Former President Donald Trump‘s latest business venture — selling luxury watches, is facing rough criticism from netizens and watch enthusiasts, and now experts claim that these watches could be “Chinese-made.”
The watches are being sold at jaw-dropping prices, with one model going for as much as $100,000, although experts in the watch industry are far from impressed.
The two watches Trump has recently debuted are ‘The Fighter’ and a second, unnamed model, marketed as a high-end luxury timepiece. ‘The Fighter’ is being sold at prices ranging between $499 and $799. The reason for the steep price? According to the marketing, the watch is adorned with what appears to be imitation gold. The second model, a supposed 18-karat gold watch encrusted with diamonds, is the true showstopper, retailing for a whopping $100,000.
On Thursday, Trump posted on Truth Social saying his watches are “truly special” and best for Christmas gifts. “Don’t wait, they will go fast,” he wrote, and added, “GET YOUR TRUMP WATCH RIGHT NOW!”
The reaction from the luxury watch community has been….
Aficionados and experts alike have ridiculed the watches for their lacklustre design and inflated price tags.
Ariel Adams, founder and editor of A Blog To Watch, told The Hollywood Reporter that Trump’s watches “cobbled together, patently unoriginal and vastly overpriced.” He suspects Trump is working with a white-label company, a business that repackages generic products and sells them under a different brand. “Anyone can go to a white labeler and say, ‘I want a watch with this case, this bracelet and these other details,’ and a white labeler will Frankenstein it together, put your name on it and sell it to you,” Adams explained.
“But the price you sell it for is up to you. That the markup came from someone on Trump’s team is obvious here. Even the $500 piece from another brand would go for maybe $200,” he added.
“I belong to a collector group that maintains an ongoing group chat, and the initial reaction was that it had to be fake. After that, everyone was laughing. When you look at all of them, they scream Chinese-made watch. None of them is worth the asking price,” he claimed.
The company behind Trump watch line, not Trump or his Company
Notably, TheBestWatchesOnEarth LLC is behind the Trump-branded watches, not Trump or his company. They licensed the Trump name to sell their line of wristwatches. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Trump’s name has been linked to watches. Back in 2005, Trump launched his own watch collection, the Donald J. Trump Signature Collection, which was a rare assortment of 20 pieces.
An anonymous marketing director from a Tier1 Swiss watch brand told The Hollywood Reporter that despite claims that the watches are Swiss-made, they are likely of Chinese origin. “When you look at all of them, they scream Chinese-made watch. None of them is worth the asking price,” the director commented.
