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Let us continue our tour of watches worn by notable personalities with Donald Trump45th and 47th president of the United States. A man whose relationship with watchmaking poses a fascinating question: how can someone who has built his brand on excess (golden towers, private jets, capital letters) wear luxury watches on a daily basis? 36mm in yellow gold?
Because here is the paradox: Trump collects classic Swiss timepieces, often smaller And infinitely finer than his public persona would suggest. Then, without transition, he launches a line in his name where the watch once again becomes what it should never have ceased to be in his universe: a wearable slogan.
The watches in his collection include a Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse of surprising delicacy, a Vacheron Constantin Historical Ultra-Fine which borders on invisibility, and the most predictable: a Rolex Day-Date “ President » in yellow gold. We will also discuss one of the watches “ Trump Watches » which he launched during his presidential campaigns.
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 3738: yellow gold in stealth mode
Let’s start with the scene that sums it all up: Trump playing golf with a Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse on the wrist. Not a sports watch. Not a robust chronograph. No: a dress watch, 31 × 35mmthin as a wafer, which has nothing to do on a green but which is there all the same.
The Golden Ellipse, introduced in 1968is built around the golden ratio (ratio 1:1.618). It is a watch for discreet aesthetes, for those who know that true elegance is only noticed at second glance. Suffice it to say: not really the register we were expecting.
Technical sheet Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse ref. 3738
- Housing : 18 carat yellow gold
- Shape : elliptical
- Dimensions : approximately 31 × 35mm (yes, really)
- Dial : sunray blue, indexes and hands in gold
- Movement : caliber Patek Philippe 240 (micro-rotor, ultra-flat)
- Period : late 1970s to 2000s
What is striking is the size. On a generous wrist, this Ellipse looks like a lady’s watch borrowed for the afternoon. But Trump wears it, and he wears it often. There is something here that escapes the logic of flashiness: a real taste for watches flat, classicsalmost compact. The kind that slips under a sleeve without negotiation.
Its current price: around 20,000 euros on the second-hand market and 61,200 euros for a more recent version in pink gold (ref. 5738/1R-001).
Vacheron Constantin historique Ultra-Fine 1968: the architect with the bulldozer
Second remarkable piece: the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra-Fine 1968worn in particular during the 2016 campaign. Its reference? 43043/000R-9592in pink gold.
It is a square of 35mm approximately, with a vertical satin silver dial, fine indexes, baton hands. The thickness? Approximately 2.45mm of movement. We’re talking about a watch that could disappear under a postage stamp.
Technical sheet Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra-Fine 1968
- Reference : 43043/000R-9592
- Housing : 18K rose gold (4N alloy)
- Shape / diameter : square, approximately 35mm
- Dial : silver, vertical satin finish
- Movement : caliber 1120 (ultra-flat, automatic)
- Movement thickness : approximately 2.45mm
Here again, we are far from the three-piece XXXL “power suit” with the mega-shoulder pads that we imagined. Trump, who is often described as a bulldozer, wears a minimalist architect’s watch. It’s almost funny: this Vacheron is so thin that it would be forgotten under any sleeve, including those cut to take up all the available space.
Its price: count on 15,000 euros on the second-hand market.
Rolex Day-Date “President”: finally, gold that assumes
Here, we find recognizable Trump. There Rolex Day-Date in yellow gold, it’s his watchmaking uniform. Bracelet President (three rows of rounded links, royal comfort), window day at 12 p.m., date at 3 o’clockand large stones as indexes. Functional classicism in gala attire.
Small clarification: the nickname ” President “ first designates the braceletcreated specifically for the Day-Date. But use ended up contaminating the watch itself. The fact that several American presidents have worn one has only strengthened the legend. When Rolex tells a story, it always ends up becoming true.
Trump wears a Day-Date 36 ref. 118238 (yellow gold, champagne dial). On older photos, we also mention an 18038, but the Day-Date family is certain.
Rolex Day-Date 36 technical sheet ref. 118238
- Housing : 18 carat yellow gold
- Diameter : 36mm
- Display : day in words at 12 p.m., date at 3 a.m.
- Bracelet : President
- Movement : Rolex caliber 3155
Thirty-six millimeters. Again. We’re starting to see a pattern emerge: Trump likes yellow gold, sure, but he also likes watches that, technically, are too small for her wrist. In its official photos, these Day-Dates look like transitional watches, as if we forgot to order the right size. But no: it’s a repeated, assumed choice.
How much to wear the watch of the most powerful man on the planet? Count around 25,000 euros on the second-hand market and 45,600 euros if you want it new.
Trump Watches: when marketing takes back control
And then, during his first presidential campaign, came Trump Watches. A brand sold under license from the Trump name (not manufactured by him or by the Trump Organization, let us clarify). The storytelling is very Trumpian: patriotic, direct, salesman. Certainly, Trump has already produced watches in the past, before his political life, but we will discuss that in another article.
In a promotional video broadcast during the 2024 presidential election, we saw him wearing a model from the collection “Fight Fight Fight”there “Red Beauty”. We are far from the ultra-thin Swiss gold watches: make way for the patriotic 42 mm tool watch, water-resistant to 20 ATM, with rotating bezel and robust Japanese movement.
Trump Watches “Fight Fight Fight – Red Beauty” data sheet
- Diameter : 42mm
- Thickness : 12.5mm
- Housing : stainless steel
- Telescope : unidirectional 60 minutes, aluminum insert
- Movement : TMI NH35 automatic (Seiko)
- Glass : mineral with “sapphire-coated” treatment
- Waterproofing : 20ATM
- Price : around €420
The NH35 is a caliber that can be found everywhere: reliable, durable, without surprises. A mechanical tractor. Here, he does the job. The real question is not technical, it is narrative: after years of wearing Patek and Vacheron, why go back to a production watch with your name on it?
Because watchmaking, for Trump, has always had two speeds: that of personal taste (classic, fine, discreet), and that of branding (visible, assertive, salable). Trump Watches belong to the second category. These are not watches for connoisseurs: they are watches for those who want to say something by wearing them.
A paradox in 36mm
What makes the Trump collection fascinating is not the expected exuberance. It’s the contrast. For years he wore watches small, finein yellow gold certainly, but with an almost monastic sobriety for someone who built casinos and had his name engraved in capital letters on skyscrapers.
The Patek Ellipse does 31mm. The Vacheron is square and invisible. The Rolex Day-Date makes 36mm — a size that, on her wrist, looks like it was chosen for someone else. And yet he wears them. Again and again.
So yes, there is now Trump Watches, with its 42mm steel and embedded political message. But even there, we remain far from the oversized chronographs that we could have imagined.
Deep down, Trump may have understood something many don’t: a watch doesn’t have to be big to be gold. And gold always speaks quite loudly (especially at the moment).
