Bill Clinton addressed the Democratic Convention last night, and soon after he started speaking, I started receiving e-mail messages asking “What’s that watch that Bill Clinton is wearing?” Clinton has a nice collection of watches, and I am familiar with a few that he has worn over the years (AP, Panerai, etc.), but I had never seen him wearing this watch.
A bit of quick research this morning has confirmed that Clinton was wearing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs watch. [Here’s a link to a forum on which this was discussed.]
Photo: Harry E. Walker/MCT via Getty Images
You can have a closer look at the watch, below.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs. This watch is part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Compressor line of watches, which includes five “sport and complications” watches and six diving watches. The six Master Compressor diving watches include the Pro Geographic (which has a second time-zone display), a chronograph, and four Navy SEALs watches — Pro Geographic, Chronograph GMT, Diving Alarm, and Automatic watch. The four Navy SEALs watches are made under an agreement with the US Navy SEALs, and each watch has the SEALs insignia engraved on the case-back.
The Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs watch is a 44 millimeter watch, in grade 5 titanium, powered by the JLC Calibre 956 movement (28,800 vibrations per hour, with 45-hour power reserve). The Diving Alarm is water resistant to 30 bar, with unique compression keys at 2 o’clock and 4 o’clock. It appears that President Clinton is wearing the Diving Alarm on a leather strap, as shown on the JLC website. The Diving Alarm Navy SEALs watch is also available in a limited edition, through the JLC Beverly Hills boutique. The Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs watch retails for approximately $14,000.
Dive Watch with Navy Suit? Someone asked whether it is appropriate to wear an oversize dive watch, in a suit, on such an important occasion. Maybe one answer is that if Obama is wearing an oversize chronograph at the convention, then it’s perfectly fine for Clinton to wear this dive watch. Another answer might be that when you are the President of the United States, you can wear what you damn well please (and all the more so for a former President of the United States).