The Joking Watch That Became Real
As the campaign trail of the 2016 U.S presidential elections heated up, Senator Marco Rubio fired a backhander at then-candidate Donald Trump. Rubio pointed the finger at Trump by saying he would have been peddling watches in Manhattan were it not because of his inherited wealth. Ironically there would be a different meaning to that line about a decade later.
Yes, now Trump is attached, at least, under the licensing process, to the marketing of expensive wristwatches.
The Age of a Timepiece Empire Appears
The first Trump watches (advertised on the largest sites such as Amazon, Etsy, and eBay) were related more to the premise of novelty than luxury. Patriotic motives to the caricatured depictions of the ex-president were used in the design. Even one of these early models is dated back in 1984, much before the political era of Trump.
However, in one recent election cycle something changed. There was a line of watches with the Trump name that got world media attention. This was now not camp collectibles, but a bling-tastic aggressive product launch pointing toward something more serious.
Trump Promotes, but Fails to Possess?
A video ad that came out on September 27 was a promotional video where Trump essentially interacts with the audience, praising the exclusivity of new watches. It is not an ordinary watch, he bragged. almost 200 grams of gold, more than 100 real diamonds. I am a gold lover. I adore diamonds.”
The main product? Trump Victory 18 Carat Gold Tourbillon. Only a few watches have been produced (only 147) with each having 122 diamonds attached to them, and they are sold only on pre-order basis. The site has a statement; Once They Are Gone, They Are Gone.
Contrary to obvious backings of Trump, he is said to not own the company into which these watches are manufactured, and this puts forth another interesting twist in the tale.
Not His First Rodeo of Telling Time
This is not the first time Trump is dabbling in the side of horology. He added the Donald J. Trump Signature Watch Collection back in 2005. However, at that time he was a pure businessman and reality TV star, but was not a still sitting president or a political idol. In the modern world, the game and pressure are completely different.
The Domain Name Has a Background
Trump watches are only sold on one particular site and a brief glance at the site certificate will catch that there is an peculiar separation in legality. According to the site, it does not have any direct connection with Trump and his businesses.
The question may arise, why not the domain of TrumpWatches.com? To their surprise, it transpired that this domain was actually registered privately way back in 2011 and it is not accessible to the general populace.
Such a tactic of naming is not exclusive. Other Trump-related products such as GetTrumpFragrances.com and GetTrumpSneakers.com simply have different licenses with more or less identical disclaimers.
Unbundling the Labyrinth of Licensing
What connects all these websites, the one where the watches are sold as well, is that all of them are registered to CIC Ventures LLC that is a company based in Florida. Remarkably, the mentioned address corresponds to Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach—the situation that raises eyebrows in light of the issues of these ventures being non-political and independent.
There has been a discounting of these links but still they all are cashing in on the image, name, and brand name of Trump—it seems that there must be a well-planned licensing strategy involved.
Corporate Shadows and Silent Partners
I learned that Trump was a registered owner of CIC Ventures LLC when the New York Times published the information in 2023. But the watch business is done under a completely different company: TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC.
TheBestWatchesonEarth explains on its own site that it is licensed to use the Trump name and image through a paid licensing agreement, that the watches have nothing to do with the political uses and campaigns of Trump.
Not much was known about this company as early as 2024, and the origin of the products was even less known. The GetTrumpWatches.com domain was privately registered in February of the year and provides no information on who might be running the business or ownership.
The Mystery is Investigated by CNN
An article in CNN later that year led the alleged nerve center of the watch operation to a non-descript shopping mall in rural North Wyoming. With its shared office space in a co-working building (daycare, fast food shop and vape shop), the office building did not give any indication of high-precision watchmaking.
Although TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC has its registered office in the address, no apparent branding activities or other related operations were spotted.
Corporate Veils and Corporate Privacy
The company that supports the watches was launched in July 2024. Going further, CNN found that the address was registered by Andrew Pierce, a professional in setting anonymous LLCs.
Pierce was an administrator only, the registered agent and provided a cloak of legal anonymity under which the real owners hid. Based mostly in Puerto Rico, Pierce has a reputation of assisting clients to establish companies that mask individual participation.
Swiss Secrets: Who Makes the Watches?
Swiss journalists claimed that despite what Trump said was the fact and claimed Montrichard Group was actually the company that made Trump Watches and Bloomberg then published this article in November 2024.
The philosophy of the company? Exclusivity of brand as opposed to mass-market. According to the website of the Montrichard Group, it offers equity participation in their client ventures in exchange of brand partnership and building their identity.
That leads to another question: is Montrichard the new co-owner of Trump Watches?
Deluxity Play or Vanity Play
CEO Remi Chabrat acknowledged that the company is involved in production but did not mention in which countries cheaper models are produced. In the meantime, they hired industry veteran David Gouten to direct the project—who, according to reports, never met anybody at TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC.
By November, a large part of the premium models, including a watch worth 100,000 dollars, had failed to sell. Gouten added that the conditions of purchases were tight: any potential buyers were required to provide passports to ensure they do not do politically incorrect sales.
Market Response and Public Reaction
Trump Watches have been met with a lot of criticism since their launch: especially in the areas of design quality and price. There are doubts among analysts whether the line will be attractive beyond the cult of Trump loyalists.
As at writing this, GetTrumpWatches.com has a total of 62 men watches with 37 as being sold out. Half of the 20 designs by women have also been sold out and this has indicated a mixed yet realistic consumer interest.
Blow-out End of the Company
In April 2025 an inquiry to TheBestWatchesonEarth LLC received an auto-reply:
Thanks so much posting a note to us at TRUMP Watches. Our support team has received your request correctly, and we are glad to inform you about that. We will do our best to give you response as quick as possible.
The secret remains— and maybe that is something of the charm of Trump-branded luxury.
