Mike Pence: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Or was that someone else who said that?
"In the 1850s Abraham Lincoln gathered some cash together and bought a beautiful pocket watch from George Chatterton, a talented jeweler in Illinois. Its 18-carat gold case was a sight to see and was of the finest quality. Lincoln was a successful lawyer at that time and thought it was about time he enjoyed a fine watch both inside and outside of court."
Ike was the first to have a Rolex Datejust gifted to him and several pictures show him wearing it... Looks like he had several watches if this Hodinkee story is correct: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/personal-timepieces-every-united-states-president-ever
Believe it or not, “Rumor has it that OMEGA offered President Nixon one of the 1,014 gold Speedmasters created in honor of the Apollo 11 moon landing. However, Nixon turned down the watch—its value exceeded the allowable gift amount.”
I miss a President with watches... at least Bill still rocks an insane collection now that he left. At least wear a Shinola or Hamilton... or a nice converted pocket watch from a US maker. Putin does have a large collection but seems to prefer the First edition IWC Little Prince... you can’t make that up.
Sorry to say, but yes, a high-priced watch would be seen as elitist. American politicians would need a traditional American brand name that is also made in the USA (sorry, Hamilton) and is not terribly expensive. Obama's Jorg-Gray was a good choice.
Been watching re runs of the 77 Sunset Strip TV series. The detectives are all well dressed and have very nice looking watches but so far no close ups for identifications. I noticed that all watches visible seemed to be of larger diameter than fashionable for the time period. I've also noticed that in almost all older TV series deliberate efforts were made to obscure or remove completely any dial or clock face markings that would ID the manufacturer of time pieces shown in close ups. No free advertising I guess.
