▲ The "Orb" by Swiss brand Vanguart, which serves as the base model for OpenAI's custom-ordered watch
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has reportedly collaborated with luxury watch brands to produce ultra-expensive custom watches for a select group of executives and employees.
According to the U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 25th local time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman specially ordered seven custom watches from Vanguart, a rising Swiss luxury watchmaker.
Vanguart is known for its extreme exclusivity, having produced fewer than 200 watches since its inception. OpenAI's custom-ordered watches are based on the company's flagship model, the Orb, which starts at 180,000 dollars (approx. 250 million won).
The custom watches are characterized by details reflecting OpenAI's DNA throughout.
The oscillating weight (rotor) is engraved with Altman's frequent philosophy, "Compute is destiny," while the crown features the word "Scaling."
Additionally, the case back is inscribed with a phrase tailored to the Python programming language syntax: "if AGI. aligned: deploy()."
Regarding these detailed custom designs, Vanguart Chairman Mehmet Korutürk explained, "It means that AI must be used for peaceful purposes," adding, "We tried to incorporate a subtle tribute for those who know where to look."
Korutürk noted that nearly one-third of the company's 33 employees were dedicated to crafting the OpenAI watches.
These seven watches appear to have been distributed among key internal executives.
In addition, OpenAI also produced 400 custom watches for other employees in collaboration with Tudor, a sister brand of Rolex.
These watches feature the OpenAI logo on the dial and the phrase "Good research takes time" engraved on the back.
Boris Power, head of applied research at OpenAI, replied to a social media post about Google employees creating custom watches in collaboration with Tudor, boasting that "OpenAI-branded custom watches are twice as rare."
The WSJ reported that beyond OpenAI, a craze for producing and collecting luxury watches is spreading among top executives at major tech companies in Silicon Valley, including Google.
The WSJ noted that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg drew attention by wearing an ultra-expensive watch worth 1.3 million dollars (approx. 1.8 billion won) from F.P. Journe, a top-tier Swiss luxury brand, at official events, and that CEO Altman also enjoys wearing a Greubel Forsey luxury watch priced at 650,000 dollars in the past.
Georgia Benjamin, a designer at Adobe who is collaborating with British watch brand Studio Underd0g to produce employee watches, explained the background of the luxury watch trend, saying, "Owning a symbolic physical object gives you the feeling of being part of an insider club."
Eric Ku, co-founder of online watch auction platform "Loop Diese," stated that Tudor watches stamped with major tech company logos are trading on the secondhand market for more than double their retail price, reaching up to 10,500 dollars (approx. 14.5 million won).
(Photo: Capture from Vanguart website, Yonhap News)
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