This is an edition of the newsletter Box + Papers, Cam Wolf’s weekly deep dive into the world of watches. Sign up here.
On Wednesday night, as President Biden addressed the nation and elaborated on his decision to end his reelection campaign, his watch became a viral talking point online. This wasn’t the first time one of Biden’s timepieces was in the spotlight—nor is it uncommon for watches to be an important chess piece in global politicking—but this latest incident struck a darker tone. Conspiracy theorists presented photos that made it appear Biden’s watch wasn’t set to the correct time of his address, implying his speech wasn’t given live as advertised. This was a fabrication. (Apparently, some people need to refamiliarize themselves with how analog clocks work.) It was, however, a fitting note to strike as Biden’s term comes to a close, given that the current president helped reverse decades of trends and put a watch collector back in our country’s highest office.
Throughout the ’90s and ’00s, the Oval Office was a wasteland of horological taste. Long before a tan suit inspired a headline-making controversy, presidential nominee Bill Clinton was similarly lambasted for his accessory game. In 1993, The Washington Post’s Gene Weingarten wrote a 1,000-word screed against Clinton’s Timex Ironman Triathlon, describing it as “thick as a brick and handsome as a hernia.” Weingarten argued that a certain dignity is expected of the president and even suggested that stock prices might slip because of his unserious wristwear. Before Clinton, presidents like John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson wore gold Rolex Day-Dates and elegant Cartier Tanks. Weingarten must have hoped some of that old glamour would return.
But Clinton’s Timex started a tradition that lasted until Donald Trump took office in 2016. George W. Bush and Barack Obama both favored humbler watches: Bush wore a Timex Easy Reader throughout his presidency; Obama mostly stuck to a Jorg Gray he was given as a present by the Secret Service. These modest pieces were in fact instruments of political strategy, selected to make the chief executives seem like everyday people—the sort of watches worn by a guy you’d want to get a beer with. (Both Obama and Clinton ditched this charade after their presidencies were over. Clinton, in particular, has accumulated a world-class collection that includes expensive pieces from A. Lange & Söhne, Panerai, and Audemars Piguet.)
Our most recent two presidents broke from that horological pandering. Trump was known for wearing pricey pieces like the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 1968, Rolex Day-Date, and Patek Philippe Ellipse. Biden’s collection, meanwhile, is particularly special—full of watches with deep ties and significance to American history and the office of the president. “President Biden clearly has a passion for watches and has a varied collection,” said Eric Wind, the owner of Wind Vintage, who has studied the horological preferences of every head of state in US history. I’m so tired of the Kamala Harris–inspired jokes already, but it’s too fitting not to say that Biden’s collection exists in the context of all in which we live and what came before us and is unburdened by what has been.
Biden’s Omega Speedmaster is arguably his most notable presidential watch. The Speedmaster is famous for its role in one of America’s greatest accomplishments—the moon landing. The story is well known by now: The Speedy, the only NASA-approved flight watch, was worn by both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as they took those iconic first steps on the lunar surface. Shortly thereafter, Omega offered a special-edition gold version to President Nixon, but he declined. So when Biden finally wore his Speedy in 2021, he became the first president ever to wear this historic watch in office. (One bit of weirdness around the president’s Speedmaster: After wearing his real-deal Speedy in public on several occasions, Biden appeared to don a fake version of the watch to a meeting with Ron DeSantis in 2021. The mystery is still puzzling watch spotters.)
President Biden has also worn “the president’s watch.” No, not Rolex’s Day-Date, widely known as the “Presidential.” The other watch worthy of that title comes from the maker Vulcain. In 1953, Harry Truman received a Vulcain Cricket as a gift from the White House Press Photographer’s Association. Vulcan pounced on its new connection to the office and started gifting its watch to sitting presidents. This practice stalled out in the ‘70s but was was revived in the next decade with the help of Finnish jeweler Keijo Paajanen. Now, the watch is still regularly given to presidents during visits to Finland. Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard Nixon all wore the Cricket publicly.
The Cricket’s built-in alarm clock made it a fitting piece for busy sitting presidents. Nixon wrote to Vulcain that the watch “has served as my alarm clock around the world.” Biden followed suit and also wore the Cricket while he was Obama’s vice president. That may have been a signal of greater aspirations, Wind suggests. “Wearing it showed he was interested in tradition and seemed to be indicating his own interest in becoming president one day,” the dealer says.
And while Trump’s collection aligns with the tastes of a man who outfitted a building with gold toilets, Biden’s watches convey a more rugged image. Maybe the watch he wore the most throughout his presidency was an Omega Seamaster Diver, a favorite of other dignitaries (the stainless steel sport watch is Prince William’s daily driver) and one fictional superspy (it’s the first Omega worn onscreen by James Bond). A timepiece that’s elegant, under-the-radar, and hardy enough for 007? An extremely solid choice for the most powerful leader in the world.
That’s not to say that Biden’s collection was lacking in everyman appeal. During his presidential campaign, Biden largely put away his luxury timepieces in favor of a Seiko 7T32-6M90 Chronograph. The timing of Biden’s sudden love affair with the Seiko is notable as it came during the heat of his campaign against Trump. The watch, which looks like it would be most comfortable in a Macy’s jewelry case, was certainly one way to draw a stark contrast with Trump’s more opulent wristwear.
But Biden’s watch collection isn’t just burdened by what’s come before him. During some of his most consequential moments, like his inauguration, Biden wore the same Rolex Datejust with a blue dial that he wore Wednesday night. The watch shows that Biden wasn’t just following presidential trends in office but creating them, too. “His 41mm Rolex Datejust that he wore to his Inauguration stirred up a lot of attention and has garnered the nickname the ‘Biden Blue,’” Wind told me.
And if Biden’s succession goes as planned, his horological legacy will remain intact. His vice president, Kamala Harris, like many tasteful collectors in 2024, is a Cartier stan—she owns the brand’s discontinued Roadster but mostly wears her Ballon Bleu.
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