It's Kobe time(pieces): the Black Mamba MVP watch can be yours for $285K

Over the years, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant has had endorsement deals for all sorts of brands from foodstuffs like Nutella, Coca-Cola and McDonald's to sports labels like Nike and Spalding.

And now it's Kobe time -- as in a blinged out limited-edition line of luxury timepieces from Basel-based Nubeo now available for pre-order as long as you've got at least a cool $20,900 to spare.

And to hear Bryant tell it, as he did to a select group of reporters recently, holding court in a private dining room at the newly opened Phillipe West Hollywood, he's not just lending his likeness. "It’s a full-on partnership in every step of the way.”

Bryant, who says he's constantly pitched all kinds of offers, told me he and the company (which, I have to admit, I'd never heard of before) "shared a similar vision" for the watch and "had the same attention to detail." He agreed to collaborate on a watch “only if we could work together as a team,” he said.

But don't think that means the NBA Finals MVP was exercising his gemological expertise in hand-selecting the 48 baguette-cut, trapezium-shaped sapphires for each MVP-style watch, or sourcing the titanium, ceramic and rubber materials that compose the 131 parts of the skull-cracking case.

While he had a hand in deciding the overall look and function of the watches, Bryant served mainly as inspiration for the Black Mamba collection. "It's named after my alter-ego, the Black Mamba," he said. "We kind of envisioned as a super-hero kind of thing." And looking at the Black Mamba MVP on his wrist, the black rubber strap did have a certain serpent-like vibe to it.