3 US Presidents and Their Watches

Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States in January, causing a bit of a stir by wearing a Rolex Datejust. To mark the occasion, here are some of the other watches worn by past White House residents

1

JOHN F KENNEDY

35th president

The politician was given a square-shaped Omega, which he wore to his inauguration in 1961, by his businessman friend Grant Stockdale. The case back reads: “President / Of The / United States / John F. Kennedy / From His Friend / Grant”, which was risky considering Stockdale gave the watch to Kennedy a year before he won the election. Kennedy also had watches by Cartier and Rolex—the most famous being a yellow gold Day-Date, which Marilyn Monroe gave him on his 45th birthday. It was sold by leading auctioneer Alexander Autographs in 2005 for a hefty US$120,000.

2

BILL CLINTON

42nd president

Known to have owned numerous top-notch models by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Roger Dubuis, Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Panerai, Clinton was given a LIP to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings. However, he evidently preferred a Timex Ironman digital watch while in office, which we have to say is pretty nerdy—in a good way. The politician wore it regularly throughout his presidential run, despite The Washington Post calling it “an unsightly blemish” and a “wrist gargoyle”. Ouch.

3

BARACK OBAMA

44th president

A sophisticated everyday watch that Obama wears with a black strap, Tag Heuer’s 1500 two-tone was this president’s watch of choice while in the Oval Office. In 2007, the Secret Service gave him a Jorg Gray JG6500 chronograph, which had the enforcement agency's logo printed on the dial, and Vulcain presented Obama with one of its steel Anniversary Heart automatic models in celebration of his 2008 inauguration. The case back reads: “President Of The United States Nov. 4th 2008 / Barack Obama.”