All right, cool. So like there's like a sheet in there, it's telling me like what it is. Okay. Yeah. So I just like wear what one one of the watches. I get dressed. I'm like, oh, this cool is what I have on the day. Yeah. And I went to like the fanatics party, the Super Bowl party, and I have one to watch. And then like it's all over. Everywhere. All over, right? And everybody's like, I'm like, oh, that's cool. Like, oh, he sent me like a limited like watch. Oh, hmm. Yeah. I don't even know, right? I don't even know the story behind it because once again on the sheet there's nothing yeah I don't have the details of it so the first call me he's like you fuck me what he's like you fuck me buddy this wat watchch, this, we had a big release set up around it. We had a big thing we were doing and you went out and you wore the watch. And I was like, did you call and tell me that? He's like, what do you mean? I said, what do you mean what I mean? You didn't call me. You didn't tell me that. How am I supposed to know that? How am I supposed to know the inner words? I told you we were doing a release. Well you didn't tell me not to wear it. Why would you send it to me and not give me a story? He was like, I can't believe you would do that. I was like, I can't believe you would do that. So he was like we were going, we were going back and forth. And like what ended up happening was I didn't know there was like a big launch around the watch. Like a really big like campaign that was coming up. So it was just me just not even being aware of it and I I wore the watch before and he's like that's the one you were supposed to wear in the movie I was like you didn't tell me that so so uh what ended up happening was of course the watch got so much like attention and there was like a high demand for it immediately. Um but they didn't watch it yet. It was like the only one. Alright guys we got work to do. Accidents happen but sometimes the accident ends up being like a big story behind what will be the big success of the watch. So that watch is what I'll be wearing in the movie Lift and it's featured in a very classy, cool way. 'Cause it's a heist movie. So, uh, you know, when there the time and the the play on it in the film, right, there's a big countdown moment of we gotta be underneath and So it's it's in the movie. Yeah, it's in the movie. That's cool. Yeah, so it's a big deal. It's like cool. Yeah. It's a cool thing.
Ben Klymer It really is. But Francois was pissed, though. Well, you know, what else is he? And the the other the other big kind of moment that you were affiliated with with with AP was the Black Panther law. Yes. I mean that that watch was crazy. And that one I mean, that was like one of the most controversial watches that that has I've been doing this fifteen years. I would say the most controversial watch that's come out in fifteen years.
Kevin Hart How was it on the inside? Um you know what I love the the reason and and the idea behind it, right? Like it was something that was in the works for a while, of course, and unfortunately, you know, things happened and it was about making sure that they were being respectful to the matter while at the same time still honoring the partnership with Marvel that they had already had into it was already in the works, right? So I think they just did a really good job of just making sure that they were very respectful within the launch and also in touch with the family, right? Like it was it was a big deal. That Black Panther watch the time of it was a big deal. And the reaction that they got from it was insane. I mean that auction the the money that was spent on that watch at the auction. So even being a part of that right and being attached to that moment being attached to the auction uh being there for what they felt was like a record breaking day was big. And having the watch, right? Like being one of the people that was able to actually get the watch after. Controversy aside, it's a it's a stable watch. Like that watch will last through the test of time. That's a big deal. And I like it because I was actually real close with Chadwick. Like he was a he was a good friend of mine. So that's something that I put on ice. Like I've worn it a couple times, but that's a watch. That's more about the story. It has a meaning to it. We were actually supposed to do a movie. Wow. Um, we were in development of doing Uptown Saturday night, he and I, before he passed. And it's on, if you go watch my documentary, Don't Fuck This Up, he and I are in the office talking about during the movie. Like we're we're meeting. You know, nobody knew. Nobody knew that he was battling what he was battling. And we were kind of all shaking up, of course, when he passed away. But that watch is my hold of that's my gu
Ben Klymer y. So I mean you you have obviously an amazing collection at this point. I mean how do you go on like how do you pick what A fits your lifestyle because you have a a a typical one. Like you're not the average guy on the street for sure. And then B, how do you pick which watch you want to wear every day? Like you know you're flying here to do three shows in in a day basically. How do you want how do you choose
Kevin Hart that is, right? Like if I feel like this is a deal making or deal closing uh conversation, there's a watch that I feel is my I'm going to close the day, here's my closing watch. And what is that watch? Right. Uh I mean I call them my suit and tie. Yeah. You know, that's when a minute repeater would go on. Yeah, big boy. Yeah, that's when you bring out the big boys. We're talking about big stuff. Let's put the big boy on. Let's make a big deal. Your everyday, I mean, this is the world of your your skeletons, your turbs, your perpetual counters, right? That's your I mean that's what you can dress up, you can dress down. So they're overstated watches, but you can make them, you can you can casually have them on to wear that's your outfit, right? Like I love to wear those watches with uh t-shirt some pants uh jean jacket right like I don't you don't need much because the watch says it all there's a tone you set the tone for your day uh for me my watch sets the tone for me. Yeah. You you wear them and it's a part of your day to day. And it's you're not wearing it for other people, you're wearing it for you. Like people wouldn't even know. Yeah. The the But on stage people have no idea. They have no idea. Yeah. Like did you wear that last night? Yes I actually did. Yeah. So it's only if you know. If you know, you know. That's kind of the fun. Yes. Yeah. If you don't, you don't. Yeah. This this actually may be my favorite watch. That's steel? This actually, this is platinum. This is one of 40. This actually may be I want to say Yeah, they only did 40 of these. It's a limited edition. And what's interesting on this one is the the counter and the skeleton but I like that like the black numbers on the skeleton right so it's almost invisible yeah right like you almost can't see it so you gotta really like get up on the watch to see it and to understand it
Ben Klymer . So this is obviously a watch show, but you mentioned cars. We have to ask about that. There's a lot of overlap there. So what kind of cars are you into? Everything. Name it, you'll be here all day.
Kevin Hart Everybody wants to get from a vintage to to new. You ha you had a car show or you did yeah. Yeah. Um I got like a 27 car garage. Um that'll work. No, it's stupid. I want that. Uh stupid. So uh I don't know, I probab
Ben Klymer ly got like twenty five cars. Yeah. Is there a car there that like the the one A P that meant so much to you in the net rolls or one car that's like this is the thing that I got when I made it? Uh SLS. I have uh the G T with the Goldwing
Kevin Hart , yeah. Oh, the Gold Wing. SLS. And that was like my first like I made it car. Yeah. I was like, okay, wow, this is this is good. This is my first like purchase. Yeah. So that car is never going anywhere. Yeah. I'm never getting rid of that car. I mean, I'm never getting rid of any of them. But that car means something. Every every car like that I've wanted, I've been able to get like all of the dream cars. But I'm a I'm a I'm a car builder, I'm a car collector. So I'm into the world of pro touring ground up builds. Yeah. And I mean a lot of our cars and run of boards. Like I just my my roadrunner just won like street machine of the year. So you you you tend to go pretty hard on stuff. Yeah. Yeah. I'm a I'm I don't I can't do anything halfway. Right. So even with the like the watch thing. Like that's what it started off at one tier and then I got the knowledge of the different levels that they represent or that they can, you know, that present themselves. And once you once you get in it, then you're in it. Right. There's no way to get out of it. R
Ben Klymer ight. Or three shows in 24 hours at Foxwoods. It's yeah, it's it's pretty much. And do you have like a lot of friends in entertainment that that are into watches that way or is it friends from home or yeah we have there's a circle there's a circle of us that just really
Kevin Hart respected it we all nodded each other from afar. Wahlberg, Jay-Z, John Mayer. Yeah. Uh Sylvester Stallone's a watch guy. Yeah. Huge watch guy. Jackie Chan's a watch guy. No kidding. Yeah, Jackie Chan's a watch guy. That's kind of fun. No, Jackie Chan's a real watch guy. Jackie Chan's got some shit. Yeah. Corey Gamble. Corey Gamble has a really nice watch collection. I've heard that. Corey Gamble has a really nice watch club. He's into Patek, I think. He's into Patek heavy. Yeah. And he gets a lot of shit. Like, it's frustrating. It's frustrating. Like, how the fuck? How did you get that? Like, like he gets a lot of of one one, one of two. He's a really he's got a strong collection. I don't know if people understand how strong it actually is, but he he does. Yeah. Um but those are like the real serious guys. Yeah, those are the real serious gu
Ben Klymer ys. You have such a megaphone to the world. I mean one of the most followed people on earth, really. What advice would you give to young guys or young girls just getting in the watches now? Just getting in the watches. Um
Kevin Hart take your time. Yeah. Don't try to do it all in one day. You know, they're it's addictive, right? Like anything else. Like once you once you get into something and you get a little taste of it, you'll want more. I would say just be patient. And as you grow, let your collection grow with you. Find a brand that you like and educate yourself on the brand and see if you can build relationships as well. Right? The relationships are so important. They may be more important than the actual purchase. Right. Um because the world of want will forever grow, but without the relationship you have no access. So build a relationship and work that relationship. And I think that as you work the relationship, the relationship will respond to you and the relationship will work just as hard to get you stuff. But it's all about the progression. Don't jump out the window off the back. Take your time. Yeah. And then when you look back over the course of time, you should be able to look back and have a nice little trail of light memories, right? When you can look back and go, oh my God, this is when. Oh I have, oh this is, I got this because of it's a good feeling to look back and have uh a story attached to your purchases as well. Yeah. That's what I like the most. Now we're done. I like that. Get old. Look at that. Look at that. Get up.
Ben Klymer We should do a rich shot. Dude, thank you. This is cool man. Yeah, situation.