The South Korean DJ and producer Peggy Gou had a meteoric breakthrough in 2023, gaining mainstream fame for both her music and sense of style. As of late, however, it’s her watch collection that has become the talk of the town. At Milan’s San Siro Stadium earlier in September this year, a rare Hublot on Gou’s wrist caught the attention of eagle-eyed watch enthusiasts. As the gold and green design glinted in the sunlight, interest in the DJ’s horological tastes was sparked.
Gou has a number of signature pieces, which appear regularly on her Instagram page, that reflect her bold and creative taste. Recent trends in watches may have shifted attention to smaller, and more understated pieces, but the producer seems to swim against the mainstream. She frequently wears unisex models, bright statement pieces, and gem-set designs. Her collection, it seems, features a healthy mix of sports models and dressier timepieces, and both vintage collectibles from between the ’70s and ’90s, and hotly desired modern icons.
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One watch that Gou wears consistently is her vintage Patek Philippe Ellipse d’Or bracelet watch—ref. 4151/1G in white gold with a cobalt blue dial, to be precise (pictured above). This watch is estimated to have been made around the 1970s to ’80s, and is a standout thanks to the intricate mesh bracelet, and the horizontal orientation of the famous Golden Ellipse oval dial. On this vintage design, case and dial are both integrated into the mesh bracelet, which gives it a look of fabric laid on the skin when worn.
One other vintage model that Gou wears often is a 1990s Audemars Piguet cobra in white gold. She wore it to a film première, and she’s even worn this piece—with a blue dial set with diamonds—to the gym. Quite fabulous, if you ask us. The bracelet of this Audemars Piguet design is textured, and the watch gets its name from the way it resembles reptilian scales. When it comes to vintage timepieces, it seems that Gou chooses to express herself through rare references with detailed craftsmanship.
The DJ’s collection isn’t just about dialling it back to the past. She switches easily between vintage and modern timepieces, balancing her rotation between rare statement pieces and playful contemporary designs. Her daily signatures include mostly steel timepieces, with unique dials that she rotates between as a versatile styling element.
Take the Rolex Oyster Perpetual for example. Gou owns this watch in a variety of sizes and dial colours, like a now-discontinued 36 with a candy pink dial, and a vintage Oyster Perpetual Date with a blue dial, allowing her to add creative pops of colour into her outfits. She’s been seen on occasion matching the colour of the dial to both her look and an occasion. At the Wimbledon Championships this year, Gou wore an Oyster Perpetual 41 with a pistachio green dial. The light and creamy hue of this model befit the warm and summery sporting event, and her outfit—white top and a green Chanel bag—seemed a clear nod to tennis’s signature green-and-white colour scheme.
One other modern steel icon in Gou’s collection: a Patek Philippe ladies’ automatic Nautilus, ref. 7118/1200A-011. This model in stainless steel comes with a diamond-set bezel and grey opaline dial; and, much like the Rolex, takes on a more structured and masculine form compared to Gou’s more feminine vintage pieces. The visual differences are clear: more unusual textures and shapes in her vintage collection, and versatile steel bracelet models and interesting dials in her modern pieces.
With her vintage Hublot, it appears that Gou also seems to enjoy a quirky pattern or two. She wore a Hublot MDM Genève ‘Fish’ in yellow gold with a green champlevé enamel dial and a diamond-set bezel to a football match in Milan in September this year. From afar, the green of the dial shone brilliantly, and the hand-engraved fishes added a playful touch to her ensemble. With Hublot’s signature porthole aesthetic, this 1990s watch looks almost like a miniature aquarium on the wrist. Only 30 pieces of this design were ever created, making it one of the rarer, if-you-know-you-know pieces in Hublot’s history.
The musician may be better known for her fashion and style, but perhaps a more accurate reflection of her tastes lies in her horological choices. A closer peek at Gou’s wrist in photographs is likely to reveal something interesting, whether that’s something rare and unusual from decades past, or coveted modern icons. Gou’s got an envy-inducing collection, and it’s one we’re going to be keeping our eyes on.
