The Watches of the First Ladies - Michelle Obama, Melania Trump and More

I have already written extensively about the watches of the living former U.S. Presidents, the watches of JFK and of FDR and Reagan. While the First Lady of the United States, or FLOTUS, is not an official title, American First Ladies have figured prominently both socially and politically. The role of FLOTUS has evolved to include a role in political campaigns, management of the White House, championing social causes, and representing the president at both official and ceremonial events. In addition, First Ladies have become fashion icons. From Jackie Kennedy to Melania Trump to Michelle Obama, every first lady had their own sense of style, including watches.

Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Tank

As far as famous watches belonging to First Ladies goes, Jackie Kennedy’s Cartier Tank is second to none. Jackie had a Cartier Tank, gifted to her in 1963 by her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw “Stas” Radziwill. This gold Cartier included an engraving on the caseback: “Stas to Jackie / 23 Feb. 63 / 2:05 AM to 9:35 PM." The watch was meant to commemorate a 50-mile walk that the family had completed (though Jackie and JFK only partially completed it) in Palm Beach. The watch was auctioned off in 2017 for $379,000 USD.

Barbara Bush’s Chanel Mademoiselle L

Barbara Bush held the title of FLOTUS from 1989-1993 while here husband, George H.W. Bush was president. In my research, I found Mrs. Bush wearing a very interesting watch after her husband’s presidency. The watch appears to be a rare Chanel Mademoiselle L 22mm watch with pearl bracelet. Little can be found about this piece on the internet, which makes it all the more intriguing. From what I can tell, the watch was made in the 1990s and has a Reference of WCPS62680. One of the few examples I was able to find for sale is currently available for just under $11,000 USD.

Hillary Clinton’s Rolex and Chanel Watches

Hillary Clinton may have begun her political career as First Lady (and a lawyer), but she would eventually go on to become a Senator from New York, Secretary of State and first woman to be nominated by a major American political party to be President of the United States. She surely has many accolades. It turns out she has some very nice timepieces as well.

During her time as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has been spotted wearing multiple watches. She has been seen multiple times wearing a Rolex Ladies Datejust in two-tone (possibly Ref. 179173). She likely has the 26mm model with stick indices and a jubilee bracelet. You can pick up a similar piece on the secondary market for between $7,000 and $9,000 USD.

Clinton served as Secretary of State under President Obama from 2009 through 2013. During this period, Clinton has been spotted often wearing a classic Chanel J12 in white ceramic. This piece is a classic design from Chanel. The 33mm variation of the quartz watch retails for $5,450 USD.

Laura Bush’s Watch

Laura Bush is an American teacher, librarian and author who was first lady from 2001 to 2009. During her time as First Lady, she focused her initiatives on education and literacy, including by establishing the annual National Book Festival in 2001. Figuring out Mrs. Bush’s watch was perhaps the hardest watch to identify. While the watch has a very distinctive bracelet, it is not form a well known brand. After hours of searching, and with a little help, I was able to identify the watch as a piece from the brand Christian Bernard Paris. While the watch isn’t the exact model shown on the right, it has the same case and bracelet. Bush’s watch, however, has a different dial and diamond bezel. Christian Bernard seems to be more of a fashion brand than a high end watchmaker.

Michelle Obama’s Cartier Tank

Michelle Obama is an American lawyer who served as FLOTUS from 2009 to 2017. Obama, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, worked at the prestigious law firm of Sidley Austin where she met her future husband, Barack Obama. While Michelle has expressed that she has no desire to hold political office (including that of the Presidency) she remains very popular among the Democratic Party and has been named the most admired woman in America multiple times according to Gallup's poll. Like many other First Ladies, Obama has been spotted in a classic Cartier, the Cartier Tank Francaise. The steel Cartier Tank Francaise, like the one Obama has been spotted wearing, is $3,550 USD for the small version and $4,150 USD for the medium version.

Melania Trump’s Vacheron Constantin and Rolex Watches

The most recent of the former First Ladies of the United States, Melania Trump is a Slovene-American former model prior to coming into the White House. Trump is the second naturalized woman to become FLOTUS (after Louisa Adams).

Being a former model, Trump’s style was widely followed during her time in the White House. In 2005, prior to her time in the White House, Melania was seen wearing the 36mm white gold Vacheron Constantin “Kalla Duchesse” Ref. 81750/S01G-9198. The dial, case and bracelet of this watch have been set with 44ct of factory diamonds. This “iced out” piece is currently available on the secondary market for $745,000 USD.

Prior the becoming FLOTUS, Melania has been spotted at least once wearing a Rolex Day-Date. From the photo, you can see that her Day-Date is yellow gold with a diamond bezel, a dark (perhaps brown) dial with diamond indices. A similar model , Ref. 128345RBR is currently selling on the secondary market for around $60,000 USD.

Dr. Jill Biden’s Cartier and Chanel Watches

We finally get to the current the current First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden. Dr. Biden is an educator and former Second Lady of the United States. Since 2009, Dr. Biden has been a professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College (a position she still holds as First Lady). During President Joe Biden’s first year as president, Dr. Biden was put in charge of pushing public opinion on providing free tuition to students attending community colleges, part of the American Families Plan. This fits with Dr. Biden’s lifelong career as an educator.

Dr. Biden has been spotted in multiple different watches, including the Classic Cartier Panthere in gold. While the Panthere runs on a quartz movement, the watch is actually pretty pricey (being Cartier and gold of course). The small model of the Cartier Panthere in gold retails for $21,700 USD.

During her time as Second Lady, Dr. Biden was spotted wearing another classic watch, the Chanel J12. While Clinton had the watch in white ceramic, Biden went for the black ceramic. Like the white ceramic Chanel J12, the black ceramic variation retails for $5,450 USD.