Ed Sheeran collects watches

Ed Sheeran buys himself a new watch every time he reaches a milestone in his life and career.

The 30-year-old pop star – who is the 10th highest-earning British muian with a net worth of £200 million as of 2021 – has revealed he has a substantial collection of timepieces after being inspired by fellow muians and watch collectors, John Mayer and Eric Clapton.

While co-hosting BBC Radio 2 with Jo Whiley, Ed shared: “I got into watches a while ago through John Mayer, actually, weirdly.

“He’s always been someone I’ve always looked up to and he also looks up to Eric Clapton, who is also a collector of watches, I guess it’s a knock-on effect through generations.”

When asked how many watches he owns, the Grammy-winner replied: “Uh, we shouldn’t go into that. Too many.”

He continued: “It’s something I started getting for milestones in my life when something happened.

“Single does well or wedding, birthday.”

Jo said: “So you have to earn it?”

Ed – who has 10-month-old daughter Lyra with his wife Cherry Seaborn – added: “Yeah, it’s not just a random purchase.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Beautiful People’ singer revealed his favourite pair of shoes he owns is a pair of Converse given to him by his guitar idol Clapton.

He said: “Speaking of Eric Clapton being my hero, he gave me a pair of shoes once that his friend had made and they are my most treasured possession.

“I wear them for special occasions, they are just a pair of Converse.

“But they are probably my treasured possession.”

Quizzed on why the ‘Wonderful Tonight’ singer gave him shoes, he explained: “He’s very into style and this was the first time I’d met him, he probably looked at my shoes and went … no, this is the first time I’d met him and we went out for dinner near his house in London and we went back to his house and he gave me a guitar and a pair of shoes.

“I think his friend is a designer, so he was like ‘my friend made these shoes’, but it was one of the greatest evenings of my life – it was great.”

The full interview with Ed Sheeran is available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app.