The Best Watches
[from dictators)
Photo of Patek Philippe 3589 sold by Christies in 2019.
Associés et non pas Salariés (Partners and Not Employees) Thats catchy.
From the viewer to the broadcasting house. Die Wohnung Dem Bewohner (The house belongs to its resident) — a quote found in a speech he gave and on the dial of a Patek Philippe 3606 he ordered in 1975 (see Bonhams) around the time of the initial publication of his “Green Book”. A book he published merely chapters at a time. An assortment of languages were chosen to bear the dictators message on his dials. Many of the quotes were chosen to represent the socialist values Gaddafi claimed to espouse. Ironically these quotes were truly just words from the former dictator, and not relevant to governance as he ruled Libya without sharing much of the oil wealth with his people. Using the countries GDP to order Patek Philippe watches instead.
“Brother Leader” Muammar Gaddafi is known to be one of the most eccentric dictators of the 20th and 21st centuries and as time went on, he only adopted more bizarre behavior. He was perhaps the closest the world will ever have to an actual Austin Powers villain as the ruler of a real country. Preferring to write and make movies, he was a diabolically dressed and harebrained schemer who managed to find himself in a unique position.
He often diverted complaints about his leadership, trying to foist the blame onto various committees and councils within the government.
Gaddafi stored the bodies of his enemies in refrigerators for up to 20 years. He refused to climb more than 35 steps. He once ordered all the camels in Tripoli shot dead because they didn’t belong in a modern society. He is quoted as explaining how he would sometimes make certain goods disappear from the Libyan markets in order to “make the people work harder to produce them”. He was by many accounts, also a pedophile rapist. He was also of course, a mass murderer.
You can’t deny, he had good taste in watches though. There has been a rumor that the original Aquanaut was inspired by a Gaddafi commission in turn inspired by the pattern of a grenade. This claim has been contested many times, but remains an interesting story given the Patek Philippe watches that were verifiably originated by the Colonel.
Here comes some absurdism. Compare the dials above. The tones of Tiffany 5711 and the Gaddafi 3589 are very similar. The watches sell for different figures and it can’t all be due to the color or being different models. Of course we know why the 5711 commands a premium but is the value of each of these watches not an interesting example of where a watch derives its value from?
It is objectively true that the unseen value of the Gaddafi watch far exceeds the value of the Tiffany 5711. Gaddafi’s money was far more bloody (at least as far as I know). The wealth Gaddafi accrued was via undeniably violent means.
I think that in the way you can expect a bundled watch to sell for approximately the back spend it cost to acquire + the retail price of the watch (a broad rule that has occasionally proved to be a fairly accurate guide) the Dictator watch should be worth more to account for the blood cost. Though what about Tiffany diamonds?
I guess you then have to value and subsequently subtract global distaste for the commissioner/wearer.
Now, we know that Patek Philippe has never addressed pieces such as these officially, but by the estimation of expert John Reardon, most likely these requests would have been processed in a round-about fashion through a middleman to Geneve. Therefore there’s no way to say exactly how eager the brand would have been to produce these watches, and ultimately it was a check they decided to cash.
In 2024, there are a lot of conversations around the “art and the artist”. Do we have a duty to consume only those things wrought with good intent? A question that has existed in the watch world for a very long time whether it be the watch of a dictator or one commissioned for service on the wrist of a Nazi.
I would posit that an object rarely has any inherent morality. Something that came up in a conversation recently was this exact question, and the person across from me said that they own a B-Uhr watch because as a Jew, “he’s here and they’re not”.
All I’m saying is Gaddafi was ahead of his time with this piece. The dial and bracelet are absolutely impeccable choices.
Since I began to write this, Xhevdet Rexhepi revealed a new dial color for his clever Minute Inerte which was inspired by the dial of the Gaddafi watch. To my point, it’s a lovely color.
Hafez al Assad
Another dictator whose taste and treatment of his citizens were inversely correlated was Hafez al Assad of Syria, father of the current dictator. His collaboration spanned the major brands.
Some of his highlights:
The Rolex 16550 is a nice chi chi di Mais example, made even a little more exciting with the blood-red Assad signature. Some might prefer a dial without the white gold indices, but it was a transitional move for Rolex. This particular watch appears to have not received much wear, but enough to have been sent to service. The tritium lume of the dial has gone creamy.
Sotheby’s auctioned 16550 with Hafez al-Assad customization. Rolex Submariner bearing Hafez al-Assad’s signature. Courtesy Hairspring Watches. Patek Philippe 3734J.
Patek 3734J. This is not a terribly sought after reference from the vaunted brand but it does have a lovely set of hands and markers from the round Calatrava. You also get the more stylized signature. It unfortunately has a date, but that’s useful at least. Unfortunately I do not have a translation for the second signature on this dial.
It is not clear if the watches with Assad’s signature were personal watches (not highly likely in my opinion) or if they were delivered to those close to the dictator. Many of these dictator watches were delivered to such colleagues and subservients.
As a Ba’athist like Hafez, Saddam Hussein also enjoyed watches. I don’t know that Ba’ath party members had a particular propensity for watches but it does seem that revolutionaries with unmistakable mustaches do, Fidel Castro being a famous wearer of two Rolexes. The watches with Hussein’s face or customization do not tend to be as interesting though, so we won’t look at them specifically.
Evidence of the existence of a Rolex 16753 or 16758 GMT Master. “Nipple” indicating the /3 or /8 designation rather than the steel 1675. Dial for sale on Chrono24. There are no photos of a complete GMT Master with the Assad signature to be found online. Dial in poor condition.
Honorable Mentions
Now, it may be said that certain heads of state are not “dictators” per se, but when there is video footage of a journalist entering your embassy to never return in one piece, you get an honorable mention on this list.
MBS has been spotted wearing a 15305st from Audemars Piguet which became a particulary desirable watch during the post pandemic watch frenzy, but he’s a young guy so this is fitting piece. It says “I can make you into a skeleton too”.
A 15305st like that seen on the wrist of MBS.
Putin’s fabulous pair.
Vlad himself has two especially tasteful pieces. An A. Lange & Sohne Tourbograph and an F.P Journe Chronometer Bleu. As with Hussein, Putin does not seem to have any customized watches in the collection so they just get a mention.
Thank you for reading.
I find these commissioned watches fascinating. Primarily due to who the customers were. The watch industry, like banking, is not known for turning away a customer. Still, I think the question of who deserves to co-sign the dial of a watch is an interesting one. Was it such a large check that convinced Patek Philippe of the Gaddafi watch? Was it the relationship with the dealer in Tripoli? At this point we will probably not hear any verifiable history for these watches. These days, it seems that manufacturers are judicious in the extreme about who else could earn the right to stamp a signature on a dial and so to look back not-so-long-ago and see the characters who were able is an interesting comparison.
Things change and demand has increased for wristwatches so perhaps that is the simple answer.