Celebrities collaborating with watch companies is nothing new. Sometimes a true watch enthusiast like John Mayer partners with Audemars Piguet, or Ed Sheeran (owner of the unique Patek Philippe, no less) collaborates with Casio. Then there’s the other end of the scale, where controversial Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and his watch company reside.
Now, however, there is a new nadir: Trump Watch. Announced this week by former US President Donald Trump, the collection consists of two pieces. One is called “Fight Fight Fight” and is priced from $499, and the other is “Victory Tourbillon”. The latter is said to be made of 18ct solid gold, with 122 diamonds and an automatic tourbillon movement. It’s priced handsomely, at $100,000—almost three times the price of a similar Rolex Submariner—and, yes, crypto payment is available.
The watches are said to feature “premium, Swiss-made materials and intricate details,” but so far, as far as we can tell, the Fight Fight Fight uses movements from the Japanese company Seiko, while the Victory Tourbillon has a movement that is said to be semi-built. from parts of China.
It gets better. In what quickly resembled an extreme tweet-filled fever dream of the Internet, the watches were produced by a company called TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC, based in Sheridan, Wyoming, and, despite the watchmaking history to speak of, it has a licensing agreement. to use Trump’s name on its watches.
“We also accept Bitcoin as payment!”, shouts the GetTrumpWatches website, as if handing over real dollars to a company that admits photos of watches are “for illustration purposes only” isn’t enough to raise an eyebrow.
We will return to the Tourbillon soon. For now, let’s look at the cheaper of the two, called the Fighter. At least that’s what the website address suggests it’s called, but it’s also described as “Fight Fight Fight Watch”—and in the black and gold color description “Fight Fight Fight Black Watch.” Either way, it’s like a Rolex Submariner detailed with an understated dial.
But don’t just take our word for it. WIRED Watch expert Tim Barber told us: “It’s clear that Trump is a force among some watch fans, as the gold sneakers he sold earlier this year were bought by Roman Sharf, one of the most prominent watch dealers on the gray market. YouTube is next.” (It turns out that the companies that made the gold sneakers and the new Trump Watches were founded by the same registration agent, Andrew Pierce of Cloud Peak Law, Wyoming.)
“Having said that, I doubt these ugly pieces will raise his profile among many watch collectors. As it turns out, gold watches are the most popular in the luxury market at the moment, joining Rolex in producing a gold dive watch this year. But I’m not so sure about this sharing any other qualities with Rolex. “
