On President’s Day, if you are a watch lover, it’s easy to wonder what our leaders wore on their wrists. Earlier today, we brought three of the watches that certain presidents throughout our history simply couldn’t wear while in office. Here we bring you two tried-and-true favorite brands by US Presidents of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Marilyn Monroe gave President John F. Kennedy an engraved Rolex watch, which he quickly gave away.
Rolex — A host of presidents enjoyed Rolex watches. However, the Rolex Day-Date, introduced in 1956, was given to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who wore it proudly, and thereby the brand got the nickname, the President’s watch (although, today, the name “President” is given to a Rolex bracelet). Before the Day-Date watch, Eisenhower wore a Rolex Datejust. Even Ronald Reagan wore a Rolex. (While John F. Kennedy was gifted a Rolex by Marilyn Monroe, he is said to have swiftly gavin it away. (see related story here.) RR Auction recently sold one of the Eisenhower watches.
Vulcain: Several of our Presidents (including Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower) were seen wearing Vulcain Cricket alarm watches. Later, Richard Nixon wore a Vulcain Cricket alarm watch, as did Lyndon Baines Johnson, who also owned and proudly wore a Rolex. He was even know to gift Rolex watches to close friends.
Vulcain Cricket
Other watches owned by 20th century Presidents include Omega, Tag Heuer, Tiffany, Hamilton, Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philippe, Hamilton, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and a few others along the way.
