V.V. Putin has long ceased to be just a politician, turning into one of the most popular brands in our country. Everything that the president pays attention to immediately becomes a trend. And his watch is no exception.
What brands of watches does Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wear and how much do they cost?
They say that V.V. Putin is about 11 models. The total cost of the products is about 22 million rubles. The president's assortment includes watches from five Swiss and one German brands:
- blancpain,
- iwc,
- Breguet,
- Patek Philippe,
- FP Journe
- Lange & Sohne.
What caused this choice and what functions is the president primarily interested in?
PATEK PHILIPPE: A COMBINATION OF EXCELLENT TASTE AND TECHNOLOGY
The President's favorite watch brand is Patek Philippe. This is not surprising, because this Swiss brand is considered one of the best on the market, its products are included in the ratings of the most expensive wristwatches in the world. The products of this company are distinguished by reliability, quality, luxurious design and many years of experience in watchmaking, because today the brand is already 181 years old.
The president gave his preference to the model Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar 3974 in 18K white gold case. At the time of its release in 1989, this accessory was the most sophisticated in its category. The model was released in such a limited edition that even the most famous watch dealers could not always boast of holding it in their hands. They say it took the manufacturer four years to create this watch. In the 90s, they cost about $ 60 thousand, and today this model will cost at least half a million dollars at auction.
Description hours:
- diameter 36 mm, thickness 12 mm;
- sapphire crystal on the front and transparent on the back;
- solid gold dial;
- the first sub-dial shows the month and year, the second shows the moon phase, the third displays the current date;
- a backlight function is built in to indicate night time;
- the movement is equipped with 39 precious stones.
The watch is equipped with several additional features:
- minute repeater. A repeater is a wrist accessory module that indicates the current time to a person using sound signals. For example, at 03:49 a minute repeater will strike three hours with three beats, then three double beats in another register will indicate 45 minutes, and with four beats in the high register will indicate four minutes;
- perpetual calendar;
- 24 hour indication.
Another model - Patek Philippe Grand Complications 5208P - caused a real scandal. One of the cunning watch collectors put such a watch up for auction under the name Antiquorum and in the provenance (a document describing the history of the product) indicated the name of Putin. Of course, by this action the seller wanted to significantly increase the price of the product. The presidential administration immediately reacted and stated that this information was not true and that the watch did not belong to Putin.
BLANCPAIN: PRESIDENTIAL CLASSICS
The second watch company that fell in love with the President of Russia is Blancpain... This company is considered one of the oldest luxury watch manufactories. The history of the legendary brand originated in a small workshop back in 1735, and already in the middle of the 100th century, Blancpain produced more than XNUMX thousand copies a year.
The model preferred by the president is Grande date aqua lung... This is an elegant movement made in a strict classic style. The case is made of stainless steel with a black dial. The set of functions is rather laconic and even simple:
- division of hours, minutes, seconds;
- there is a large date display at the bottom of the dial at 6 o'clock;
- chronograph.
Case size 40 mm, thickness 13,3 mm. The watch is waterproof. Sapphire crystal on the front dial. The hands are powered by an automatic movement with caliber 6950. The power reserve according to the manufacturer's information is up to 70 hours. A total of 2005 copies were produced, and now the model has been completely discontinued. The price on the market nowadays starts at $ 12,5 thousand.
In public, the President of Russia most often appears in Blancpain wristwatches. It was them that V.V. presented to the son of a shepherd he met in Tuva, whom he met during a visit to a local plant.
The president threw another watch of the same brand into liquid concrete, which was poured into the formwork of a new hydroelectric power station in the Amur Region.
A. LANGE & SOHNE: THE MOST EXPENSIVE AND REFINED ACCESSORY
One of the most expensive watch models - Lange & Sohne Tourbograph Perpetual Pour le Merite. This specimen is considered truly unique. It was created by the company over the years and was presented to the public in 2005. Recognized craftsmen consider this wrist accessory to be a technical masterpiece. The series of the model was only 150 pieces of gold.
The Tourbograph is the second watch of the brand to be awarded the title of "Pour le Merite" - one of the most prestigious awards in Germany, which was established by King Frederick William IV of Prussia in 1842 to reward the most outstanding achievements in science and art.
The watch movement is equipped with a special set of 600 elements to ensure high evenness of the hands. In addition, the new Tourbograph is complicated by a one-minute tourbillon (part of the watch mechanism, which will allow to neutralize the effect of earth's gravity and significantly increase the accuracy of the watch), as well as a split-chronograph (measuring the duration of parallel events).
The craftsmen say that the creation of these unique watches is too laborious, so the company can release no more than 12 pieces a year.
Description of the watch:
- the model is decorated and engraved by hand;
- the case is made of platinum, the crown is made of white gold, the dial is made of rhodium-plated silver, the watch hands are made of blue steel (this is a high-carbon alloy steel with a high degree of purification, which contains chromium, tungsten, vanadium and molybdenum. give the material toughness, corrosion resistance and impact resistance); chronograph hands - from yellow gold, glass and case back - from sapphire crystal;
- water resistance - 300 m.
- belt - crocodile leather with platinum buckle.
The cost of these President's watches is about 400 thousand euros.
By the way, this is not the only model of the company. A. Lange & Sohne, which was seen on the president's hand. The second watch is A. Lange & Sohne 1815. The case is made of white gold, weighing 18 carats (0,2 grams), diameter - 39,5 mm, thickness - 10,8 mm. The silver dial displays hours, minutes, seconds, and flyback chronograph (a device that triggers an instant return of the chronograph hand to zero position to start a new countdown. Such an element allows time intervals to be measured simply and very quickly).
The power reserve is 60 hours. Water resistant up to 50 meters. The watch is equipped with an alligator leather strap with an 18-carat gold insert. The cost of an accessory on the market today is from 30 thousand euros.
IWC: INTERNATIONAL WATCH COMPANY
Another watch from Putin's collection is the Mark XVIII model from the Pilot`s Watches collection by IWC. These watches attract attention not only by their appearance, but also by their quality:
- The round watch case is made of stainless steel.
- Case dimensions: 41 x 11 mm.
- Arrows - blued steel with silver plating.
- Sapphire crystal on the dial.
- The water resistance of the model is 60 meters.
- The power reserve is 42 hours.
- Alligator leather strap.
Such watches are the standard of the classical style, which the president adheres to.
BREGUET: A MINIMAL AND STYLISH CHOICE
Of all the fairly extensive Breguet lineup, the president gave preference to the model Marine 5817ST / 12 / 5V8... The cost of a watch on the market today is about $ 15 thousand.
Breguet - one of the most famous and oldest Swiss watch manufactories... Alexander Pushkin wrote about this brand in Eugene Onegin:
"Putting on a wide bolivar, Onegin goes to the boulevard and walks there in the open, until the vigilant SHIELD rings his lunch ..."
This men's watch is made of stainless steel, with a flawless silver dial, which is hand-guilloched in a wave-like pattern.
Guilloche is a technique of applying a decorative ornamental pattern in the form of a grid or criss-crossing wavy lines to a product.
Case size - 39 x 11,85 mm. The energy reserve is enough for 65 hours. The hour scale is decorated with Roman numerals and luminescent markers to indicate the time in the dark. There is a large date display at the bottom of the dial.
What wristwatch does the President of Russia have now?
Recently, the president has increasingly appeared in the strict classic Blancpain watches, which we talked about above. An ultra-modern chronograph was also seen on his arm. Chronometer Bleu by FP Journe (Francois-Paul Journe) with Caliber 1304.
This brand is quite young compared to the rest. It began its activity only in 1985, but today the products François-Paul Journe gained immense popularity around the world.
This watch model was nominated for the title of "Best Men's Watch" in the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (GPHG) competition.
Chronometer Bleu body is made of tantalum dark gray with a slight blue tint - elegant and stylish. Tantalum is believed to be highly corrosive to wear and tear, giving this product a long service life. And also due to its high biological compatibility, tantalum does not cause allergic reactions.
The blue chrome dial has the hours and minutes hands, and the sub-dial of the small seconds is located at the bottom left. The hand-wound caliber 1304 is made of 750 gold and has a 56-hour power reserve. Water-resistant to 30 meters. Alligator leather strap.
The price of the original on the market today ranges from $ 7 thousand and above.
Which hand does Vladimir Putin wear a watch on and why
Back in 2018 Vladimir Vladimirovich explained to reporters your habit of wearing a wrist accessory. He said that initially he wore the watch according to the rules of etiquette (on the left hand), but at the same time the crown of the accessory was constantly spinning, giving him inconvenience. Therefore, today Putin wears a watch on his right hand.
Psychologists claim that wearing a wristwatch on the right hand says that in front of you is a strong, outstanding, very self-confident person. These people are distinguished by great determination, they know how to easily overcome difficulties and boldly look into their future.
