OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman commissioned seven custom watches from Swiss boutique brand Vanguart, based on the Orb model that starts at $180,000 (about 250 million KRW). The bespoke pieces feature OpenAI-themed details: engravings like "Compute is destiny," "Scaling" on the crown, and a Python-style inscription if AGI.aligned: deploy() on the caseback. Vanguart devoted roughly a third of its 33 employees to the project. OpenAI also produced 400 custom Tudor watches for staff, inscribed with the company logo and "Good research takes time." The story highlights a broader Silicon Valley trend of tech executives and companies commissioning rare luxury timepieces (e.g., Mark Zuckerberg wearing an F.P. Journe, other firms making branded Tudors) as status symbols and insider tokens; some branded models resell for well above retail. (Vanguart: a Swiss boutique watchmaker)
