First Lady literally means "First Lady" and generally refers to the wife of the President of the United States in office. In this case, it is not really an official title. It should be noted, however, that over the years the visibility of such a name prompted the media to draw inspiration from it, and even to extend it to the "First Ladies" of other Western republics.
Coming back to First Ladies - which we will henceforth refer to as FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States) - they have played an increasingly important role over the years, whether in social, humanitarian, media or political terms. Visit role of each FLOTUS then changed and evolved There are those who have decided to take an active part in political campaigns, those who have preferred to concentrate on running the White House, and those who have committed themselves to supporting social causes and representing the President at official and ceremonial events.
In this article, we'll look at how FLOTUS have also become fashion icons over the years. Starting with Jackie Kennedy, through Michelle Obama to Melania Trump and Jill Biden, we'll see how each of these women had, and still has, her own style of dress, and her passion for fashion. watchmaking.
According to media reports from the 1960s, FLOTUS apparently owned around a hundred pieces of jewellery and watches. In her vast collection, however, what stood out most was her Cartier Tank gold watch beloved. This marvellous timepiece was present at every one of her public appearances.
Jackie's Cartier Tank was presented to her in 1963 by her brother-in-law, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill. This marvellous watch even included a engraving on the back of the case Stas to Jackie / 23 Feb. 63 / 2:05 AM to 9:35 PM". The watch was in fact intended to commemorate a walk of just over 50 miles that the family took (although Jackie and JFK only partially completed it) in Palm Beach. The watch was sold at auction in 2017 for 379,000 US dollars.
Michelle Obama held the position of FLOTUS from 2009 to 2017, during the presidency of her husband Barack Obama, who served two consecutive terms. In 2009, as soon as she took office in the White House, many watch enthusiasts immediately realised that the First Lady wore a very special watch on her wrist whenever she went out in public. It was in fact a Cartier Tank Française in steel.
The CEO of Cartier, Frédéric de Narp at the time, said in an interview that the watch was "a very positive surprise" and added that "it may have been a gift from her husband".
In reality, the real origin of the watch has never been made public. What is certain is that Michelle Obama continued to wear it intermittently during her time as First Lady. The woman, a lover of jewellery and fashion, still very often replaces her watch with a series of silver bracelets.
One of the most recent FLOTUS is Melania Trump, the Slovenian-American former model and wife of former President Donald Trump. Melania Trump is also the second woman naturalised American to become FLOTUS (after Louisa Adams). As a former model, FLOTUS's style has been in the media spotlight ever since she arrived at the White House. In 2005, before becoming First Lady, she was seen wearing the 36 mm "Kalla Duchesse" in white gold by Vacheron ConstantinThe model features a dial, case and bracelet adorned with 44 ct of diamonds. This extremely precious watch is currently available on the second-hand market at a price of around USD 745,000.
Before becoming a FLOTUS, Melania was also spotted wearing a Rolex Day-Date on her wrist. As you can see from the photo below, her Rolex is made of yellow gold and presents a diamond-set bezelThe timepiece also features a dark, almost brown dial with diamond hour markers. A similar model was spotted on the second-hand market some time ago, at a price close to USD 60,000.
The latest First Lady, Dr Jill Biden, has returned to Cartier ladies' watches at the White House. The FLOTUS has often been seen in public with a Cartier panther in gold. The Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, also wears a Cartier watch: to be precise, a 36 mm Ballon Blue de Cartier in yellow gold and steel.
Since 2018, Jill Biden has rarely appeared in public without her Cartier Panther on her wrist. According to media rumours, the watch is a 2017 Christmas present from Joe Biden. In fact, that same year, Jill gave Joe Biden a Rolex Datejust in steel with a blue dial as a Christmas present. We do not know exactly under what circumstances and in what year the current President of the United States gave this watch to his wife, however, this model with this design was introduced in 2017. It was also in 2017 that Cartier reintroduced the Panthère model.
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