A Watch Belonging To Adolf Hitler… Purchased By A Jewish Collector? At Watches of Espionage, we often explore the darkest corners of horology. Whether we’re talking about the watches of terrorists, mercenaries, war criminals, or dictators, nothing is off the table. We use watches as a medium to get to the human element; they are our prism to view the world. That said, when I heard Adolf Hitler's gold reversible watch was auctioned for $1.1 million, I paused, thinking I may have found a watch too controversial for even W.O.E. to cover. As I attempted to wrap my head around the sale of Hitler’s watch, the buyer’s motivations, and the lack of traditional watch media coverage, I found myself wading into a more complicated conversation. Watches serve as mementos, objects that transcend their utilitarian value by representing history’s best and worst moments. But for collectors of historically charged timepieces, where is the line? Should anyone be comfortable buying, owning, or wearing watches associated with some of the most evil people to walk the Earth? Let’s explore. Watches, Warfare, & Swiss-Neutrality Watches are inextricably linked with warfare and many premier luxury brands owe their designs, legitimacy, and very existence to providing tools to warfighters. Iconic brands like IWC and Panerai often tout their military provenance as tools of choice for pilots and combat swimmers. But what the marketing departments (understandably) downplay is that some of those pilots wearing IWC watches were German Luftwaffe (Nazis) and Panerai’s Italian frogmen were Decima Flottiglia MAS, early amphibious commandos responsible for sinking Allied ships in WWII. The truth is complicated. Some of the most prominent Swiss brands have willingly provided custom watches to murderous dictators, including North Korean Kim Il-Sung’s Omega Constellation, Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad’s Rolex Submariner 5513, and a series of Patek Philippe models made for Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Even by conservative estimates, these men are responsible for hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths, yet their watches continue to fetch significant sums. Auction houses and dealers have a clear ideological allegiance: money. But what about the collectors buying these watches? Nazi Watches? WTF? With the above-listed issues in mind, some watches are too controversial for us to touch, most notably the watches of Nazis. In July of 2022, a watch reportedly belonging to Adolf Hitler auctioned for $1.1M at a Maryland auction house, Alexander Historical Auctions. The gold watch was reportedly manufactured by German watchmaker Andreas Huber with a movement from LeCoultre, now Jaeger-LeCoultre, and bears Hitler's initials (AH), a swastika, and the date of his appointment as Chancellor of Germany: January 30, 1933. The watch was allegedly liberated from Hitler's residence by French soldier Sergeant Robert Mignot as a “spoil of war.” The buyer? Reportedly an anonymous Jewish bidder in Europe, a detail that would not be significant if not for the fact that the man who wore this watch was responsible for the genocide of millions of Jews during World War II.  When I heard this news I cringed, why would someone want to own a watch belonging to (arguably) the most evil person to ever live? I am by no means superstitious, but I wouldn't want that thing in my house, let alone on my wrist. But the news of the auction led me down a rabbit hole of introspection on the ethical dilemmas of watch collecting. When does something controversial cross over into taboo? At what point does the preservation of history turn into the promotion of hate? It's complicated and highly subjective. Controversial Timepieces I own and wear several “controversial” timepieces including a Blackwater Breitling Emergency, a Rhodesian military-issued Roamer, and a South African Navy-issued Tudor MilSub. The Tudor Submariner and Roamer are byproducts of apartheid-era conflicts, a controversial topic by any measurement. Blackwater is one of the most controversial private military contractors and also conjures up strong emotions for many. These pieces are more than the sum of their parts, they are wearable artifacts of specific periods in time and for me indicative of historical significance rather than ideological affiliation. I believe one can own them and not condone the behavior of the original end-user (for the record I am against apartheid in South Africa).  Hafez Al-Assad Syrian Dial Rolex Submariner 5513 To complicate matters more, I recently considered purchasing a Rolex Submariner 5513 made for the late former President of Syria Hafez Al-Assad. President Al-Assad was responsible for numerous atrocities, including the 1982 Hama massacre when the Baathist government besieged the town of Hama for 27 days, resulting in an estimated 10,000 to 40,000 civilian deaths.  Hafez Al-Assad Syrian Dial Rolex Submariner 5513 (Photo Credit: HairSpring) Why would I want to own this piece? Is it really that different from Hitler's watch? Having spent much of my life living and working in the Arab world, including Syria, something about the red Arabic signature on the dial speaks to me. Of course, this desire is by no means an endorsement of the Assad regime. On the contrary, much of my time at CIA was spent working against individuals like Assad. For me, it comes down to collecting context. By default, I think we should take a nuanced understanding of history, and exploring a topic, or a watch, does not equate to endorsement of the subject. Provenance & Watches Of Notable Historical Figures Marlon Brando's GMT-Master on set for Apocalypse Now, 1979. “Provenance” is a term used by collectors and auction houses to document the history of a watch’s ownership, modifications, and service history.  Whether Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona or Marlon Brando’s Rolex GMT, watches with notable provenance fetch premiums as they transcend from “just a watch” to a historical artifact. Military watches are no different and those with documented provenance to a specific individual or unit can increase the value by a multiple of two or three. When it comes to celebrities and other benign “famous people,” the inherent value is widely recognized. But when you get into the gray area of watch collecting, the “value” of provenance can vary based on one's ties to what that item represents.  My prized possession (grail watch) is a South African-issued Tudor MilSub reference 7016 from approximately 1974. While I have no ties to the Apartheid-era South African Navy, I have spent much of my life living and working in Africa and have a particular interest in Tudor MilSubs. The provenance of this watch has a greater value for me than the average collector. Similarly, Israeli Defense Force (IDF) issued Tudor 7928s likely have a greater value to one with ties to Israel whereas those opposed to Israel may view these watches with disgust. So What Type Of Person Would Buy Hitler’s Watch? My initial thought was a neo-Nazi sympathizer, a Bond villain character who wants to wear the watch in his underground lair as he pets his hairless cat. And while this may be the case, the truth, and motivations are likely more complicated.  According to at least one report from the Washington Post, the auction house president claims the watch was purchased by an “anonymous European Jewish bidder.” Is it possible that an individual spent over a million dollars on this item to remember the defeat of the Nazis? As uncomfortable as this may sound, the answer may be yes.  On the shelf in my office is a WWII-era-German (read Nazi) Eagle Claw Scabbard and Mauser-Werke Luftwaffe pistol, both war trophies brought home from the European theater by my grandfather. These items are by no means intended to honor the Nazis and to be clear as an individual and a platform we are anti-Nazi. On the contrary, these items commemorate what my grandfather and the Greatest Generation accomplished, defeating Nazi expansion in World War II. Would I purchase them at auction? No, but they do hold personal value. Watch Collecting On A Spectrum Our willingness to preserve history through the collection of timepieces occurs on a spectrum. Most are willing to buy and wear a new military-inspired watch. Even pacifists can appreciate them for their connection to the past. WWII Allied watches like the Dirty Dozen are also generally uncontroversial given the belief that the Allies were on the right side of history. But once you pass this, the value of the provenance is subjective. Auction Houses Google the name of any major auction house and you are sure to find at least one significant controversy including “fake” watches, stolen artifacts, or items of religious or cultural importance. The trade is morally complicated, and auction houses are incentivized to maximize monetary gain. The fact that Hitler's watch was sold at a relatively obscure auction house suggests that the larger auction houses passed on these items, finding them too controversial. This raises another rhetorical ethical question, is it ok for auction houses to profit off of these sales? Conclusion Would I want to own Hitler's watch? Absolutely not. Despite what is written above, I still believe this watch is a physical representation of pure evil. It belongs buried in a tomb or maybe in a museum honoring the holocaust victims. That said, collecting controversial watches should not be immediately shunned and we should have an open conversation on the ethical considerations at each level. Engaging in thoughtful discussions about the implications of collecting these items and considering their historical impact is essential for navigating this complex issue. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: The Watches of Hamas, ISIS, & the Taliban

Last week, former Fox News talk show host Tucker Carlson interviewed former KGB officer and current Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.  While much of the coverage surrounded the controversy of Tucker himself, we will focus on what we know best: the watches present at the meeting in the Kremlin.  It’s not just W.O.E. who will be analyzing Putin’s watch, members of the American Intelligence Community will be scrutinizing it, too. As we previously discussed in “CIA Analysis of Foreign Leaders’ Timepieces”, CIA Directorate of Analysis (DA) analysts will scrutinize this video frame-by-frame in order to inform policy makers.  Like we aim to do at W.O.E., they too will ignore the noise and rely on ruthless objectivity to produce an actionable product. Putin Takes off the Watch: Minutes into the interview, Putin, dressed in a dark suit and maroon tie, removed his watch (potentially a Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Date) and placed it on the side table next to him, facing the camera.  At face value, this subtle gesture could have several meanings.  In an interview that lasted over two hours, it was clear that Putin was very generous with his time and it could be a conscious signal that he was in no hurry to end the interview.  Additionally, taking off one's watch and laying it on the table is a clear indication that it’s Putin’s home turf, i.e. the Kremlin.  In general, people only take off watches in their home as the risk of leaving a watch behind is a mistake you only make once.  Putin is in a position of power; he's in control in his home.    Whether this was a calculated move or a subconscious habit, we can only speculate, but these are exactly the type of questions analysts ask.  We have seen Putin take off his watch and place it on the table in the exact same manner as recently as October 2023. Putin Health Issues: After removing the watch, Putin vigorously rubbed his wrist for a few seconds. This could be a regular habit of his, but it could also be a potential indicator of health issues. Rumors have been swirling around concerning President Putin’s health for years.  Many of these rumors have been disproved; they’re either fabricated or amplified as a part of disinformation campaigns by Ukrainian intelligence services, Russian opposition, or other third party actors.  That said, there are some indications of deteriorating health, stiff or painful wrists are among them and could be a symptom of a plethora of medical issues, including carpal tunnel syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  In a vacuum, the gesture is totally inconclusive, however if paired with other information, it could paint a clearer picture of Putin’s health. Misinformation is false or inaccurate information—getting the facts wrong. Disinformation is false information which is deliberately intended to mislead—intentionally misstating the facts. Putin's body double?   Past videos of Putin and his watch have caused some to question whether the Kremlin uses a body double in public appearances.  In one video he appears uncomfortable wearing a watch on his right wrist, and in another video he appears to glance down at his left wrist to check the time, presumably looking at the place the body double normally wears his watch.  While it’s certainly possible, it appears this “body double” theory was likely disinformation from Ukrainian services to create questions about Putin's health and mental fitness.  This narrative has been promoted by those close to Kiev, amplified on social media, and even picked up by some Western news outlets. Of note, several Dictators have used body doubles in the past (including allegedly Iraq’s Saddam Hussein) and it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Putin would use one.  That said, most of the known use cases of body doubles are for security purposes (dummy motorcade) as opposed to recorded interviews that can be heavily scrutinized.  We see no indications that this or any other interview was conducted by a “body double.” A million dollar collection? The “expensive watch collection” owned by Putin that’s often cited in the media is estimated to be valued over $1 million although we can assume this number is low for one of the wealthiest men in the world. Putin appears to favor silver watches on a black strap as seen during the interview.  In recent years Putin has consistently worn a Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Date but has also been photographed wearing a Russian made, Imperial Peterhof Factory (Raketa) watch.  The one in the interview is potentially the Blancpain given the butterfly clasp.  For a full rundown of Putin’s watch collection see: “Watches of the War in Ukraine.” Tucker and CIA Troll: Another striking W.O.E. moment in the conversation was when Putin seemed to troll Tucker with a backhanded compliment about not being accepted to CIA: “CIA of course, the organization you wanted to join back in the day as I understand. We should thank God they didn’t let you in. Although it is a serious organization I understand.  My former vis-a-vis in the sense that I served in the First Main Directorate, Soviet Union's intelligence service; they have always been our opponents, a job is a job.” According to press reports, Carlson did in fact apply to CIA after graduating from Trinity College.  As an apolitical platform, we are neither pro-nor-against Tucker Carlson, however we will note that not being accepted to CIA is by no means a failure.  While we can only speculate on acceptance rates for CIA officers, the number is minuscule and many have speculated that it is easier to get into Harvard than CIA.  Regardless, the President of Russia’s preplanned troll of the TV personality is on another level, just another example of once a KGB officer, always a KGB officer. During the interview, Tucker wore his “Buckley Dial” Rolex Datejust on a steel and gold Jubilee bracelet.  Tucker appears to be a one-watch-man and the “Buckley dial” is a unique Datejust with printed (not applied) Roman numerals.  The watches were produced in the 1970s and 80s and the name is reportedly linked to John Buckley, a vintage watch dealer. There is no shortage of stories to cover in the Watches of Espionage niche, and this article is an example of that.  At most historic moments, there are watches present and they offer insight into the men and women wearing them. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.   --Read Next: The Lasting Legacy of the CIA’s Lockheed A-12 and the Watch That Served It  

The latest Israel-Hamas war began one month ago with the October 7 terrorist attacks.  It’s another conflict that will have significant impacts on the future of the region and potentially the world.  While the nature of a conflict changes over time, one constant is the presence of timepieces on the wrist of those making decisions.  Our content is often influenced by current events, so today we’re looking at watches of the Middle East. As usual, we take an intelligence officer’s approach–devoid of opinion– as we explore the wrists of decision-makers, past and present, in the Middle East.  Analysis of Foreign Leaders Timepieces As discussed in the previous Dispatch, “CIA Analysis Of Foreign Leaders’ Timepieces,” a foreign leader’s or warfighter's timepiece can tell us a lot about their character, how they perceive themselves, and how they want to be perceived by others.  Analyzing a practitioner's watch can provide unique insight into both their personality and what they are trying to telegraph to their own constituents as well as the larger world, something especially true in today’s information war, which is something both Hamas and the Israelis engage in with varying efficacy. 1 September 2010. During Middle East negotiations, Egyptian President Mubarak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel check their watches to see if the sun has set; during Ramadan. (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons) Watches and the Middle East In the Middle East, watches play a significant role in diplomacy and business.  They are just as much a status symbol as anywhere else; however, in diplomacy and intelligence circles, senior government officials present Swiss watches as gifts to recognize and honor a personal relationship. As a personal touch, many Middle Eastern governments special-order watches with the royal or national military crest on the dial or caseback to present as gifts.  Prior to joining CIA, I was given a Breitling Aerospace from King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and I have since acquired a second Jordanian Breitling Aerospace from Abdullah’s father, his Majesty Hussein bin Talal. Additionally, on one of my first days at CIA as a junior trainee, I was provided $20,000 in cash and sent to an authorized dealer in McLean, Virginia, to purchase a timepiece for the Director of CIA to give as a gift to the visiting head of a Middle Eastern intelligence service.  War: To Study, Not Glorify While we often explore the dark corners of horology, we do not seek to glorify war or take a side on this particular conflict or any other.  Coverage does not signify endorsement; watches are simply our prism for looking at history and current events in the way we know best: analyzing the wrists of those involved. Israel  Israel has a long history with military timepieces.  Everything from Rolex and Omega to Seiko can be seen on the wrists of Generals, spooks and Prime Ministers.  Isser Harel was reportedly awarded this Rolex Submariner ref 5512 at the conclusion of his 11 year tenure as Director of the Israeli intelligence service Mossad in 1963.  The watch was complete with an engraving containing his name and the Mossad insignia on the caseback. Rolex Sub 5512 belonging to former Mossad Director Isser Harel, (Photo Credit: Antiquorum) Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu- Panerai PAM048 Prime Minister Netanyahu regularly wears a Panerai Luminor PAM048, as was seen when he met with Israeli Defense Force (IDF) personnel while planning the response to the 7 October attacks. The PM served five years in a Special Operations unit of the IDF, Sayeret Matkal, with multiple combat deployments including a 1968 operation into Lebanon and the rescue of Sabena Flight 571. Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin- Rolex Submariner 1680 Photo Credit: Tiroche Auction House Yitzhak Rabin served as the Israeli Prime Minister from 1974 until 1977 and again from 1992 until his assassination in 1995 by ultranationalist Yigal Amir.  Rabin was a career military officer. He oversaw Israeli operations during the 1967 Six-Day War and ultimately served as Minister of Defense for much of the 1980s. Rabin reportedly purchased this Rolex Submariner 1680 in Washington, D.C. when he became Israeli Ambassador to the US in 1972.  The watch sold at auction for $95,000 in 2021. Former Minister of Defense Benny Gantz - Breitling Aerospace Breitling has long adorned the wrists of military personnel in both Israel and Arab nations.  Pictured below is Former Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister Benny Gantz wearing a Breitling Aerospace. Breitling has also produced several limited editions for Israel, including a Breitling Aerospace featuring the Star of David for the fifty year anniversary of Israel. Photo Credit: AAG Auctioneers Hamas Assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh wearing an intriguing digital Alfajr Islamic watch. While this article was originally published back in November of 2023, in light of the events on July 31st, 2024, we wanted to add a section about the assassination of the political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in the Iranian capital of Tehran. Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh - Alfajr Islamic Watch The Alfajr Islamic watch worn by Ismail Haniyeh had functions specific to Islam including alarms for prayer times. In recent photographs, before his assassination, which was reportedly carried out by Israeli assets who placed an explosive device in a guesthouse he was supposed to stay in, Haniyeh wore an Alfajr Islamic watch that has several unique features including alarms for worldwide prayer times and a digital compass for Qibla direction. As with all politicians/world leaders, we can assume this watch was also worn to convey a message. Palestine Yasser Arafat- Rolex Datejust Yasser Arafat (kunya- Abu Ammar) was Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from the late 1960s until the early 2000s and wore several watches, including a Rolex Datejust (pictured). A number of profiles have noted his obsession with time, constantly checking his watch. In a 1989 Vanity Fair article, the author mentioned Arafat's lack of personal possessions, except for toiletry items and an expensive watch. When asked about the watch, Arafat replied: “It’s a Rolex, and works well.” Then he laughed and said, “But I don’t want to do propaganda for them.” Jordan King Abdullah II - MTM Black Falcon King Abdullah II of Jordan wearing a tactical MTM Black Falcon, which appears to be his daily wear.  He embodies a "Warrior-King" ethos and judging from my limited personal experience seems to truly live this philosophy.  His Majesty attended Sandhurst (British Royal Military Academy) in the UK and spent a career in the military. In 1994 he assumed command of Jordan's Special Operations Forces and built the Joint Special Operations Command.  He is western-educated, attended Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a course at American Naval Postgraduate School.  He’s also a Black Hawk pilot, as you may recall from a previous Dispatch article on the Jordanian Breitling. King Hussein bin Talal - Breitling Cosmonaute 809 Jordanian King Hussein bin Talal is pictured below wearing a custom Breitling Cosmonaute 809 during a military exercise in 1969.  While we’re not entirely certain, the young boy is likely the current King Abdullah II, as the then-prince would have been seven years old at the time. According to Breitling aficionado Fred Mandelbaum ( @watchfred ), the connection between Breitling and King Hussein bin Talal started in 1965 and 1966, when he ordered several Navitimer 806s and Cosmonaute 809s in steel and had this Special Edition solid gold Cosmonaute 809 made for his personal collection. (Photo Credit: @ watchfred) The "King Hussein" in lustrous 18k gold, manufactured “ex ledger” without serial number and model reference for the private collection of Hussein bin Talal, the King of Jordan, with only his coat of arms on the caseback. Syria Hafiz Al-Assad - Commissioned Rolex “Syrian Submariner” Hafiz Al-Assad served as the President of Syria from 1971 until June 2000.  During his tenure, he commissioned several Rolex pieces, including a “Polar dial” Explorer II (ref. 16550), Sea-Dweller (ref 1665) and this Submariner (Ref. 5513).  Notably, each reference contains Al-Assad’s signature in red Arabic script, which have led some to refer to this as the “Syrian Submariner.” (Photo Credit: Hairspring) (Photo Credit: Hairspring) The below Sea-Dweller was reportedly a personal watch of Assad, and was gifted to his chef in return for a Ramadan meal. (Photo Credit: 10 Past Ten / Eric Ku) Egypt Hosni Mubarak - Rolex GMT Former President and Egyptian Air Force commander, Hosni Mubarak wore a Rolex GMT-Master on a steel and gold Jubilee bracelet during a meeting with Yasser Arafat.  Mubarak reportedly owned several Rolex watches, including another Pepsi GMT and a Rolex Date-Just. Photo Credit: Unknown, sourced from Jake’s Rolex World Major General Abbas Kamel, the Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID), wearing a not-yet-identified watch during a visit to Gaza.  Palestinian security detail wearing a plethora of Digital Tool Watches.   If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE.   READ NEXT: Tudors of Espionage (T.O.E.s)  

By Toby Harnden The announcement in July 2018 of a successful “special Mossad operation” to recover a watch came more than 53 years after its owner had been publicly hanged in Damascus, Syria.  The Eterna-Matic Centenaire 61 had been purchased in Geneva in 1961 by a Syrian called Kamel Amin Thaabet, who would wear the timepiece for almost four years. But Thaabet was a fiction. In fact, he was a Mossad officer called Eli Cohen, an Egyptian-born Jew who became Israel’s most legendary spy. Cohen has been depicted in numerous books and screen treatments, including by Sacha Baron Cohen in Netflix's The Spy in 2019. The Centenaire 61, then marketed as “thin…elegant…new…time and date at a glance, automatically” and retailed at $135 ($1,389 today) was a finishing touch to his cover. It seemed to befit his identity as Thaabet, a wealthy, flamboyant businessman bound for Buenos Aires. To this day, the remains of Cohen, who operated in Damascus for three years until his capture in January 1965, have never been recovered. His watch was returned to his wife Nadia in Israel. Like the family of CIA contract pilot Norman Schwartz, killed in Manchuria in 1952, who received a Rolex Oyster Datejust from the U.S government in 2019, the Cohens have no body to bury and only a timepiece from his final mission. The lengths to which Mossad went to locate the Centenaire and the simmering national anger over the failure by an Arab enemy to return his body speaks to the centrality of espionage and enduring enmities in the psyche of the Jewish state. (Photo Credit: NetFlix) With Mossad facing criticism for the intelligence lapses that led to the surprise, barbaric attacks of October 7th by Iran-backed Hamas, Israeli leaders will doubtless consider stories of bravery and sacrifice in the wars against Arabs by the likes of Cohen to be as important and potent as ever. "We remember Eli Cohen and do not forget,” Yossi Cohen, then Mossad chief—and born in the year the executed spy bought the Centenaire—said in a statement when the watch was found. “His heritage, of dedication, determination, courage and love of the homeland, is our heritage. We remember and have maintained a close connection over the years with his family, Nadia and the children. “This year, at the conclusion of an operational effort, we succeeded in locating and bringing to Israel the wristwatch that Eli Cohen wore in Syria until the day he was captured. The watch was part of Eli Cohen's operational image and part of his fabricated Arab identity." (Photo Credit: Eli Cohen Museum) Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister—a position he now occupies once again—added: “I commend the fighters of the Mossad for the determined and courageous operation, the sole objective of which was to return to Israel a memento from a great fighter who greatly contributed to the security of the state." Thaabet, as created by Mossad, had been born to parents who were of Syrian origin but had immigrated to Lebanon. After his parents had died, he went to Argentina to work with his uncle, who had emigrated there in 1946. Eli Cohen, a devout Jew born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1924. His father had moved to Egypt from Aleppo in 1914. His parents and brothers had moved to Israel in 1949. Cohen remained to carry out underground Zionist operations and followed later. Cohen in Damascus, Syria (Photo Credit: Eli Cohen Museum) Cohen had initially been rejected as too arrogant for undercover work but was recruited to Unit 188, a military intelligence unit dedicated to operations outside Israel, at the end of 1959. Mossad trained him to speak Arabic with a Syrian dialect as part of his cover story as Thaabet. Cohen landed in the Argentine capital in February 1961 and began learning Spanish with a private teacher, reaching a proficiency that would convince Syrians he had been living in Argentina for 16 years. On January 10, 1962, Cohen, as Thaabet, boarded a tourist ship that set out from Genoa, Italy, on a passage to Beirut. From Lebanon, he was helped by Majeed Sheikh al-Ard, a CIA asset from 1951 to 1959, to enter Syria. Sacha Baron Cohen plays Eli Cohen in The Spy (Photo Credit: Netflix) Cohen did not try to hide or operate in the shadows. His role was to insinuate himself into the high society of Damascus, renting a luxury villa near the Syrian army headquarters and the diplomatic district.  Soon, he was throwing parties attended by generals and politicians. Cohen had a remarkable memory and he was skilled at pretending he was drunk while keeping a mental note of everything that was being said. Although there were prostitutes and alcohol at his parties, Israeli sources insist that Cohen cover did not extend to having sexual relationships with Syrian women or taking a girlfriend, as was depicted by Sacha Baron Cohen in The Spy. Each morning, Cohen radioed out back to Mossad, his transmissions covered by those from the nearby Syrian army base. He dispatched backgammon pieces, modified to contain microfilms of documents he had copied, to “friends” in Argentina.  His intelligence reports tracked the rising influence of the Ba’ath party, which came to power in a coup in March 1963. Amin al Hafiz, who Cohen had befriended when Hafiz was military attache in Buenos Aires, became defense minister. Mossad now had access to the heart of the Syrian government.   Cohen reported details of the Syrian order of battle and border defenses. He was said to have learned about the Jordan River engineering works—designed to divert water from Israel—from Mohammed bin Laden, a Saudi engineer who had won the contract. One of Bin Laden’s sons, Osama, later became the leader of al-Qaeda.   When Israel was able to capture the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War of 1967, credit was given to Cohen’s reporting. Cohen (in the middle) at the Golan Heights (Eli Cohen Museum) According to his daughter Sophie Ben-Dor, Cohen was the ideal Israeli spy. “He was a conservative person,” she said in a 2020 documentary. He was very Zionist, very loyal and very honest. “He was very brave and sociable, but he also really liked his own company. He was very thorough. He knew more than just Arabic. He knew a number of languages to a very high level. He was very intelligent and trustworthy.” Controversy still rages over how Cohen was caught. Some charge that his Mossad handlers pushed him to produce more, others that Cohen was reckless in transmitting for longer than the two minutes—easily timed by glancing at his Centenaire—he had been told was his limit of safety. Mossad has accepted a degree of responsibility in recent years. In 2015, then Mossad chief Tamir Pardo said: “In retrospect, it’s clear that his last return to Syria was a mistake. In the profession of secret warfare, we know that from the first moment of an operation, we’re in a countdown to its end.” (Photo Credit: Eli Cohen Museum) On January 24, 1965, Syrian troops stormed into Cohen’s apartment while he was transmitting. The Syrians forced him to send bogus messages back to Israel but Cohen was able to indicate he was being coerced. Mossad finally realized the game was up when they received a final message addressed to the Israeli prime minister: “Kamal and friends are our guests for three years. Calm down about the fate of what is to come. Military organization of Syria.” Cohen, like any intelligence officer behind enemy lines, especially one operating under non-official cover, had already sacrificed an immense amount. Ben-Dor described in the documentary his arrival at the airport in Israel during one of her father’s last visits home. “I saw him from a distance, wearing a suit and a coat,” she said. “He was nervous. He took my hand and squeezed it. He hardly recognized me. He was so nervous that he hurt my hand but I was too embarrassed to tell him. He was always a stranger to me.” Eli Cohen executed by hanging in Damascus, Syria- May 1965 He almost certainly endured torture at the hands of the Syrians, who forced him to submit to a show trial and then hanged him before a baying crowd in Marjeh Square. A parchment filled with anti-Zionist slogans was attached to his body, which was left swaying from the rope for six hours. The Centenaire is said to have been recovered as part of a new push to locate his remains that began in 2004, according to former Mossad chief Meir Dagan. While the Israeli government hinted in 2018 that the watch was found during a daring undercover mission in Damascus, the Cohen family has suggested that it was bought from a Syrian seeking to profit from its provenance. Eterna Centenaire 61 (Photo Credit: Invaluable) Mossad is believed to have kept documentation of the purchase of the Centenaire—perhaps connecting a serial number—that confirmed Cohen purchased it in Switzerland when his cover as Thaabet was being established. Eterna is a Swiss brand that was founded in Grenchen, Switzerland in 1856 and initially called Dr. Girard & Schild. It gained a reputation for producing high-quality and reliable watches and in 1948 Eterna introduced a revolutionary innovation—the Eterna-Matic automatic movement, featuring a ball-bearing rotor system, which improved accuracy and reliability. In the 1960s, Eterna became a leader in developing diving watches, introducing the KonTiki line, named after the explorer Thor Heyerdahl's famous raft expedition across the Pacific.  The brand would later provide watches to the Israeli Navy, most notably the Shayetet 13, a maritime commando unit to the IDF. Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, shows a photograph of herself with her late husband, during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel October 6, 2019. Picture taken October 6, 2019. (Photo Credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen) The Centenaire has been added to the Eli Cohen legend. In 2019, one television reviewer used it to describe the limits of Sasha Baron Cohen’s Netflix portrayal: “Like the watch, the show is durable, handsome, expertly engineered, but predictable in its movements.” It has, however, provided the Cohen family with a degree of comfort, if not closure. Cohen’s wife Nadia, now 87, described in 2018 being told that the Centenaire, now on display in a new Eli Cohen museum at Herzliya, had been found. “The moment that they informed me, my mouth went dry and I got the chills. At that moment I felt that I could feel his hand, I felt that part of him was with us.”   READ NEXT: Jordanian Breitling: The Gift From A King That Spawned A CIA Case Officer's Love Of Timepieces   About the author: Toby Harnden is the author of First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11. He is currently working on a new book about courage and the CIA, due to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. He can be followed on X at @tobyharnden and on Instagram at @tobyharnden1 and @espionage_bookshelf.

Mercenaries, Presidents, Generals, and Oligarchs - a conflict of timepieces We are now in the second year of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that will go down as one of the most significant geopolitical developments of the 21st century.  In the age of social media and the 24-hour news cycle, watching the conflict in real time and attempting to understand its complexities can be overwhelming.  Through writing this piece, we seek to take a step back and look at some of the men involved in the conflict through the lens of their timepieces.  As discussed in the previous Dispatch, “CIA Analysis Of Foreign Leaders’ Timepieces,” a foreign leader’s timepiece can tell us a lot about their character, how they perceive themselves, and how they want to be perceived by others.  Analyzing a practitioner's watch can provide unique insight into both their personality and what they are trying to telegraph to their own constituents as well as the larger world, something especially true in today’s information war. In war, a simple wristwatch is a crucial piece of kit. The watch has remained a seminal tool on the battlefield despite the huge technological advancements in military equipment and weapons. It’s no surprise that several notable timepieces adorn the wrists of those leading the various parties involved in this conflict.  Really? Watches of the Ukraine War? Looking at something so complex as the Ukraine War through the lens of wristwatches–what essentially amounts to a hobby, might seem diminishing at first. What do watches have to do with the war in Ukraine? As it turns out, a lot.   At the onset of the conflict, notoriously neutral Swiss brands including Rolex, Swatch Group, LVMH (particularly the Swiss-based watch division) and Richemont suspended exports to Russia. In response, the Russian intelligence service, the FSB, reportedly seized millions of dollars of Audemars Piguet (AP) watches from a Moscow affiliate of AP. Meanwhile, Russian citizens purchased large quantities of Swiss timepieces as a measure to store value as sanctions took hold and devalued the ruble.  It is logical to conclude many of these have left the country with the mass migration out of Russia as a form of money laundering and wealth transfer.  Further, watches reportedly liberated from Russian military personnel have found their way to Ebay for purchase. Battle field pick up?  A watch reportedly worn by a Russian solider, now for sale on Ebay. To be clear, we do not intend to glorify war.  I have seen the ill effects of war and there is absolutely nothing glorious about it.  At W.O.E., we cover all types of people and stories, many of whom could be described as “evil.”  Coverage does not signify endorsement, this is simply our prism for looking at history and current events in the way we know best, through the timepieces on the wrists of those involved. Wagner Group: Yevgeny Prigozhin -Ulysse Nardin Michelangelo $3,000-$4,000 Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, formerly known as "Putin's Chef," regularly wears a Ulysse Nardin Michelangelo. This piece has been seen on Prigozhin’s wrist at black tie dinners in Moscow and on the battlefield worn with fatigues, including during the June 2023 attempted mutiny.  Prigozhin began his career in Leningrad/Saint Petersburg in organized crime before moving into the catering business (as one does) which gave him the nickname "Putin's Chef." He quickly branched out to more lucrative (and questionable) ways of making money- running the world's most notorious mercenary force. Prigozhin’s forces have been leveraged globally in Syria, Ukraine, Madagascar, Venezuela, and the Central African Republic.  Prigozhin also recently admitted to founding the Internet Research Agency, which was leveraged by Russian Intelligence services to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election. Prigozhin was allegedly sent into exile in Belarus after an aborted march towards Moscow in June. (Although press reporting indicates he is potentially still in Russia at time of publication.) President Volodymyr Zelensky - TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre HEUER 01 Chronograph $3,000-$5,000 It’s been one year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.  Few could have predicted the course this conflict has taken and the strong resistance put forth by the Ukrainian people and President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky is pictured here (pre-conflict) wearing a TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre HEUER 01 Chronograph.  Zelensky was reportedly a Ukrainian brand ambassador for the TAG prior to the conflict. According to financial disclosures, Zelensky also has a Rolex, Breguet and a Bovet Château de Môtiers. Despite his extensive collection, a watch is noticeably absent from his wrist since the onset of the conflict. In addition to the kinetic war, this is an information war.  Ukraine has been masterful in this area. Zelensky’s appearance, actions, and demeanor are a key strategic part of this information war. Zelensky has consciously dressed down in a military green t-shirt. We can assume that this is no accident. Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin - Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Date approx. $10,500 Analysts assess Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the wealthiest men in the world, with shaky estimations putting his net worth in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Putin has been photographed wearing numerous expensive watches, including a 18k yellow gold Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Moon Phase and a platinum A. Lange & Sohne – watches fitting for a man of his supposed fortune. But in recent years, Putin has appeared to favor a more modest limited edition Blancpain Léman Aqua Lung Grande Date and a IWC Mark XVII.  Putin has also been known to give away watches to Russian citizens, including a Blancpain to a factory worker in 2009. Casual wrist shot from the lucky factory worker. Putin’s expensive watch collection is estimated to be valued over $1 million dollars, which is hard to explain given the Kremlin's claimed salary of $140k per year, something that Putin has drawn significant criticism for in recent years. By flying in the face of norms and wearing a flashy watch in public, Putin might have been demonstrating that he believed he would not be held accountable for past corruption. Similarly, Putin’s more recent outings wearing a modest and explainable timepiece may indicate he has concerns for the criticism and his domestic image. President Putin wearing F.P. Journe Chronometre Bleu (Photo Credit: Kremlin) Commemorative Watches:   The presentation of watches as commemorative gifts has a long history in intelligence, diplomacy, and military circles.  This tradition extends to the present conflict, with both Ukrainian and Russian officials presenting watches to their forces and partners. Ukraine: Photo Credit: Ukrainian President’s Office In June 2021, Zelensky visited the frontline troops on Ukraine's Armed Forces Day and presented soldiers with Ukrainian-produced Kleynold KFS-820s ($220).  Zelensky has also given watches to sailors that were returned from Russian captivity. Russian Forces: Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin, the head of the disputed “Donetsk People's Republic” (DPR), recently presented Wagner mercenary forces with watches in response to their actions in the conflict.   The watches and values are unknown, although it is reasonable to assume they may be of Russian origin, although they do not appear to be Vostok or Raketa, common Russian brands.  Pushilin remarked about Wagner forces: “By your actions, by your deeds, you show what the Russian spirit is, what the strength of Russian weapons is, which is why now you, your units are setting an example for many in the area entrusted to you, freeing the Russian land.” Ukrainian Colonel Oleksandr “Grey Wolf” Oksanchenko - Kleynod "Independence Insignia" edition $390 Ukrainian fighter pilot Colonel Oleksandr “Grey Wolf” Oksanchenko was killed when his aircraft was shot down during the Battle for Kyiv in late February 2022. President Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously awarded him with the Order of the Gold Star. The Grey Wolf is pictured here wearing a Ukrainian made watch, a Kleynod "Independence Insignia" edition which was developed on the 15th anniversary of Ukraine’s Independence. Oksanchenko was a legendary Ukrainian Su-27 Flanker pilot who retired in 2018, but like many Ukrainians, returned to service to defend his nation when the conflict kicked off. He was reportedly shot down by a Russian S-400 air defense system, although some reports suggest it may have been a friendly fire incident.  In the information war, it is often difficult to separate fact from fiction. Dmitry Peskov - limited edition Richard Mille 52-01, approx. $600,000 Putin aide, advisor, and Russian press secretary Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov has been photographed wearing a Limited Edition Richard Mille, most notably during his wedding where he claimed the watch was a gift from his wife, former Olympic figure-skating champion Tatiana Navka. With an eye watering estimated value of $600k+, the value of this watch likely exceeds the cumulative value of the salary he has drawn throughout his entire career as a civil servant. Minister of Defence Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Porsche Design Black Dashboard Chronograph P6612 approx. $8,000 Minister of Defence, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu wears a Porsche Design titanium Black Dashboard Chronograph P6612.  Shoigu is largely responsible for overseeing the conflict in Ukraine, which has come under direct criticism from Wagner boss Prigozhin. After Prighozin’s failed mutiny attempt, Shoigu was filmed at a high level Russian Ministry of Defence meeting; however, the watch itself was blurred out, potentially meant to conceal the time and date of the meeting. Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox church, Breguet approx. $30,000 Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox church, was sanctioned by the US and NATO partners and described by the EU as “one of the most prominent supporters of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.” In 2012, an official church picture appeared to show the reflection of a $30,000+ gold Breguet watch on the polished table, the only problem was that the watch itself was photoshopped off the wrist of Kirill. The original photo was later released depicting the watch.  Kirill described Putin’s fraudulent election in 2012 as a “miracle of God” and was recently referred to by the Pope as “Putin’s altar boy.” For authoritarian governments, harnessing support from the religious elite is crucial.  The Breguet was supposedly a gift from a wealthy member of the church. Kirill has also been photographed wearing a Ulysse Nardin Dual Time, which appears to be a favorite of Russian elites. Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich, Polar M61, Sub-$100 Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich is known for wearing a modest sub-$100 Polar M61 watch, which is notable given his estimated net worth of $7-15 billion. An interesting note about Abramovich: In 2010 he commissioned 50 Breitling SuperOcean automatics with "Eclipse" on the dial, the name of one of his 533 ft super yachts. Sketchy dudes wear Breitling . . .  (Photo Credit: Chiswick Auctions) The Eclipse cost an estimated $700 million and is one of two of Abramovich's superyachts. READ NEXT: Third Option Foundation Fundraise - GBRS AOR-1 Watch Pouch And Challenge Coin This article has been reviewed by the CIA's Prepublication Classification Review Board to prevent the disclosure of classified information.

A foreign leader's timepiece can play a part in informing the profile and psychological assessment of the given leader, and when it comes to analysis, just having a piece of the puzzle helps – a watch might be significant or might not be.

By Cole Pennington For this edition of the W.O.E. Dispatch, Cole takes us to Pyongyang, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Kim Il-Sung wore a gold Omega Constellation (Photo Credit: Britannica) Product of the North Korean Politburo: The Kim Il-Sung Omega Even if it were a possibility, I would not visit North Korea again today. I knew back in 2014 that it was most likely my first and last visit. I left having learned a powerful lesson: In every country, people are people, and governments are governments. One does not necessarily represent the other. For two weeks I traveled around the hermit nation in search of a North Korean-produced Moranbong watch, and during my travels I came across many wonderful folks just like you and me – but the shadow the Kim regime casts on the North Korean layperson can skew our perception of the entire country. Much like the rest of the world, there are good people and bad people – and a particularly bad government – in North Korea.   And there’s a series of watches that perfectly encapsulates the complexities of the Hermit Kingdom – it’s the range of Omegas that the country’s founder, Kim Il-Sung, had produced in the late ‘70s bearing his signature on the dial. There are a number of examples, a Constellation ref. 166.0248, and a Seamaster that both feature Kim Il-Sung’s name in red Hangul characters at 12 or 6 o’clock positions. An Omega extract appearing on an enthusiast forum puts the production date of one known example at 1978: Extract from the Omega Archives (Photo Credit: Omega Forums/eBay) The watches served as gifts both internally and externally. High ranking North Korean officials were recognized and presented with the watches, as well as visiting foreign state officials. Like we’ve discussed here at W.O.E. before, watches, in the political context, are used as tools to build alliances and gain trust just as much as they are used as tools to tell time.   Former Director of CIA and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea several times (Photo Credit: State Department)  I’ve never actually seen one of these watches in person. The closest I came was in the hotel bar at the infamous Koryo Hotel when I was actually searching for another watch, a Moranbong. I wasn’t expecting to hear about the Omega, but an encounter led to a primary source confirming that these watches were indeed awarded for service to the regime. Coupled with an Omega extract dating the watch to 1978, it’s enough to piece together the significance of the watch. In a HODINKEE Magazine piece earlier this year I chronicled the search for the Moranbong that ended up demystifying the origins of the Kim Il-Sung Omega. From the piece: Cole wearing an Omega Seamaster ref. 2531.80.00 in Pyongyang, North Korea  (Photo Credit: Cole Pennington, 2014) One of the last stops on the tour of North Korea was Koryo Hotel Lobby Bar. The Koryo Hotel is a popular spot for foregin tourists to stay while in Pyongyang, and since the number of places that foreigners are cleared to travel to is so limited, the Koryo Hotel acts as a funnel for all Westerners. And with the Westerners, of course, come their minders. King’s friend sat down at our table. I never got his name, but he had just chaperoned a group of European tourists to the bar and was grabbing a quick drink and catching up with his minder buddy. After a brief introduction, King asked his buddy if he could find a Moranbong watch. He paused, built up the tension, and then said “no.” It’s been almost a decade, but I remember the conversation going something like this: “But –” he said with a smile, “I do have something you might be interested in. It’s a watch, but it’s not a Moranbong. It was given to my father as a gift, and he passed it on to me.” “So what is it?” I asked. “An Omega. And it was given to my father by the Supreme Leader. It’s one of my most prized possessions. It has the Supreme Leader’s signature on the dial.” Cole in Moranbong Park, Pyongyang. (Photo Credit: Cole Pennington, 2014) Like their banking system, Swiss diplomacy – and watchmaking – work in mysterious ways. “Want to buy it?” He laughed as he was asking me. I couldn’t tell if he was kidding. I wouldn’t buy it anyway, but hearing about the Omega was enough. I had read about Omega Constellations made for Kim Il-sung, and this anecdote was enough to confirm their backstory I learned about online. I didn’t find the Moranbong, but I did find a little nugget of knowledge that satisfied my horological curiosity.  Propaganda is all around the Hermit Kingdom. It takes the place of advertising in the Western World, except here it’s often selling the North Korean idea of Juche, or extreme self-reliance.  (Photo Credit: Cole Pennington, 2014) What I find most fascinating about the watch actually has nothing to do with the watch itself–it has to do with the strange space it occupies inside the tension of Western conspicuous consumption and the Marxist–Leninist foundations of Juche, the state ideology of North Korea. On the streets of Pyongyang you’ll find Audis and Hummers driving on roads filled with state-produced billboards decrying capitalism. The existence of an Omega produced for high-ranking officials underscores the massive divide between those directly tied to the regime and profiting greatly from the regime’s illicit activities and the laypeople, who most of the time don’t wear a watch, but when they do, it’s a Seiko or Chinese-produced quartz piece.  The nation’s current ruler, Kim Jong-Un, has demonstrated a taste for luxury timepieces, a tradition that goes back to his grandfather’s state-sponsored Omegas. Swiss educated Kim Jong-un wears a IWC Portofino Automatic, a topic for a future W.O.E. Dispatch (Photo Credit Reuters)  A Note From W.O.E.:  North Korean Intelligence Services represent a significant counterintelligence and even physical threat to its adversaries. While it is tempting to write off the capabilities of the “hermit kingdom,” DPRK has demonstrated it has a long arm, most notably with the assassination of the dear leaders half-brother, Kim Jong-nam using nerve agent VX at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in February 2013. While scores of Americans and Europeans have traveled to and successfully returned from visits to North Korea, a cultural excursion to Pyongyang is not without risk. In January 2016, Otto Warmbier, a student at the University of Virginia was arrested for “subversion” after reportedly attempting to remove a propaganda poster at his hotel. After a series of negotiations, Warmbier was released to the United States in a comatose state June 2017 and ultimately succumbed to what is reported to have been botulism developed during his captivity. Further Reading: Becoming Kim Jong Un: A Former CIA Officer's Insights into North Korea's Enigmatic Young Dictator The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un

By Cole Pennington I spent four years writing about watches professionally as an editor at Hodinkee, the leading publication in the world of horology. I focused my writing mainly on tool watches, meaning watches that were engineered and used for a specific function, oftentimes by members of the military, scientists, explorers, or other professionals that didn’t treat their watch as a decorative piece of jewelry.  The stories that kept me up for days at a time researching and writing focused on watches that played a small but important role in shaping history. For example, the Rolex Oyster Datejust that Civil Air Transport pilot Norman Schwartz was wearing when his C-47 was shot down during a 1952 CIA covert operation in Jilin Province, China. Or the WWII-era Active Service watch that Lt. Alex C. Jones wore aboard the HMCS Oakville that eventually returned home to a museum in Canada, over half a century later.  I was lucky to explore stories like these, any many more. But there were so many stories that I didn’t have the opportunity to dig into, simply because of the fact that their very nature was deemed far too controversial for mainstream consumption. I had to turn down dozens of pitches and kill my own ideas that I thought were fascinating, but were unfit for the larger world of watch enthusiasm.  These stories never found a place to land – until now. (Photo Credit: Cole Pennington/Hodinkee) I connected with Watches of Espionage a year and a half ago over a shared appreciation for watches that had fascinating stories to tell, long before it grew into a well-known platform in both the world of watch nerdery and intelligence/Special Operations. It’s been a long time in the making, but I’ve finally found a space to tell those stories, right here at W.O.E.  What’s the story behind the Omega Constellation that North Korean founder Kim Il-sung commissioned for his most senior officials? What happened to the infamous Rolex GMT-Master once worn by Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara? Or Fidel Castro’s Rolex collection? What does the “Blackwater Breitling” represent? “Blackwater Breitling” - W.O.E. Personal Collection (Photo Credit: James Rupley) As the Dispatch takes on a life of its own, we’ll answer those questions. But first, it’s important to turn the lens on ourselves, the readership of this newsletter, and look at how we can best approach controversial watches and the stories connected to them. Mainstream watch media often shies away from controversial watches because undoubtedly someone will be offended by the discussion of the watch in question. But by doing that we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to educate ourselves. When it comes to war, conflict, espionage, and geopolitical affairs, it’s always murky. Sometimes there isn’t an obvious “right” answer immediately. We’re very quick to judge without knowing all the facts. There’s a haze of mystery around watches connected to this world. But through scholarship and a nuanced approach, we can cut through that haze and get to the truth. That’s part of the mission of WOE.  Sometimes history, and further, horological history, is ugly. A number of respected Swiss (and German) watch brands produced watches for the Nazi forces during the dark days of WWII. There’s nothing glorious about watches serving as a cog in a war machine meant to obliterate the societal ideals we hold dear.   But some watches take some time to work through; it’s important to understand the context surrounding them. For example, the series of Elgin watches ordered by The Russian War Relief in 1941 and delivered to Soviet troops to aid in the fight against the Nazi forces. From the story I wrote in 2019: The watches are inscribed with an encouraging note to Soviet soldiers: "To the Heroic People of the USSR – Russian War Relief USA,” with the latter half of the inscription being a transliteration into Cyrillic characters from English.  There was a healthy amount of skepticism from the Western Allies towards the Stalin-led Soviet Union at the time, but the need to work together became obvious as Hitler’s Germany grew more powerful. American policymakers handled Soviet cooperation with a sort of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" approach. It wasn’t necessarily an alliance formed from shared values, brotherhood, or kinship, but rather it was an alliance born out of sheer necessity. The only way to stop Germany was to band together. Winston Churchill shared the sentiment with typical English wit: "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons."  The war ended with the defeat of the Nazis, and the Russian War Relief dissolved as America entered peacetime. Pins, posters, and records at the New York Public Library are all that's left of the organization, but every now and then a confusing watch pops up from an American watchmaker with Cyrillic writing on the back. The relationship that developed between Russia and America in the post-war years is another chapter in history entirely, but the watch serves as a reminder of the time our nations came together to fight a greater evil.  The Russian War Relief gave the Soviet soldiers a vital timekeeping tool for warfare; the Soviet soldiers gave all they could in the fight against the Nazis. Right now Russian forces are carrying out a hostile and bloody invasion on neighboring Ukraine under the autocratic Putin regime, flying in the face of international diplomacy and leaving thousands dead and a number of cities in ruins. Even Switzerland, with its age-old neutrality, was challenged by these actions. With the war in Ukraine raging, the Elgin I wrote about in 2019 can be seen in a different light – but it shouldn't. Context is important when we think through watches with a contentious past. We must set aside our biases and look at watches through the lens of history.  Looking at watches with a complicated history requires ruthless objectivity, that’s the only way to cut through the discomfort of looking at topics and periods of history which don’t represent humanity at its best. By doing this, it allows us to produce scholarship around watches that we would normally write off as simply unacceptable. Che Guevara smoking a cigar with his infamous Rolex GMT Master Ref. 1675 (Photo Credit: Unknown) At W.O.E., we don’t shy away from hard truths. Many see watches in the context of a modern luxury status symbol, but watches can also serve as historical objects that challenge social narratives. As an editor at Hodinkee, when I first contacted W.O.E. to write about the role of the wristwatch in the world of intelligence, he debunked a lot of the common notions created by the likes of James Bond and instead revealed that watches are often used as gifts to build relationships in the modern world of intelligence operations. As early as WWI “trench watches” were used as a bargaining chip for a soldier's release. Some even had a gold insert set into the caseback that could be removed and traded for freedom. These watches are fascinating. I’ve written about their unlikely beauty at length.  WWI Era “Trench Watches” (Photo Credit: Cole Pennington/Hodinkee) But the timepieces were made for a singular purpose, to provide Allied soldiers with an advantage on the battlefield. They increased their lethal capabilities. And that’s why it’s important to consider context when looking at watches. They can teach us about design, history, and most importantly, ourselves.  Read Next: Man O'War And The Horological Symbols That Inspire Us