Opinion
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is repeatedly the declared target of right-wing circles. No matter what she does, it’s wrong. But it becomes more embarrassing than ever when the accusation that Baerbock is wearing a luxury watch for almost 40,000 euros can be revealed as cheap hate speech with just one glance.
Politicians and their watches are always criticized. Whether Sawsan Chebli and her Rolex Datejust or Christian Lindner and his IWC Portugieser Chronograph – when a comparatively expensive watch appears on the wrist of a politician, there is a huge outcry. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also feels this – because there is something sparkling there too! But: not everything that glitters is gold.
First, a fact check: A post by a man named Daniel Gugger is currently going viral on X, formerly Twitter. He congratulated Baerbock on “this great watch,” which she wears at the World Economic Forum in Davos – but actually always.
Expensive watch – it must have been an arms deal!
He continues: “A real snapper Google shows me it’s a Santos de Cartier for the mere price of 38,700 euros.” He senses the conspiracy and the source of the money. And concludes: “You can’t afford something like that by jumping on a trampoline, but such a small arms deal with the Saudis will definitely bring a lot of money into your coffers.”
There is so much wrong with this tweet that one has to wonder how far it has reached. Around 241,522 impressions, 1,547 replies, 921 reposts and 2,704 likes are currently displayed (January 18th, 9 a.m.).
As for the Cartier: Baerbock’s watch is not a Santos de Cartier, but has always been a Casio LA680WEGA. This has been known since September 2023 at the latest, because at that time someone explicitly asked which Casio Annalena Baerbock wore on her travels, and her husband answered by publicly naming the model.
Chance find
This Rolex lay on the seabed for years – this is what it looks like after the restoration
The LA680WEGA costs 59.90 euros and is a classic digital watch from the Japanese manufacturer that has been part of the range for ages. It doesn’t take a trained eye to identify the Secretary of State’s watch. And if, like Gugger, you use Google anyway, proper research wouldn’t have revealed anything else.
It still took around a day for a so-called “community note” to be added to X, which exposed Gugger’s post as false information.
Are politicians not allowed to wear luxury watches?
Now the thing about expensive watches and politicians: Let’s assume that the watch originally mentioned was accurate. What then? On the one hand, Annalena Baerbock, like all other federal ministers, could of course afford to buy a watch worth 40,000 euros after a few months of saving. In some cases, that might not even be so bad for the image that you give off as a foreign minister while traveling – as long as you want to give off the image of a wealthy industrial nation.
On the other hand, politicians in their own country find it very difficult to live off the wealth generated by their very high salaries. One remembers Jens Spahn’s villa, Christian Lindner’s wedding or Friedrich Merz’s private flights. This is not how you build a popular image. On the contrary.
It is therefore still a rarity, especially for German politicians, to display luxury goods such as expensive watches. Angela Merkel always wore a Boccia Titanium for around 100 euros, Frank-Walter Steinmeier is often seen with a Nomos Tangente, which was still available for under 1000 euros at the time he received it from his wife, and Ilse Aigner wears it for example a Fortis for around 800 euros.
In general, German politicians, with a few exceptions, are among the most modest representatives of the people. It is not uncommon to see watches worth six figures on the wrists of rulers and presidents of other countries.
A Cartier, even if Annalena Baerbock would certainly attract attention with it, would not be the end of the story. But, this should now be clear: it is a cheap Casio. It will probably stay that way as long as the Foreign Minister represents the values and image of her party.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
