How much do Rosmah’s watches REALLY cost?

Yes, we ARE getting political here. #freespeech

Well, not that political. We are, after all, still talking about watches. It just so happens that the watches we’re looking at today belong to a certain Rosmah Mansor – wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak.

Why, you ask? Well, the idea for this article came about after Centre Seconds stumbled upon an Instagram page dedicated to highlighting Rosmah’s watches. The page, @rosmahmansor_jamtangan, featured multiple posts of Rosmah in the public eye with her timepieces.

However, what really caught our attention were the retail prices of the watches. While it is no surprise that Rosmah has a penchant for luxury goods, we found it hard to believe that some of her watches were that expensive. As a result, we decided to check the prices of some of her watches just to give a clearer indication. After all, no matter which side of the political fence you stand, #fakenews is bad for everyone.

“Sorry, mate. Not a Malaysian here, care to explain?”

Sure thing watchfam, here’s a (very) brief recap on what had happened over the last week for our non-Malaysian readers. Since gaining independence in 1957, Malaysia has been ruled by the same coalition. Get that. For 61 years, Malaysia was ruled by the same political party. If that’s not worrying enough, the last decade saw one of the largest corruption scandals in Malaysia.

Without going into too much detail, said scandal rocked the nation and even made international headlines. As a result, Najib Razak’s administration drew plenty of flak from the people. Under Najib, the then-incumbent party lost the popular vote in the 13th General Elections (GE) in 2013. Fast forward a couple of years later and allegations of underhand tactics to skew the results of the 14th GE further angered the Malaysian people.

At the end of the day, however, the people spoke. The result was a historic win for the opposition party. That monumental event meant that for the first time since gaining independence, Malaysia was no longer under the rule of a single political party.

Long story short? The results of the 14th GE will be etched into the minds of Malaysians for decades to come. Historic enough to be included in history books? You bet. Now, let’s turn our attention back to some of the watches owned by Rosmah Mansor, wife of Malaysia’s former PM.

Richard Mille RM 07-01

So, it’s probably no surprise that timepieces from Richard Mille cost about the same as certain luxury cars. With that in mind, we’re looking at a Richard Mille RM 07-01 on Rosmah’s wrist. First off, we can’t clarify the reference number for this particular model but multiple sources have stated that is costs RM657,000.

A quick check with Richard Mille Malaysia confirmed that the RM 07-01 range begins at RM449,000. Seeing as how that is the “entry-level” model, we doubt a diamond-studded version of the RM 07-01 would cost anywhere below the half a million-mark.

Is the quoted price floating around the Internet true, then? We won’t give a definite answer (for now) but we can safely the say the figure of RM657,000 doesn’t seem too far-fetched for a Richard Mille with more bling on it than an up-and-coming rapper’s entire wardrobe.

Hublot Big Bang Black Pink Bang (Ref. 341.CP.1110.LR.1933)

Next up is the (deep breath) Hublot Big Bang Black Pink Bang, reference number 341.CP.1110.LR.1933. Much like Richard Mille watches, Hublots tend to lean on the ultra-luxury segment with prices hovering about the six-figure mark. As such, this particular model is reputed to have cost a total of RM103,000. A check for current retail prices for this model shows figures standing at €21,500 (RM101,300).

However, further investigation turned up a particular unit going for “discounted” price of US$19,800. That should mean a price tag of RM78,269 if Rosmah were to plonk for one today. Perhaps she should’ve been a tad more patient and saved herself around RM25,000. Centre Seconds, providing you advice on how to become a more savvy consumer.

So, it would appear that the prices quoted for this particular Hublot are indeed knocking very closely to the figures that we came across after cross-checking it across various sources. Total expenditure of just these two watches so far? A cool RM760,000, give or take.

Roger Dubuis Excalibur 36 Haute Joaillerie (Ref. RDDBBEX0357)

Six hundred and forty diamonds. Let that figure sink in for a minute, will you? The wife of Malaysia’s former PM, Rosmah Mansor, owns a watch with a total of 640 diamonds in its assembly. At this point, this author just cannot. He cannot. Where on Earth is it acceptable for the wife of a nation’s leader to wear a watch with 640 diamonds?!

The price for this watch? Several outlets are quoting a figure of RM236,000. Or about the price of a brand new Volkswagen Golf GTI. We reached out to the Roger Dubuis boutique in KL for confirmation and they got back to us with a price tag of RM344,000! Or just under the price of a new Mercedes-AMG A 45.

Taking into account the price of this Excalibur 36, Rosmah has spent over RM1 million on just three watches. Yes, this isn’t even her entire collection as the aforementioned Instagram page shows multiple posts with watches from Jacob & Co., Franck Muller and even Chanel.

That’s an average of RM364k for one watch!

Yeah, pretty much. Now, it’s not in our nature to vilify individuals no matter how unpopular they are but yours truly thinks that it’s just plain vulgar and irresponsible to flaunt wealth of that nature. More so when your other half is the leader of a nation trying to prove himself innocent in the face of a nationwide scandal.

Perhaps Rosmah came from the school of ‘bad publicity is still publicity’ but this author can’t help feeling that it was her lavish spending habits that ultimately led to the downfall of Najib’s popularity. As the nation takes its first few steps into uncharted waters, I can only hope that the authorities carry out their duties in a professional manner and that the guilty ones are investigated and charged appropriately.

What do you guys think? Is it bad form for leaders or VIPs to parade their wealth in the eyes of the public? Or should personal belongings like watches (or handbags) be segregated from the individual so long as they perform their jobs properly? Let us know in the comments below.