The President’s Day Guide to Presidential Watches

The president of the United States of America has a lot of responsibility. When he or she takes to the podium, the eyes of the entire world are on them. Some people are interested in what the president is saying. However, most people are only interested in one thing: what the president is wearing on their wrist. 

It’s because of this that we both envy and feel sorry for the president. That’s a lot of pressure. 

To celebrate this upcoming President’s Day, we thought we’d take a quick jaunt down memory lane and talk about some of the most famous presidential watches out there. Then, we’ll talk about a few watches that we would wear if we ever became president. Hey, you never know. 

George Washington

George, the first president of the USA, was famously unable to tell a lie. That meant that when somebody asked him for the time, he had to be right on the dot. 

To help him stay honest in these situations, George was known to keep a high quality pocket watch on him. 

There are three known pocket watches owned by president #1. The first was of an unknown origin. The second was made by Jean-Antoine Lepine. You can still get those pocket watches today if you’re willing to shell out around $11,000. The last was made by James McCabe. 

FDR

If there’s one president who knew how to make a watch swagger, it was FDR. The fashion-minded leader was known to sport a 14k gold Tiffany Movado Triple Calendar watch, a classic pick among Movado men's watches. 

There are some who say that the famous Audrey Hepburn movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, was inspired by FDR’s super bling watch, but we can’t confirm or deny that. 

JFK

The tragically fated 35th president was beloved by many of the American people. And who can blame them? He was known for wearing a gold Omega Slimline at his inauguration. We would love him too if we’d seen that, especially since Omega watches weren’t very in vogue when it came to high-ranking political figures. 

Better still, this was before the Speedmaster made its way to the moon and earned eternal fame. 

JFK was also known to favor Cartier Tanks throughout his time in office. 

Gerald Ford

In the mid-70s, president Gerald Ford created quite the stir by being photographed with his Pulsar. Owned by Seiko, Pulsars were LED watches that were, in our opinion, way ahead of their time.

Ford’s watch in particular was stainless steel and filled with 14k gold, making it luxurious while still incredibly modern. 

Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton started a trend of forgoing high-end luxury watches in the Oval Office when he was seen regularly sporting a Timex. It was a sign of rejecting wealth disparity and all that, and set a tone for the presidential watches of the next couple of decades. That doesn't mean he wasn't in possession of some spectacular pieces, however.

Watches We’d Wear as President

Now comes the fun part. We’re going to pick our top three watches that we’d wear as president. We hope we’ll be able to count on your votes. 

The Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Green Dial

Hamilton is a watchmaker with a deep history rooted in early industrial America. By wearing this Hamilton men's watch, we’d be signifying that we understand the importance of American roots and the power of American industry. 

Also, the watch has a decidedly military feel, probably because these Hamilton watches are commonly used by the military. That means we could wear them to our war room and impress all of the generals. We imagine after listening to the reports of our top brass, we’d say something like “Make it so” while waving our luxury Hamilton-bedecked hand, and then leave the room. The moment we left, all the generals would excitedly whisper to each other about our impeccable watch selection. 

Get your Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Green Dial today and save 32%. 

The Breitling Navitimer 1 Automatic 41

The significance of this vintage looking Navitimer is that it’s decidedly a pilot’s watch. We’ll show the American people that we’re ready to pilot this country into a future where all people can obtain their own luxury watches and wear them proudly. 

The Navitimer is a watch of aces, for sure. We think people will see us wearing this at the presidential watch debates, where all the candidates get together and pretend like they’re not just looking at each other’s watches, and decide that we’re the right folks for the job. 

Plus, the Navitimer has a very complicated looking dial. People will think that we’re very intelligent because they’ll assume that we know how to use all the functions of that dial (we don’t). We’ll also slip in some low-key mentions of the fact that it has a slide rule built into it. 

Buy your Navitimer 1 Automatic 41 today and save 30%. 

The Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Automatic

When you’re the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, it’s important to never let the other leaders know what you’re thinking. Or that’s what we imagine, at least. Maybe it’s actually very important to let other leaders know what you’re thinking. We don’t know, we’ve never been president yet. But we’re fast learners! Really!

Anyways, let’s assume you don’t want other leaders to know what you’re thinking. In that case, this Montblanc masterpiece is just the right tool for the job. 

The dial alone sends so many mixed messages, unraveling its meaning is like trying to work through a visual rubik’s cube. The main dial is slightly warped, almost liquid looking. The sub dials both overlap the main dial, and each one seems to have an exposed jewel at its center. On the sides are two windows that you probably won’t even notice at first glance. 

Then there are the chronograph controls, which are spread out across the crown and a button on the opposite side of the watch! 

There’s no denying that this is a captivating and beautiful piece, which will be sure to win us points in the polls. It’s the mystery behind it, however, that will drive us to the top. 

Save 58% when you order your Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Automatic today.