Abdul El-Sayed’s Watch Collection: Luxury or Geek Chic?

Few politicians have garnered as much attention this election cycle as Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Michigan progressive currently running for a Democratic Senate seat in November’s midterm elections. Not unlike New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, El-Sayed has ignited a new energy among progressives across the country, making him a target of Republicans, who have accused the avowed capitalist of being a socialist (despite his not a being a member of the Democratic Socialists of America) or even a communist.

Among other attacks, GOP critics in recent months have zeroed in on El-Sayed’s love of fine watches, which they characterize as hypocritical given the candidate’s focus on reducing wealth inequality and his support of the working class. A review of his public appearances over the past few months indeed confirms that the candidate is a fan of mechanical timepieces, particularly tool watches, with their sturdy, muscular aesthetic.

In July the Washington Free Beacon, a militantly conservative site, published a story highlighting El-Sayed’s love of, as they put it, “luxury watches.” But a closer look at the pieces he’s worn publicly undercuts the limousine-liberal narrative: His choices don’t scream luxury so much as “geek chic.”

In this, he is not alone on his side of the aisle. It’s partly a generational predilection. If you’re seeking the ultimate in timepieces with nerdy cachet, look no further than Mayor Mamdani himself — the standard bearer of the progressive new wave — who is rarely photographed without his $160 Casio A1000MA-7VT digital watch on a mesh band. (You won’t find it on Casio’s site; Mamdani’s popularity has caused it to sell out.) While New York’s mayor seems wholly devoted to that single watch, El-Sayed has been curating a watch collection that blends sporty styles and dress pieces.

“Folks who know me know I’m a sucker for automatic watches and sort of classic watches,” El-Sayed explained in May during an interview on the YouTube channel LGBT Detroit, just days after the Met Gala. “So definitely my Instagram feed was full of the gear that folks had on their wrists … some of it was just insane.”

That’s why these days, when dressed in his now-trademark uniform black V-neck T-shirt and jeans, El-Sayed might be flashing a Sinn U-1 SE or a Mühle-Glashütte S.A.R. Rescue-Timer; but when the occasion requires a button-down shirt or suit, he might be wearing a vintage Omega or a Shinola Runwell (which doubles as a statement of Michigan pride). In listing these and other key pieces in El-Sayed’s collection, the Free Beacon misses an important point: None of his watches are particularly showy or pricey, and most are sensible purchases relative to the low-six-figure salaries he likely made in his public-health sector jobs.

More than anything, experts say, his choices prove he knows his watches. “When I saw he had that Mühle-Glashütte S.A.R. Rescue-Timer, I thought, ‘OK, he’s a true watch guy, he’s not a tourist,’” says Adam Craniotes, founder and president of RedBar Group, a global community of watch fans that host meetups in cities around the world. “Nobody buys that watch by accident. It’s a measured choice done with intention. He did his research.”

Crafted in a 42mm steel case with black dial, the S.A.R. Rescue-Timer retails for between $2,699 and $2,799, depending on strap treatment, and that price point indeed seems to be the sweet spot of El-Sayed’s collection. In today’s watch industry, that hardly counts as luxury. “It’s a practical watch; it’s not an extravagant watch,” Craniotes says. “Nobody who sees that watch should see that piece on his wrist and think, ‘Who does that guy think he is?’ It’s not the choice of someone who wants to show off.”

Asher Rapkin, co-founder and CEO of Collective Horology, a Ventura-based retailer that specializes in timepieces by independent watchmakers, agrees. “I would say his choices show him to be a pretty considered enthusiast, but it’s not an ostentatious collection,” says Rapkin, who also hosts The Watches of Podcast with his Collective partner, co-founder and creative director, Gabe Reilly.

El-Sayed’s Sinn U-1 SE, a 44mm dive watch crafted of seawater-resistant German submarine steel, is another choice that reveals his discriminating taste in timepieces, especially because it can be tough to source in the U.S. In 2017, the watch retailed for between $2,350 and $2,520, and requires dedicated searching on watch sites. Like El-Sayed’s beloved Mühle-Glashütte, it’s a German independent watch brand. “A Sinn is an extraordinary inside-baseball watch,” Rapkin says. “It’s super understated, and both that piece and the Mühle-Glashütte are representative of someone who is passionate about tool watches. But calling them luxury isn’t accurate; these days $5,000 is the entry point for luxury.” Timepieces sold at Collective Horology, he adds, tend to go for anywhere in the mid- to high-five figures.

The Free Beacon story also highlights two vintage watches seen on El-Sayed’s wrist: an Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Chronograph valued at roughly $10,000, as well as a 1950s Elgin Doctors watch, available on the secondhand market for $1,000 to $2,000. Because both are vintage pieces, it’s unclear whether they were purchased or handed down from a family member. “What I love about a Moonphase Speedy is that it’s about as American as you can get in a watch, because we took it to the moon,” says Rapkin of the timepiece indeed seen on the wrists of the Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969.

The same is true of a 41mm Runwell timepiece, from Detroit-based Shinola, that El-Sayed was seen wearing in a photo that accompanied an interview in Hour Detroit magazine. “That’s a very American brand and a very Detroit brand, and it’s not pricey at all,” Craniotes points out. Most watches in the Runwell collection retail from $750 to $1,050, and it would be the exception to his love of mechanical watches, as this signature Shinola piece features a quartz battery movement.

Finally, the Free Beacon speculated on whether El-Sayed owns a Rolex, which, if true, would rank as the highest-priced piece in his collection. In his 2020 book, Healing Politics: A Doctor’s Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic, El-Sayed mentions seeing billboards for Rolex and other luxury brands along a highway and considering them testaments of income inequality: “How many people who drive this road can actually afford one of those?”

Such a statement makes it implausible that El-Sayed would be sporting a Rolex amid a high-profile campaign and Craniotes likewise disputes that notion. “I think they were trying to catch him wearing a Rolex, but that’s a Tudor Black Bay,” he says. “You can tell because it doesn’t have the crown guards you would normally see on a Rolex.”  

A new Tudor Black Bay 54, featuring a 37mm steel case with blue domed dial and black rubber strap, currently retails for $4,475, thousands less than the entry-level price of a Rolex. “It used to be that $5,000 was the entry price of high-end watches, but everything’s gotten so crazy,” Craniotes says. “Whether you’re buying gas for your car or buying groceries, everyone knows prices aren’t what they used to be, and without question that includes watches.”

Of El-Sayed’s watches, Craniotes concludes, “To me it seems like an honest collection that isn’t out of place for someone who wears them as much as he does,” Craniotes says. “It also seems like an accurate reflection of who he is — frankly, he’s somebody I’d like to hang out with and discuss watches.”