Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder recently opened up on former President Donald Trump selling a $100,000 gold watch.
It has come to light that the device, for which the watch is named, is an 18th century invention meant to improve accuracy by counteracting the effects of gravity on a watch’s mechanism. It does so by suspending timekeeping components in a rotating cage. While visually interesting — the Trump watch’s tourbillon is displayed via a cutout on its dial — it is no longer functionally necessary, owing to advances in watchmaking.
Trump, who this year alone has unveiled a $59.99 Bible, $399 shoes and $100 collectible coins, said in a video Thursday that “this isn’t just any watch; it is one of the best watches made.”
Eddie Vedder reacts
During a recent show, Vedder said, as transcribed by Alternative Nation:
“A gold watch. They are selling the same person who is every day telling us that citizens in America cannot afford eggs is somehow selling a hundred thousand dollar watches. So which one is it? Maybe his friends can. Who am I talking about anyways? I don’t want to have anybody so we’ll just leave it open. But okay you know what and I should clarify because there’s the hundred thousand dollar version. There’s also the five hundred dollar version. Those of you on a budget. So, what I was thinking almost like in an Oprah moment you know that I wish I could buy everyone here a five hundred dollar watch. And because I think it really is just as a symbol it would be a symbol of that it’s because it’s about time. It’s about the selection is about time and it’s about precious time and this precious planet and it’s about time. Did we say we’re not going to take this anymore? We’re not going to take this bullsh*t anymore. We need lifting and not grifting.”
Eddie Vedder on the latest Trump grift of selling $100K watches 🔥 pic.twitter.com/burauxGJz8
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) October 2, 2024
Tourbillon is the French word for “whirlwind,” a fitting name for a device that lends a kinetic quality to the otherwise sober endeavor of timekeeping. Abraham-Louis Breguet, widely considered the greatest watchmaker of all time, invented the tourbillon around 1795 and his namesake company still makes them: its Classique Tourbillon Extra-Plat Automatique 5367, for example, costs more than $160,000.
As per Trump Watches, its tourbillon timepiece will be made-to-order and shipped as soon as this month. It’s not clear whether any working models have been produced. The brand’s website said “images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product.”
