Many people are nostalgic for Israel’s socialist days. I’m not except in this respect: none of those early guys would get caught wearing a $5000 watch. A friend was watching Netanyahu during the Center for American Progress conversation on Tuesday when he sent me a note: “How does a guy with such shiny suits have such fancy watches? Who buys his watches?”
My friend said it looks like Netanyahu is sporting a Panerai, a Swiss watch, with a black alligator band. A watch maven confirms that’s the case, back in 2012, with this heroic photo of the PM.
I bet it’s a gift. The Panerai Luminor Marina goes for north of $5,000:
Maybe Netanyahu buys it here? They have a store in the Mamilla mall in Jerusalem, and others in neoliberal hotspots in Israel. Here’s another image my friend sent me of a Panerai– apparently it’s the watch brand of choice of the neoliberal hawks’ crowd. Bill Clinton wears a Panerai, and Bill Clinton fostered the settlement project of the West Bank.
Ehud Barak prefers a Rolex: We did a post about the former defense minister titled, “Barak orders strike on Gaza during ‘Charlie Rose’– and checks what looks like a Rolex.”
And here’s a post we did on Netanyahu’s $1 million Audi, a few years back.
I wouldn’t doubt all kinds of slushy gifts to Netanyahu– a warmonger and a scumbag.
But a 5k watch, though, fancy by any normal standards, is not so special to fancy watch people.
5k is the average starting price for high end time piece brands like Muller, Vacheron Constantin Audemars Piguet or Patek Philippe, . And your going to get barebones steel. For mass luxury brands like Cartier or Rolex you get in the game as well, maybe some gold, but nothing too special.
My guess is that he and Clinton think they are being modest by wearing such an easily available and comparatively inexpensive watch.
PS ever see that Rabbi Boteach wears -two- watches?
Aw, Come on, Phil. Netanyahu is the “leader of the free world”, and you are worried about him wearing a $5000 alligator watch? He has to deal with topics of global importance, not worry about whether his car costs only a million dollars. This is probably chump change.
FOX NEWS “Who is leader of the Free World: Obama or Netanyahu?”
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/02/03/who-is-leader-free-world-obama-or-netanyahu.html
lol! you crack me up phil.
i thought i’d mention that i had a watch once. i’m not a watch wearer, it’s been decades since i wore one. but mine looked like this: http://www.dexclusive.com/panerai-pam00441-luminor-marina-mens-automatic-watch.html?utm_source=googlebase&utm_medium=CPC&gclid=CMCmxe6Dj8kCFU6SfgodcBgMPw
only it costs about $49. not 11k. these panerai watches are just vanity pieces. they don’t look “fancy” (fancy has to have an element of bling about it) they look like ‘i am so rich i can throw money at a name brand’. these just look like what ordinary watches should look like. here’s one for $75, same thing: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-available-Panerai-replica-watch
and check this out http://www.mercerwatch.com/shop/privateer-navy
this company just raised 50k from a kickstarter campaign to make a reasonably priced watch of a similar design.
I had a buddy who was into watches. Twenty-some years ago, not long after he got his first full-time job as an electrical engineer, he dropped $2K on an Omega.
A $5K watch for a wealthy man who happens to be the King of all Jews and PM of the world’s only “Jewish State” doesn’t seem unreasonable…