About Dr. Brendan M. Cunningham

Brendan M. Cunningham is a Professor of Economics at the United States Air Force Academy and the author of Selling the Crown: The Secret History of Marketing Rolex. His academic work explores the intersection of economics, marketing, industrial competition, collecting culture, and the political dimensions of watchmaking, with a particular focus on the American market and the global transformation of the watch industry during the Quartz Crisis.

Widely recognized as one of the leading scholars examining the economic and cultural history of modern horology, Dr. Cunningham’s research offers a rare perspective on how watches became embedded within broader systems of power, prestige, legitimacy, and market strategy. His work examines not only the technological rivalry between American, Swiss, and Japanese watchmaking, but also how marketing, consumer culture, and collecting communities helped construct the modern luxury watch industry.

In this conversation for Watches & Politics, we explore how industrialization transformed society’s relationship with time, how American and Swiss competition reshaped global watchmaking, and how collecting evolved into a form of cultural and political capital. The discussion moves across economics, auctions, marketing, soft power, prestige, industrial history, and the hidden political dimensions of modern watch culture.

Topics Discussed

1. What do you see as the main intersections between watches and politics?

2. How did industrialization and mass production change not only watchmaking, but society’s relationship with time itself?

3. Did watch ownership in the nineteenth century become a marker of citizenship, mobility, or democratic access?

4. How did economic rivalry between American and Swiss production shape the global watch industry?

5. How do auctions and collecting practices transform watches into political or cultural capital?

6. In your research for Selling the Crown, what did you learn about how collectors and institutions legitimize certain objects?

7. Do you think luxury watch collecting operates today as a form of soft power or elite access?

8. How do you see the role of collectors shifting in the age of Instagram, digital media, and global auctions?

9. Are there moments when collecting becomes as political as policymaking?

10. If watches are political artifacts, what story do collectors and industrial history together tell us about power, culture, marketing, and legitimacy?

11. What defines a collector, and what role do collectors play in shaping modern horological culture?

Key quotes from the conversation

“Mass production democratized access to timekeeping.”

“Marketing expands markets — it doesn’t just steal customers.”

“Collectors absolutely sustain the watch industry.”

“The Quartz Crisis was much more politically complicated than people realize.”

“Watches have often accompanied major moments of national achievement.”

Further Reading & References

Selling the Crown: The Secret History of Marketing Rolex — Dr. Brendan Cunningham’s major work exploring Rolex marketing, prestige-building, luxury consumer culture, and the transformation of modern watch branding. (Amazon)

Disrupting Time — Referenced during the discussion on American industrial production, interchangeable parts manufacturing, and the democratization of timekeeping.

Waltham Watch Company — Discussed extensively as one of the pioneers of industrial watchmaking and precision mass production in the United States.

SUPERLATIVE: A Look Into The Rolex Marketing Machine With Brendan Cunningham — A detailed discussion of Rolex advertising strategy, cultural positioning, and the construction of prestige in the modern luxury watch industry. (A Blog To Watch)

Hans Wilsdorf — Referenced throughout the conversation for revolutionizing luxury watch marketing and transforming Rolex into a global symbol of prestige and achievement.

Mercedes Gleitze — Referenced in connection with the historic Rolex Oyster English Channel campaign and the rise of experiential luxury marketing.

One Big Change in a Biden White House: A New President’s Watch — Discussion of Omega, presidential watches, and the political significance of visible luxury timepieces in American politics. (gq.com)