Since the COVID-19 crisis, however, in ostentatious displays of media-savvy hair-shirtedness, Macron has repeatedly appeared on camera with his sleeves symbolically rolled up, wearing. This statement, which was a perfectly banal and light-hearted observation, ricocheted round the media as evidence of how France’s media personalities, and by implication the president he was defending, are out of touch with “ordinary” French people, for whom a Rolex is both an unattainable object and a vulgar display of luxury.įrench presidents are expected to wear a less ostentatious home-grown timepiece such as a LIP or to show support for French industry, as did Emmanuel Macron by sporting a modestly priced quartz timepiece by Biarritz-based March LA.B. “After all, everyone has a Rolex – if you don’t have a Rolex by the time you’re 50, you’re a failure. “Why would you criticize a president for wearing a Rolex?” Séguéla postulated.
#THE TIMEPIECE GENTLEMAN CONTROVERSY PLUS#
Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France between 20, drew considerable flak from a broad section of French society for his undisguised taste for the good things in life (not to mention well-heeled personae), in particular after his post-election celebratory dinner at Fouquet’s in Paris in May 2007.Īs anyone who follows both French politics and fine watchmaking may be aware, the nec plus ultra comment about Rolex watches was made by journalist Jacques Séguéla on a live chat show: responding to accusations that Sarkozy’s choice of wrist wear proved that he was the “bling-bling” president, Séguéla was simply pointing out that in the real world it’s quite normal for the president of a country to wear a Rolex.
Myth 1: Nicolas Sarkozy took off his Patek Philippe to shake hands with his supporters Here are three watch myths circulating widely and freely online and in print, and in some cases these urban legends are brazenly perpetuated by persons and platforms who should know better. Myth Busting (sketch by Colin Alexander Smith) Case in point: the “Paul Newman Rolex Daytona,” which is not the same thing as the late Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona(s), but the link is established in collectors’ minds and prices soar accordingly. For there is no better way to boost the sale price of a vintage watch than to have it associated with a particular person or historical event. You could go so far as to regard them as a currency in their own right.Īgainst this feverish backdrop, rumors and legends abound. This leads to certain watch brands becoming prized for their value as short-, medium-, or long-term investments rather than timekeeping devices. And all along, innovation and investment on the factory floor means genuine Swiss watches are more affordable and transparent than ever.The rise of the internet, and the consequent evolution of the watch-watching community, from its early days on forums and chat rooms into fully-fledged horology-related blogging and online retail empires, all fueled by social network apps like Instagram and Facebook, has inevitably amplified the phenomenon whereby certain objects come to exert an extraordinary hold over the collective imagination. Trends seem outdated, too: instead, we are consistently revelling in the joys of blue dials, NATO straps, military conscripts, sporty chronographs, GMTs, vintage revivals, ’60s divers, you name it. Meanwhile, underscoring their reasoning that week-long trade shows in far-flung aircraft hangars are old-fashioned, watchmaking creativity has been at fever-pitch all year round, all over the world, with product at market from the get-go. Few could have predicted that by autumn, Basel’s biggest exhibitor, the mighty Swatch Group (Omega, Tissot, Longines et al.) would have jumped ship altogether, along with Maurice Lacroix, Raymond Weil, Corum, and goodness-knows-how-many-more TBA.
Kicking off as always with its brace of trade-show spectaculars – SIHH in Geneva, then Baselworld in, er, Basel – things had never felt younger, breezier, and more accessible. It’s been a funny old year in the world of watches.
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