President Biden may say that his presence in the White House has restored 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to its former glory, but in at least one case, he broke with the common presidential practice: he wore a Rolex watch.
At the inauguration, Biden placed his hand on the Family Bible and wore a stainless steel Rolex Datejust watch with a blue dial, which costs more than $7,000 and is a far cry from the popular watches worn by presidents in recent decades, except for Trump.
Many people think it’s not unusual for presidents to wear watches. Shouldn’t the leader of the free world wear a watch commensurate with his status and symbolizing power? (Even though it is worth the equivalent of a dozen economic stimulus checks.)
Such a notion was once so widely accepted that Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson both wore Rolex Gold watches in grand style when photographed for their Oval Office portraits. Rolex’s gold-plated Sunday Calendar (Day-Date) watch is known as the “President” model, and not for nothing.
A Rolex Datejust watch, similar to the one worn by Biden at his inauguration.
A Rolex Datejust watch, similar to the one Biden wore at his inauguration. via Rolex
However, in the age of the Internet, such political power watches have become obsolete, and most recent presidents and politicians in general seem to think that luxury watches symbolize an elitism that is out of touch with reality.
Bill Clinton, who seemed to disdain aristocratic gold timepieces, wore a Timex Ironman, a “plastic electronic watch, thick as a brick and handsome as a hernia,” wrote the Washington Post in 1993.
His successor, George W. Bush, was more modest, wearing a Timex Indiglo that had been sold at a grocery store.
The choice of a watch priced at $50 or less is either a pro-people performance – although Bush comes from a family of oilmen and went to Yale (Yale) University – or the son of a gentry taking the college-prep route, for which style The gold glitter is seen as vulgar.
Barack Obama (Barack Obama) also did not choose the heirloom class watch. During his presidency, he chose a mid-priced, typical American watch from the Detroit brand Shinola or a sports watch from the Southern California brand Jorg Gray for less than $500.
This may come as a shock, but Trump has broken these norms. Throughout his tenure he has been wearing cool gold watches (in gold, of course) from moguls like Patek Philippe, Rolex and Vacheron Constantin.
Then there’s Biden, who seems to be balancing his two watch tastes (he’s a real middle-of-the-road guy) and isn’t shy about showing off his fine Swiss watches, all of which are stainless steel, including an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, an Omega Seamaster Diver 300M (Omega Seamaster Diver 300M), retailing at about $5000 or $6000 respectively.
To be fair, none of Biden’s watches are “luxury”, at least to watch connoisseurs who are used to the high prices of Swiss watches.
His Rolex Datejust, for example, is considered an undisputed classic, but in another sense, with Rolex’s top-of-the-line products easily climbing into the five figures, the Datejust could almost be considered an entry-level model.
Likewise, his two OMEGA’s aren’t exactly fancy, at least in the eyes of the self-proclaimed watch experts. The moon watch, although Swiss in origin, has been an American icon ever since the Apollo 11 astronauts wore it to the moon.
The Seamaster is a sturdy dive watch that was worn by Daniel Craig’s tough guy James Bond.
So what exactly should one make of Biden’s watch?
Intentional fashion statement or not, these high-end, manly watches show that even at 78, the former high school football star of the Kennedy era still wants to be seen as a rugged tough guy with a young heart (check out his aviator sunglasses).
They also embody the classic version of the American dream: that anyone, even a kid from Scranton, can rise to the top of the power ladder.
Then again, he probably just wanted to be on Time for the White House meeting.
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