Jorg Gray - The Touch Of Obama

While watch giants typically fork out millions for celebrity endorsement, Jorg Gray has the most famous man in the world routinely sporting its watch - for free.

Obama’s security guard bought the Jorg Gray 6500 from the Secret Service gift shop as a present for the president’s 46th birthday in 2007. When Obama began donning his Jorg Gray with its Secret Service logo on the back - for his election victory speech, inaugural balls, touring the Egyptian pyramids and accepting the Nobel peace prize – Jorg Gray went from a small division of a corporate gifting company to a newly established watch retailer flooded with orders.

If ever there was a time the horological preferences of a president have reflected the state of the country, this is it. At £260, the commemorative watches are pared-down, stylish, and good value for money. And they’ve been catching on.

Within 18 months, retail sales soared from zero to $1million a month and the watches could be found in 15 countries. The day that talk show host Ellen de Generes gave away 400 Jorg Gray watches to her guests for her birthday, the website crashed.

The watches have even been known to transcend political inclinations. When CEO Trevor Gnesin received a hate email from a staunch Republican declaring he’d never buy the watch due to Obama’s policies, South African Gnesin replied saying the watch is not so much political as it is historic, defining a time when the world witnessed an African American become president in a country where his people were once slaves. Needless to say, the man put in an order.

See Jorg Gray watches for a range of styles.