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What do you wear on a visit to one of the world’s most notorious prisons?
If you’re Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary who visited El Salvador’s massive Terrorism Confinement Center on Wednesday, the answer was a white long-sleeve top, gray slacks and a baseball cap emblazoned with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement logo.
Oh, and a gold Rolex Cosmograph Daytona that sells for about $50,000.
At Cecot, as Ms. Noem filmed a video in front of a row of prisoners that were crowded tightly into bunks behind bars, her flashy watch bulged from her wrist, standing out in an austere scene.
The display led to a great deal of criticism on social media from people who questioned the taste of wearing such a pricey watch for the visit.
In a statement about the watch, Tricia McLaughlin, homeland security’s assistant secretary for public affairs, wrote that Ms. Noem used the proceeds of her books “to purchase an item she could wear and one day pass down to her children.”
It is perhaps not a surprise that Ms. Noem, formerly the governor of South Dakota, owns a Rolex — the Swiss brand has been a watch of choice for politicians for decades.
According to the watch journalist Brynn Wallner, the founder of Dimepiece, a site for female watch enthusiasts, the Daytona is among the most sought-after Rolexes.
“Rolex intentionally keeps supplies limited to maintain exclusivity,” said Paul Altieri, the founder and chief executive of Bob’s Watches, an online marketplace for the resale and trade of watches.
Most customers won’t be offered one unless they have a longstanding relationship with the dealer or are high-priority clients.
At the Super Bowl in February, enthusiasts immediately identified a Jacob & Co. Caviar Tourbillon on Tom Brady’s wrist, which retails for more than $700,000.
Jay-Z was even more extreme at last month’s Grammy Awards, wearing a Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar watch, which retails for more than $2 million.
Trump is often spotted wearing luxury watches beyond just Rolexes, and also has his own line of signature watches that cost as much as $100,000 each.
Watchspotters often pay close attention to any glimpses they can get of watches during awards shows and galas, and they quickly report what they find online.
Now, thanks to Ms. Noem, they have expanded their purview to prisons.
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