Love them, hate them, love to hate them, the Paul brothers are here to stay. The pair originally found notoriety on Vine before moving to YouTube with their vlog content documenting their crazy lives. These days they’re better known in sports entertainment in the fields of wrestling and boxing respectively. They’ve also courted controversy at every step of the way but far from seeing them cancelled, it’s only added to the intrigue and attention that they generate. Considering that their content revolves around their lavish lives, it’s no surprise that they each have quite the collection of watches. Although just because they’re expensive doesn’t necessarily mean they’re tasteful. We put them head-to-head across three rounds to find out who has the better watch collection, Jake Paul or Logan Paul.
The Competitors
Logan Paul | Weighing-in at 23.6M subscribers
Logan Paul’s career has seen him go from erstwhile YouTuber to a mainstream personality. Recently he’s become a regular performer at the WWE, having made an appearance at Wrestlemania 39 as well as the recent Money in the Bank event in London. The WWE seems like the perfect place for his over the top antics and larger than life character – sure he gets booed every time he makes an entrance but WWE has always celebrated its heels as much as its superstars. With all the attention he brings to whatever project he’s part of, be it wrestling, podcasts or Prime energy drinks, it’s no surprise that he’s been able to buy more than a few standout watches. In the ring for him today are the Rolex Day-Date II Platinum, Richard Mille Felipe Massa and Rolex Day-Date 228345RBR.
Jake Paul | Weighing in at 20.3M subscribers
The other half of the Pauls, Jake Paul has also moved into the arena of professional sport, although instead of wrestling he’s moved into pro-boxing. In terms of mainstream notoriety, Jake is arguably the better known of the two brothers due to boxing’s wider appeal as a sport. Just like his brother he has a bad-boy attitude that sees him throw more than a little trash talk and disrespect at his opponents. Jake Paul’s watch collection is a lot more controversial than his brother’s and the referee for this bout has already disqualified one of Jake’s heavy hitters, the RM055 Bubba Watson, for being fake. In his corner are the Cartier Santos de Cartier Skeleton, Richard Mille RM 11-03 ‘Ivory’ and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph.
Logan Paul Round 1: Rolex Day-Date II Platinum Ref. 218206
In the first round we have a clash of two absolutely classic watches, the Rolex Day-Date and the Cartier Santos. In terms of reputation, both are right at the top when it comes to status, with the Day-Date being favoured by presidents while the Santos is a staple on red carpets across the globe.
The story behind the Rolex is Logan Paul’s watch collection dates back to 2017, when the Paul brothers’ vlog content was at its highest, Logan recorded a video about purchasing a Rolex Day-Date II Platinum Ref. 218206, which you can still watch. Admittedly the video itself is a little deceiving as the title and thumbnail claim that Logan is going to buy a Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime but that’s pure clickbait. As the video reveals, he only tried that watch on and didn’t buy it.
Instead, he buys the Day-Date, which is a really nice watch on its own and would’ve been perfect for a YouTube video without the bait and switch. It has a 41mm platinum case with a smooth bezel, which until 2022 has been the norm for modern platinum models despite the fluted bezel being a signature of the Day-Date. The dial is a gorgeous ice blue colour with roman numerals for the hour markers. Across the top portion of the dial is the legendary days window that gives the model its name. While Logan might be a heel, this is a watch that the crowd loves.
Jake Paul Round 1: Cartier Santos de Cartier Skeleton
Swinging back with a passion is Jake Paul’s Cartier Santos De Cartier Skeleton. I’m initially impressed with the watch as the Santos is a gorgeous watch with an important place in horology history. It’s argued that it was the first watch designed specifically to be worn on the wrist and in being made for a pilot, was also the world’s first pilot’s watch.
In its skeletonised form, the modern-day Santos goes beyond its tool watch origins to become a sculptural object combining intricate shapes. However, the whole thing is ruined when you look at Jake Paul’s version and see that he’s had it customised with after-market diamonds across the dial, bezel and case. This immediately turns a refined timepiece into something altogether more tasteless and of less value.
It’s sad to say that in this round, Jake Paul’s own technical faults by having aftermarket diamonds has completely destroyed any chance the Cartier had against the Rolex. The Rolex comes in off the top rope with the steel chair to deliver a decisive finish.
Result: Logan 1 – Jake 0
Logan Paul Round 2: Richard Mille Felipe Massa RM-011
The second round is a battle of the Richard Milles with the Felipe Massa flyback chronograph going up against the ‘Ivory’ flyback chronograph. This is going to be a close fight. They’re very similar RMs but one is an F1 special edition and the other is an off-catalogue exclusive.
Let’s kick the round off with Logan Paul’s watch collection again, who is using his experience at the WWE to make this a tag team match as both he and his business partner KSI own the same watch, albeit slightly different versions of it. Logan’s one is titanium and rose gold, combining the durability of the titanium with the luxurious aesthetic of the gold.
The Felipe Massa, named after the Brazilian F1 driver, is a flyback chronograph model with the signature RM tonneau case measuring 49.94mm x 44.50mm. It’s no shrinking violet, matching the braggadocios attitude Logan is known for. In terms of complications, well there are a few. It has hours, minutes, small seconds, flyback chronograph seconds, a 60-minute countdown timer, a 60-minute timer, a 12-hour timer, date and months. It’s powered by the RMAC1 automatic calibre with 55-hour power reserve.
Jake Paul Round 2: Richard Mille RM 11-03 ‘Ivory’
Fighting on the other side of the ring is the RM 11-03 ‘Ivory’ from Jake Paul’s watch collection. This was actually a last-minute substitution after multiple trusted watch experts exposed the fact that Jake Paul’s RM055 Bubba Watson – one of the most sought after and expensive watches in the world – is a fake. The identifiable marks that led to it being called out are the distances between the screws in the bezel, which are too close together, and the overall thickness of the piece. Plus, there are concerns that it’s probably made from plastic rather than high tech ceramic.
Having evidently learned from his mistake with the Bubba Watson, Jake Paul has got himself a genuine Richard Mille with a similar all white aesthetic, the ‘Ivory’. It can be distinguished from the Bubba Watson easily, despite them both having white ceramic cases, because the RM 11-03 ‘Ivory’ is a chronograph. Which means it has the characteristically chunky RM pushers flanking the crown whereas the Bubba doesn’t. In terms of movement, the RM 11-03 houses the RMAC3 which is a newer generation of the RMAC1, which the main differences being aesthetic changes to better suit a skeletonised display.
Interestingly the ‘Ivory’ is an off-catalogue exclusive that’s only made available to select Richard Mille customers. Which makes the misstep of the Bubba even stranger considering Paul owns several genuine RMs and presumably has a good relationship with the brand if they’d allow him to buy an ‘Ivory’. While there’s no official price, one sold for over $800,000 a few years back.
The question of who wins this round really comes down to personal taste, do you prefer the more venerable RM 011 or the younger RM 11-03. This would be a split decision from the refs but I think by dint of being the vastly more exclusive of the two, Jake Paul’s ‘Ivory’ takes it.
Result: Logan 1 – Jake 1
Logan Paul Round 3: Rolex Day-Date Ref. 228345RBR
In the knockdown, drag out fight to determine who has the better watch collection between the Paul Brothers, we’ve come to the third and final round with Logan and Jake each taking one round. It’s a similar matchup to the first round seeing another Rolex going up against a diamond-clad classic in the form of the Royal Oak.
The Rolex in question is the second Day-Date in Logan’s collection, specifically the Day-Date 228345RBR. It’s a full rose gold model with a diamond bezel and an olive green dial launched in celebration of the Day-Date’s anniversary. In fact, that olive dial is known as the anniversary dial in honour of the milestone. While I’d personally prefer to see it with the fluted bezel, Logan has gone for the diamond-set edition. We can’t knock it too much though because it is at least factory set rather than aftermarket and regardless of whether you like the ice, there’s no deny it’s a smart Rolex.
Specs-wise it’s powered by the 3255 automatic calibre with perpetual winding and a 70-hour power reserve. It also features an accuracy of +/- 2 seconds per day and is protected by high performance paraflex shock absorbers.
Jake Paul Round 3: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph Ref. 26320ST.OO.1220ST.02
Fighting on the side of Jake Paul’s watch collection is the Royal Oak Chronograph Ref. 26320ST.OO.1220ST.02. The Royal Oak collection helped to reinvigorate watchmaking in the 70s bringing fresh ideas and new energy to what felt like an ailing industry. The focus on steel with high end finishing was radical and helped cement the notions of sports luxe design and integrated bracelets as an industry staple. Jake Paul’s follows in this tradition being steel itself.
However, it falls afoul of the same issue that plagued Jake’s Cartier, afterset diamonds. Instead of being able to see the Tapisserie dial or the brushed case, all we have is mad coating of diamonds that looks pretty garish and ugly. It really is a shame because we know that Jake has owned good APs in the past, such as a plain Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph. Not to mention that he’s been seen wearing the diamond AP alongside and equally iced-out Datejust, as if one full diamond watch weren’t enough.
It makes comparing the calibres almost irrelevant, which is a shame because the AP Calibre 2385 is solid. An automatic with 40-hour power reserve featuring hour, minute, small seconds, 30-minute timer, 12-hour timer, chronograph seconds and date complications.
This final round might be a battle or diamonds vs diamonds but there’s no contest. Logan’s Rolex Day-Date 228345RBR is the winner by KO. So, there you have it, once we tally up the scores Logan Paul has the best watch collection out of the two brothers.
Result: Logan 2 – Jake 1
Oracle Time