The Kobe Bryant-style Swiss watch: simplistic and beautiful, just like him

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Back in the day (and still today, kind of), wearing a pair of the latest Air Jordans gave you instant cool.

Other athletes have tried it, but having their names on shoes, websites, breakfast cereal or anything else usually doesn’t compare to the success Jordan had.

Yet Kobe Bryant, who has his own shoe, and is often (unfairly) compared to Michael Jordan, is trying to tackle one aspect of the merchandise market Jordan never really touched: luxury Swiss watches that can run you up to $285,000.

Nubeo, a Swiss watchmaker, teamed up with Bryant and released a line of Black Mamba limited-edition sport watches in late March that will go on sale in the U.S. in the fall.

Bryant talked about the watches, which range from $21,000 to $285,000, in an interview with Fox Business Network that is scheduled to air tonight, and explained why he chose to endorse the watch.

‘Well, once they approached me about this potential partnership, I did my due diligence into the company, what they wanted to do with the series of watches, and the things that we shared in common, with our attention to detail -- when I play basketball, the hard work that I put into it -- and they had the same approach towards making watches,’ Bryant said.

‘They wanted to make something that was so intricate, so complex, but yet simplistic in its beauty, and that’s something that I could relate to.’

But let’s be real. Times are tough, and it’s not like everybody can shell out $21,000 for a watch, even if it’s got a 131-component case. But Bryant said he doesn’t expect the watches to be this year’s hottest Christmas item. They might not be the hottest, but they could be the rarest; according to a Wall Street Journal article, Nubeo is only making 1,047 of these watches.

-- Baxter Holmes