Do you remember Watchgate? In June 2007 it was suggested that George W. Bush, the leader of the free world, had had his timepiece half-inched while shaking the hands of a crowd in an Albanian farming village, Fushe Kruja, near Tirana.

The White House denied the theft, saying, “He took it off”, and indeed, my extensive study of the YouTube evidence did prove inconclusive. But the idea that a spontaneous walkabout among a mob shouting “Bushie, Bushie” and waving American flags might have led to the disappearance of the President’s watch was such a bittersweet vignette of political life that it was widely reported.

The surprise, however, was that, far from wearing an impressive piece of wrist jewellery, the most powerful man on the planet apparently favoured a $50 Timex with the Stars and Stripes on the dial.

The new resident of the White House, as has been noted in some quarters, is a snappier dresser than his predecessor. So it won’t surprise you to hear that Barack Obama wears something a little more exclusive than a Timex. Indeed, it appears that from the early or mid-Nineties to late 2007, Senator Obama was rather attached to a TAG Heuer Series 1500 Two Tone Diver’s watch. We know this from the photographic evidence, especially from the images of him campaigning in casually rolled-up shirt sleeves. And it tells us something about the man: this is a functional diving watch that defines its wearer as something of an adventurer and man of action.

TAG Heuers have long been associated with professional sportsmen and women, and today the brand boasts Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Maria Sharapova as ambassadors. But more recently it has also courted Hollywood – Brad Pitt and Uma Thurman are signed to the brand – and a couple of weeks ago, the company added Leonardo DiCaprio to its roster. Click the link below to read the full article....

Where to get a watch like Barack Obama’s TAG Heuer timepiece – Times Online