John F. Kennedy’s Watch Predicted His Presidential Victory
In the summer of 1960, John F. Kennedy received a gift from his friend Grant Stockdale, at the time the senator of Florida. The watch was a Tank-style ultra-thin square watch from Omega, with an engraving on the back that read, “President of the United States John F. Kennedy from his friend Grant.” Kennedy was immediately smitten, according to letters his wife Jacqueline wrote to Stockdale. She described it as the “thinnest most elegant wristwatch,” and said JFK immediately traded out the “chunky little one” she’d given him for the new Omega. But anyone who paid attention in history class would be right to point out that during the summer of 1960 Kennedy was still a presidential hopeful in one of the closest races in American history against Richard Nixon. That’s not a typo: Grant just had faith when he ordered the engraving, and the watch turned out to be