You may know Ellen DeGeneres from her work as a comedian and talk show host; you might know her better as someone who controversially hangs out with former presidents. But it turns out that DeGeneres also has a fondness for vintage watches — and has the resources to make those ambitions a reality.
The New York Times reports that DeGeneres recently purchased a 1960s Rolex Daytona — a watch initially designed to keep time at auto races and popularized due to its association with Paul Newman.
According to the article, DeGeneres visited a high-end watch shop in Europe, Amsterdam Vintage Watches, where she first became intrigued by the Daytona. And the one that she settled on sounds like an astonishing work of design:
“Like all Daytonas, the Paul Newman is a mechanical cosmograph that functions as both timekeeper and glorified stopwatch, with three subdials that can be used by racecar drivers to measure distance and speed. The twist was its retro vibe, with Art Deco-style writing on the subdials.”
The Times also notes that this is the latest instance of DeGeneres’s fondness for Modernist design. And it’s also a sign of the ascent of Amsterdam Vintage Watches proprietor Jasper Lijfering, described in the article as “a savvy and telegenic self-marketer.” A celebrity seeking out a watch initially made famous by its association with another celebrity — it’s a compelling bit of serendipity, overlapping with bravura design.
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