Feature: These Are The Watches Worn By The Leaders Of The World
As if there aren’t enough important things for a world leader to deal with—climate change, wars, members of their cabinet having illicit affairs—they also have to decide what type of watch to wear. And that’s not something that can be taken lightly.
Do they fully indulge themselves and go high-end luxury? They are, after all, representing their country on the world stage, and posturing at global summits is surely part of the job description.
Or do they plump for frugality, showing the common touch by wearing the kind of inexpensive, no-frills quartz you can pick up for the price of a month’s gym membership?
As we shall see, presidents, prime ministers and Beloved Grand Emperors (or whatever North Korea calls its leader these days) sport a mixed horological bag, from the pantheon of illustrious Swiss brands to locally made watches that reveal a deep patriotism. Or even a bit of both.
Putin On The Glitz
An alpha male personified, Vladimir Putin is an ex-KGB, judo-practising political strongman who thinks nothing of blessing social media with images of his courage and derring-do—usually while bare-chested in the frozen wilds of Siberia.
Salmon fishing, bare-back horse-riding, exploring tiger territory with a rifle strapped to his back… There’s little Vlad doesn’t do without displaying his nipples, proudly on show like a couple of miniature nuclear warheads.
Frankly there’s no way he’d ever let himself be pictured with an inferior watch, especially as he spends so much time hanging around mega-rich oligarchs. Somewhat inevitably, then, Vlad, a right-hand watch-wearer, has been spotted with some exceptional timepieces.
Vladimir Putin wears a Patek Philippe similar to this model
These include a coveted Patek Philippe 5208P Grand Complication, one of the brand’s most technically intricate models, a Patek Philippe Calatrava for those swanky gala dinners in the Kremlin, and—showing particular refinement and taste— a Chronomètre Bleu from the celebrated independent watchmaker, FP Journe. And you can bet he didn't have to join an eight-year waiting list for his model.
In what may be choreographed propaganda exercises rather than random acts of kindness, Putin has also gifted several of his incredible timepieces to members of the public.
In 2009 he gave his Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Date to a factory worker who had taken a shine to it. And he’s also reported to have taken off a Patek and handed it over to an impoverished shepherd in Siberia.
Justin Time
Meanwhile, over in Canada, the poster boy of global politics, Justin Trudeau, can often be spotted wearing an IWC Portuguese Regulator—a clean, unpretentious watch from the Schaffhausen-based brand that totally reflects Trudeau’s boyishly preppy style—while the Far East is slightly more predictable. China’s president, Communist Party leader Xi Jinping, sports a relatively modest Omega Constellation.
Canada's Justin Trudeau keeps things neatly preppy with an IWC Regulateur
Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe has, of course, chosen to wear Seiko, and he’d probably be denounced as a traitor if he didn’t wear something made in his own country. But you’ve got to admire his restraint by not stretching to a top-of-the-range Grand Seiko. Instead he opts for a practical Seiko Automatic 29 SARC 013 on a no-nonsense bracelet.
As for the Middle East, you’d expect something mildly outrageous from at least one Gulf leader, and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed Bin Salman doesn’t disappoint with an eye-catching Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with open-worked dial. Evidently a big AP fan, he’s also been seen wearing a limited-edition Offshore Montauk Highway, with a gorgeous sky-blue and brown dial.
A shout out, also, to both Nahendra Modi and Kim Jong-Un, leaders of India and North Korea, respectively, who both wear Movado—far from an obvious choice and refreshingly affordable.
Vive Le France
If Emmanuel Macron, the current French president, has any high-end watches he’s understandably been careful not to flaunt them. His predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy was given a rough ride by the left-wing French press for wearing a Rolex Daytona and a Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Reference 3940G, even if the latter was a gift from his wife.
France's president Emmanuel Macron wears this quartz March LA.B watch
Macron, in stark contrast, has been notably understated, choosing to wear an elegant, rectangular Longines Dolce Vita, which is redolent of a Cartier Tank but a lot more affordable. He also has several watches by an interesting new French brand called March LA.B—which opened its first London store in 2019. March LA.B produce both quartz and mechanical watches in a range of designs that go from the off-beat to the classic.
Boris On A Budget
And lastly we have the rest of Europe, some of whose leaders have admirable taste, others… not so much.
Sergio Mattarella, Italy’s president since 2015, leads the way with a delightful Patek Philippe Ellipse Reference 3738. It’s an 18k gold vintage gem with a dial that seems to be the exact shade of blue worn by the Italian football team.
Italy's president Sergio Mattarella shows exemplary taste with this Patek. Image courtesy of Bonhams
Despite all the great German watch brands—from Glashutte Original to Nomos—Angela Merkel wears a discreet quartz watch by budget brand Boccia.
And then there’s Britain’s very own Boris Johnson.
The famously dishevelled prime minister wears a time-only quartz Pulsar which looks, at a distance, a bit like a Calatrava, but which costs perhaps a hundredth of the price—clearly showing the same indifference to luxury watches as he does to his unruly mop.
