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·Silicon Valley elite like Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook are obsessed with these watches.
But some tech titans are moving toward fancier fashion choices of their own, and since the pandemic, that increasingly involves a watch, according to experts.
Paul Altieri, CEO and founder of online watch resale marketplace Bob's Watches, told Business Insider that there are two kinds of Silicon Valley elite. "Some, like Bill Gates, go for the $50 model, and some are wearing Omega, Richard Mille, or Rolex," he said.
Plus, there are those like Apple CEO Tim Cook and 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki who prefer the convenience of a smartwatch.
Most executives are looking for "the genius factor" or something unique about their timepiece, Victoria Hitchcock, a fashion lifestylist and personal brander in the San Francisco Bay area, told BI. And as they have more public-facing roles, they're looking to up their style and status as potential fashion icons, Hitchcock said.
What you have on your wrist, it seems, has become yet another tool of personal branding. With that in mind, here's a closer look at the watches trending in Silicon Valley.
Zuckerberg's watch, a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1, costs more than $900,000 and is assembled entirely by hand. Greubel Forsey says on its website that it makes only two or three models of the Hand Made 1 every year.
"Hey, everyone. I want to talk about something important today, because it's time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram," Zuckerberg said while wearing the Hand Made 1 on his left wrist in a video he posted on Facebook
When asked about the video, Greubel Forsey CEO Michel Nydegger told Bloomberg that Zuckerberg's choice of timepiece showed a "true appreciation for the most traditional approach to fine watchmaking today."
According to Greubel Forsey's website, the "Hand Made 1" has 281 parts, most of which are made in-house by the watchmaker
Meta and Greubel Forsey didn't respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has publicly demonstrated his interest in luxury timepieces.
In September, Zuckerberg wore a rose gold De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius during an interview with the business podcast "Acquired." The watch costs about $90,000, according to listings by the watch retailers The 1916 Company and The Hour Glass.
Zuckerberg was also seen wearing the Patek Philippe Grand Complications In-Line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 when he posted a selfie with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The watch costs $141,400, according to Patek Philippe's website.
Zuckerberg has expressed some interest in timepieces to other business leaders. At Anant Ambani's pre-wedding party in March, he showed his admiration for Ambani's Richard Mille watch.
"You know, I never really wanted to get a watch. But after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool," Zuckerberg told Ambani, according to a video circulated on social media.
Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant in New York, told BI in September that Zuckerberg's "love for premium watches and subtle luxury" suggested a shift in the Meta CEO's style and identity.
"He's stepping into a role where his appearance reflects his position as a tech innovator," Rosenfeld said.
Zuckerberg's penchant for expensive watches appears to be one facet of a wider image transformation.
For one, the Meta chief has ditched his gray t-shirts and hoodies, opting for shearling jackets and gold chains instead.
But watches aside, what Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday is set to have far-reaching ramifications on Meta's approach toward content moderation.
Meta said it was replacing its fact-checking partners with a crowdsourced moderation tool like the community notes used by X, formerly Twitter.
"We've seen this approach work on X — where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context, and people across a diverse range of perspectives decide what sort of context is helpful for other users to see," Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, wrote in a blog post.
"We think this could be a better way of achieving our original intention of providing people with information about what they're seeing — and one that's less prone to bias," Kaplan added
- Business Insider asked style experts about the most popular watch brandsworn by technology titans.
- They say a watch has become more than a status symbol — it's a tool for personal branding.
- Old-school brands like Casio are hot, and luxury brands like Omega and Cartier are on the rise.
But some tech titans are moving toward fancier fashion choices of their own, and since the pandemic, that increasingly involves a watch, according to experts.
Paul Altieri, CEO and founder of online watch resale marketplace Bob's Watches, told Business Insider that there are two kinds of Silicon Valley elite. "Some, like Bill Gates, go for the $50 model, and some are wearing Omega, Richard Mille, or Rolex," he said.
Plus, there are those like Apple CEO Tim Cook and 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki who prefer the convenience of a smartwatch.
Most executives are looking for "the genius factor" or something unique about their timepiece, Victoria Hitchcock, a fashion lifestylist and personal brander in the San Francisco Bay area, told BI. And as they have more public-facing roles, they're looking to up their style and status as potential fashion icons, Hitchcock said.
What you have on your wrist, it seems, has become yet another tool of personal branding. With that in mind, here's a closer look at the watches trending in Silicon Valley.
- Mark Zuckerberg wore a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1 watch in a Facebook video he posted on Tuesday.
- The Meta CEO was announcing the end of the company's fact-checking partnerships in the US.
- Zuckerberg has also worn watches from the other Swiss brands De Bethune and Patek Philippe.
Zuckerberg's watch, a Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1, costs more than $900,000 and is assembled entirely by hand. Greubel Forsey says on its website that it makes only two or three models of the Hand Made 1 every year.
"Hey, everyone. I want to talk about something important today, because it's time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram," Zuckerberg said while wearing the Hand Made 1 on his left wrist in a video he posted on Facebook
When asked about the video, Greubel Forsey CEO Michel Nydegger told Bloomberg that Zuckerberg's choice of timepiece showed a "true appreciation for the most traditional approach to fine watchmaking today."
According to Greubel Forsey's website, the "Hand Made 1" has 281 parts, most of which are made in-house by the watchmaker
Meta and Greubel Forsey didn't respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
This isn't the first time Zuckerberg has publicly demonstrated his interest in luxury timepieces.
In September, Zuckerberg wore a rose gold De Bethune DB25 Starry Varius during an interview with the business podcast "Acquired." The watch costs about $90,000, according to listings by the watch retailers The 1916 Company and The Hour Glass.
Zuckerberg was also seen wearing the Patek Philippe Grand Complications In-Line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 when he posted a selfie with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The watch costs $141,400, according to Patek Philippe's website.
Zuckerberg has expressed some interest in timepieces to other business leaders. At Anant Ambani's pre-wedding party in March, he showed his admiration for Ambani's Richard Mille watch.
"You know, I never really wanted to get a watch. But after seeing that, I was like, watches are cool," Zuckerberg told Ambani, according to a video circulated on social media.
Joseph Rosenfeld, an image consultant in New York, told BI in September that Zuckerberg's "love for premium watches and subtle luxury" suggested a shift in the Meta CEO's style and identity.
"He's stepping into a role where his appearance reflects his position as a tech innovator," Rosenfeld said.
Zuckerberg's penchant for expensive watches appears to be one facet of a wider image transformation.
For one, the Meta chief has ditched his gray t-shirts and hoodies, opting for shearling jackets and gold chains instead.
But watches aside, what Zuckerberg announced on Tuesday is set to have far-reaching ramifications on Meta's approach toward content moderation.
Meta said it was replacing its fact-checking partners with a crowdsourced moderation tool like the community notes used by X, formerly Twitter.
"We've seen this approach work on X — where they empower their community to decide when posts are potentially misleading and need more context, and people across a diverse range of perspectives decide what sort of context is helpful for other users to see," Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, wrote in a blog post.
"We think this could be a better way of achieving our original intention of providing people with information about what they're seeing — and one that's less prone to bias," Kaplan added
