American presidents receive an enormous amount of scrutiny, which may extend, yes, even to their watches. I wish that I could attend the exhibit "Time in Office: An Exhibit of Presidential Timepieces," at the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, PA. It runs through December, if you are local. The watch a president wears just may say something about him.
When it was reported that someone had stolen George W. Bush's Timex, it left many of us scratching our heads. Given the security detail surrounding him, it seemed like a lot of risk for a watch that can be had for $30 and trip to Wal-Mart. But it turns out he pocketed it before a round of glad-handing so that no Timex thieves would be tempted. (To be fair, it was a Special Presidential Timex.) Nevertheless, it turned the puditocracy's attention to the fact that the leader of the free world wore the cheapest of watches, and led to some speculation about what that may say about a man. Earlier, Pravda noted Bush's watch inferiority when compared to Vladimir Putin, who wears a $60,000 Patek Philippe. Western capitalism, hah!
Unfortunately for Putin and the proud Russian pundits, the head of state with the most expensive timepiece is Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who wears a Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar (whew!) that retails for a staggering $540,000. Apparently pitying Bush and his Timex, Berlusconi gave W. a comparatively modest $13,000 Franck Muller, which the soon-to-be-ex-president wears, it is said, on special occasions.
Other presidents, and presidential candidates, have not shown much more taste in watches. Or at least, their tastes strongly run to Timex. John Edwards liked $400 haircuts, but when not wearing a Timex Ironman, his extravagance in watches only ran to a $100 Casio G-Shock GW-300. John Kerry, during his presidential run, wore a very modest Freestyle Tide. John McCain was more likely to be seen with an interesting memorial bracelet than an interesting watch, but his twentysomething daughter Meghan sports a rare Glycine Chronometer. Perhaps a gift from mom and dad?
Clinton wore a Timex in office, which he is reported to have given to the Smithsonian. But now he has moved considerably uptown, being seen wearing Cartier watches (both a Santos-Dumont and Balon Bleu), a Panerai Luminor (great anecdote here), a Kobold (four, actually), and even teaming up with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet to raise money for his anti-poverty Clinton Foundation with special Presidential Edition timepieces. Carol Felsenthal reports that he has over 50 luxury watches in his collection, one of which is valued at $100,000.
Where were these when Clinton was in office? Cold storage, for political reasons that go back to his days as governer of Arkansas. You see, Timex has extensive operations in Arkansas, and it is the last large American watch manufacturer. This, and the need appeal to Joe Sixpack, may explain the political predilection for Wal-Mart wrist gear. As Levine and Milk put it, "Read my wrist." But are all politicos really that insecure?
Not any more! President-elect Barack Obama proudly wore a Swiss TAG Heuer Series 1500 two-tone dress diver, on a brown leather strap, for most of his campaign. While not the priciest of TAGs, it is a fine quality watch that is appropriate to his sartorial style. It seems Obama bought or received it after graduating from law school, or perhaps when he got married. He has at any rate worn it consistently for 10 or 15 years.
This has now been replaced by a Secret Service Chronograph that was a gift from the agents who protected him during his campaign. While it is a step down in quality (Chinese-made with a Japanese Citizen movement), it is certainly a step up in exclusivity. These may only be purchased at the Secret Service employees' store by agents ($210). Do not expect to see the genuine article at a retailer near you. Replicas? A definite possibility.
Update 05/20/2011: In Sept. 2010, the Financial Times did an article on Obama's Secret Service watch. Why the Financial Times? Because the maker of the watch, Jorg Gray, has received a huge boost in sales from admirers of the president and his timekeeper. In fact, sales "have grown from zero in retail sales 18 months ago, to close to $1m a month now [September 2010]." The basic Commemorative Edition of the watch retails for $350.When it was reported that someone had stolen George W. Bush's Timex, it left many of us scratching our heads. Given the security detail surrounding him, it seemed like a lot of risk for a watch that can be had for $30 and trip to Wal-Mart. But it turns out he pocketed it before a round of glad-handing so that no Timex thieves would be tempted. (To be fair, it was a Special Presidential Timex.) Nevertheless, it turned the puditocracy's attention to the fact that the leader of the free world wore the cheapest of watches, and led to some speculation about what that may say about a man. Earlier, Pravda noted Bush's watch inferiority when compared to Vladimir Putin, who wears a $60,000 Patek Philippe. Western capitalism, hah!
Unfortunately for Putin and the proud Russian pundits, the head of state with the most expensive timepiece is Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, who wears a Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar (whew!) that retails for a staggering $540,000. Apparently pitying Bush and his Timex, Berlusconi gave W. a comparatively modest $13,000 Franck Muller, which the soon-to-be-ex-president wears, it is said, on special occasions.
Other presidents, and presidential candidates, have not shown much more taste in watches. Or at least, their tastes strongly run to Timex. John Edwards liked $400 haircuts, but when not wearing a Timex Ironman, his extravagance in watches only ran to a $100 Casio G-Shock GW-300. John Kerry, during his presidential run, wore a very modest Freestyle Tide. John McCain was more likely to be seen with an interesting memorial bracelet than an interesting watch, but his twentysomething daughter Meghan sports a rare Glycine Chronometer. Perhaps a gift from mom and dad?
Clinton wore a Timex in office, which he is reported to have given to the Smithsonian. But now he has moved considerably uptown, being seen wearing Cartier watches (both a Santos-Dumont and Balon Bleu), a Panerai Luminor (great anecdote here), a Kobold (four, actually), and even teaming up with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet to raise money for his anti-poverty Clinton Foundation with special Presidential Edition timepieces. Carol Felsenthal reports that he has over 50 luxury watches in his collection, one of which is valued at $100,000.Where were these when Clinton was in office? Cold storage, for political reasons that go back to his days as governer of Arkansas. You see, Timex has extensive operations in Arkansas, and it is the last large American watch manufacturer. This, and the need appeal to Joe Sixpack, may explain the political predilection for Wal-Mart wrist gear. As Levine and Milk put it, "Read my wrist." But are all politicos really that insecure?
Not any more! President-elect Barack Obama proudly wore a Swiss TAG Heuer Series 1500 two-tone dress diver, on a brown leather strap, for most of his campaign. While not the priciest of TAGs, it is a fine quality watch that is appropriate to his sartorial style. It seems Obama bought or received it after graduating from law school, or perhaps when he got married. He has at any rate worn it consistently for 10 or 15 years.This has now been replaced by a Secret Service Chronograph that was a gift from the agents who protected him during his campaign. While it is a step down in quality (Chinese-made with a Japanese Citizen movement), it is certainly a step up in exclusivity. These may only be purchased at the Secret Service employees' store by agents ($210). Do not expect to see the genuine article at a retailer near you. Replicas? A definite possibility.
Update 05/30/2011: I just came across an article in the WatchTime archives (December 2008 [pdf]) on presidential watches. Well worth the read.
Posts
2 comments:
This is really very useful information that I have come across through searching the keyword replica timepieces
I have a Chinese made watch that has a picture of John Kerry waving his hand on the face. 2004 campaign. It is a wind up watch keeps perfect time. It has ZLN on the inside. I can't find another one like it anywhere. Very well made watch
Post a Comment