Being a President equates to the power to cast influence by every decision, and personal preferences are not an exemption. With prominent figures like Presidents, the undeniable reality in our world is that their opinions and choices sometimes can become the basis of style, and even shape society. Their web of influence can reach even up to their very taste of clothing or lifestyle, and that includes wristwatches. Many of us create our image of presidents just by looking at what they are wearing.
One of the measures that society uses to scrutinize a character is a timepiece ticking in the wrist of influential individuals. If you like to know what wristwatches are being worn by the U.S. presidents throughout history, we listed below some of the individuals that wield the power of influence from a presidential seat who were notable for their choice of timepiece. Some of these presidents have collections of wristwatches, on the other hand, some of them don’t. For those presidents that are avid watch lovers, the most prominently seen watches on their wrist is what we included.
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Linton B. Johnson
Linton assumed his position in office in 1963, which made him the 36th President of the United States, which took place the same day the tragic assassination of John F. Kennedy. Linton is known for his love of watches, but one watch that became synonymous with his oval office is his Rolex Day-Date in yellow gold. The Rolex Day-Date was first brought into the market in 1956 and did relatively well in the market. However, what made the watch skyrocket in popularity is when Linton became the first president to own one. He paired his yellow gold day date with a bracelet he wore so frequently and now is commonly called the president bracelet, while a gold Day-Date is known as a Rolex President. Following the timepiece’s new connection to the Oval Office in 1966, Rolex advertised the watch heavily with this in mind. The watch had a price of ten thousand dollars but adjusted to the inflation and became eight thousand dollars.
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Harry Truman
Truman became the 33rd President of the United States, following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 19445. When talking about the U.S. Presidents that were the most active wearer of watches Truman is on the list. However, the one watch from his collection that is worthy to be mentioned is his Universal Genève. Universal Genève made one of the sophisticated chronographs of all time and is connected to a day in history that helped bring some peace and end the deadliest war the world has ever seen, World War II. The watch is a supposed reference 12551 and made from eighteen karat gold. The historical story of the timepiece is hinted at by the engraving on the case back that reads, worn on Potsdam in July 1954 by Harry Truman. Like the case back states in the back of the timepiece, the Universal Genève accompanied Harry Truman at the Potsdam conference that happened July 17th to August 2nd, 1945. Potsdam is where the victorious allied leaders, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany in post-war Europe.
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Bill Clinton
Clinton became the 42nd president of the United States when elected in 1993 and served a second term the following year. Bill is known for wearing one of the most recognizable and beloved watches from Timex, Ironman Timex. Timex created this watch in partnership with health officials in the Ironman Triathlon and released the watch line in 1986. Clinton owned several models, but the most notable one was his blue and black Ironman Triathlon that he wore in his 1993 inaugural ball. Despite it being a fun watch, Clinton was criticized by some individuals, for example, Gene Weingarten, a columnist of the Washington Post described Clinton’s watch as a plastic digital watch that was thick as a brick. However, despite this many applaud Clinton for wearing a modest timepiece despite being one of the most powerful individuals on the planet.
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Barack Obama
Obama was elected in 2008 and was elected for a second term in 2012. He has worn many watches, his most notable watch however was after he left the oval office, the Rolex Cellini. The Rolex Cellini has its roots back in 1928, which sold well until production halted decades later. However, in the last 18 years, Rolex announced a new line-up of Cellini watches, one of which was worn by Obama. The specific Cellini has a reference of 50509 in white gold in thirty-nine-millimeter case size. The watch retailed for fifteen thousand dollars and was powered by a caliber of 3132 in a beautiful white dial. The Cellini is arguably the most overlooked Rolex watch, but there is a certain element of understated class that exudes from the intriguing piece.
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Donald Trump
Finally, we have Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States. His first term was back in 2017 and occupied the presidential seat for four years in the Oval Office. The watch worth mentioning from Donald Trump’s collection is the same watch that the 40th President of the United States, President Ronald Reagan was seen wearing – Reagan’s Calibri. The wristwatch was donated to a famous faces auction to raise money for charity. It went up for auction in 1999, with the highest bidder being Donald Trump. Though there are no reported pictures of Trump wearing the watch himself, it is interesting to see the connection between one leader to another made by one wristwatch. The watch, auctioned for seven thousand dollars, isn’t too bad for a timepiece that was recently owned by a U.S. President.
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In Conclusion
Most of the watches worn by these leaders immediately become iconic timepieces, while others, on the other hand, are criticized. It is astonishing to see how each watch speaks about each leader and even the history they are in. These timepieces themselves hold stories and bring with them the period in which we can all look back and remember, especially the leaders who wore them.
