If you have ever been to a museum you will know that it is largely a big tourist trap for a bunch of people to go to and pretend as though they’re interested in stuff.  From all the world over parents they take their obnoxious kids to marvel at the pretty colors of fish, the size of the bones from long deceased creatures, take some pictures, and then leave.  But before they make their exit, they are inevitably going to notice the shop that sells goods related to their museum visit.

And in this conveniently placed “gift shop” they can buy tacky postcards to send to their relatives, so they know you are cool, in addition you can also purchase books which will never be read, and if you are lucky, you can even buy some freeze-dried ice cream which has the ability to instantly melt three dollars right out of your pocket.

At the upper echelons of these gifts though, you may notice there may be a small selection of watches.  Usually tucked away under the pristine protection of clear plastic, the logoed watches may look appealing as they sell for more than the usual junk they have there.

Now what can be cooler than having a watch with the logo of the National Air and Space Museum on your wrist? Well quite a lot of things quite honestly.

Back on topic though, I have literally been asked one question by a colleague of mine asking me what watch Barack Obama wears, and while I have known some time now, the answer has never really seemed to spark any kind of interest in me to discuss it, but here goes…

As a present for Mr. Obama on a recent birthday, his Secret Service goons went down to the Secret Service gift shop and thought of the laziest birthday present known to man.  They went down to the gift shop and got him a Secret Service logoed watch.  What’s most surprising though is that Barack Obama seems to wear it everyday!

Here it is with Joe Biden’s Omega Seamaster Professional in the distance:

And a close up:

Now the funny thing is that he traded a fairly respectable Tag Heuer for this.  Why?  Well I suppose it’s the same reason that he traded his massive gas guzzling Chrysler 300C for an economical Ford Escape Hybrid, he wants to practice what he preaches and so traded his Swiss timepiece for a American one, or so he thought.

Well I have done a little bit of digging on this one, but the watch is actually made in China like quite a lot of things in this country, and it actually starts off life as a Jorg Gray JGC6500 Chronograph like this one:

You may not have heard of Jorg Gray as a company, and there’s a good reason.  You see all they do is makes generic watches without logos on them so you can put your organization’s logos on them and thus disappoint your friends, family, etc. with your mail order junk.

So to conclude, like George Bush’s Timex, Barack Obama’s watch can be classified in a similar vein a being a piece of mail order junk.
The End!

I don’t have much of an interest in politics.  In fact, one could say it is quite similar to a stoner’s feelings toward employment.  You want to be interested because you feel it’ll be better for you, but you’re doing just fine without it so you don’t bother…

That is why when I heard that Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, I immediately went for a nap.

But later on in the week I actually read up a little on him, and would you look at the watch he’s wearing:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

Here’s a closeup if you’re having trouble telling what it is:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

To confirm your initial suspicions, yes that IS an Omega Seamaster Professional,  the current James Bond watch!

I’m not sure of the exact model, but based on a picture I saw, I think it’s likely the GMT version as seen here with a few windows outlining its different features:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

It could, however, just as easily be the more true to form “official” James Bond watch as seen here:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

The truth of the matter is that I don’t know what verson it is, but I also don’t really care.  You see it doesn’t matter what version of the watch you have, the automatic version, the quartz version, the GMT version, or even the chronograph version, the goal of the Bond watch has always been the same.

And that is to transform the most dimwitted idiot, the fattest husband, and the most unattractive college grad, to HIM:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

People will lie to you all the time and claim that they got the Bond watch because of the looks, because they couldn’t pass up a great deal, but they can only lie to themselves for so long before finally admitting to themselves that the only reason they got this watch is because the kid inside of them wants nothing more than to be James Bond.

They may be responsible adults these days, but a part of them, and myself I suppose a part of myself, since I used to have one, find an appeal to the kind of charming, brave, and dashing persona of the legendary fictional spy and the lifestyle he leads.

And who can blame them?  It is quite a nice departure from everyday life I must admit…

I thought that it might be the case that Senator Joe Biden might just happen to have several watches, or may be a collector, and he may very well be, but every time I see him with a watch, and I do mean EVERY time I see him with a watch, it’s always the James Bond Omega.

And that’s saying something!