After French President Nicolas Sarkozy received unwanted media attention for his style, he was put on notice by his advisers for no more wearing of his Rolex and Ray Ban sunglasses in public.

Sarkozy has a pretty decent watch collection from a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona, Oyster Perpetual, Breitling Navitimer and then there is the Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar ref. 3940G, a gift from his wife Carla Bruni in 2008. The Navitimer is great, I get it. The 3940G, that is something else. The Cosmograph Daytona is a pretty decent timepiece, but a Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Sport is amazing and better priced.

Sarkozy’s friend, high profile advertising tycoon Jacques Seguela defended Sarkozy in an interview by stating “So what if he owns a Rolex, we can’t blame him for that, everyone has a Rolex. If you don’t have a Rolex by the time you reach 50, then you have clearly failed in your life.” So as a 52 year old and non-Rolex owner, I need to ask myself, am I a failure? I am not a huge fan of Rolex, whilst I respect the brand and their branding, I have never really wanted to own one. Sure, I am an Omega owner and I would consider

I would have thought Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, A. Lange & Söhne or Audemars Piguet would have a better yardstick. Maybe Seguela is right, everyone has a Rolex. So I ask myself, should I decide to purchase a Rolex, what would be the model? I am not a huge fan of the Royal Oak, I prefer the Nautilus design myself but a Breguet and I have always thought was under-rated.

I really don’t like the Mercedes hour hand found on most Rolex models, I don’t like the fluted bezel and I don’t like the Jubilee bracelet so that rules out the DateJust and the Day-Date. That rules out a whole load of models, so the entry-level Oyster Perpetual with the oyster bracelet would be my choice.

The Submariner is an iconic timepiece but they are relatively common, that is if you can get them. The Explorer is the pick of the models, even with the Mercedes hour hand. The Explorer II isn’t my choice, I don’t like the bezel or dial so I can forget about that. I have an Omega Seamaster, that is my preference and for a chronograph, you can’t beat the Speedmaster.

The Milguass is an interesting timepiece but that lightning bolt second hand – nah. The latest model Air-King is basically a Milguass with the same case, movement and bracelet. Some people hate the dial, I actually like it, that would be my choice even with the Mercedes hour hand. The Milguass is certainly outdated in terms of anti-magnetic properties, Omega is the clear leader again.

The Cosmograph Daytona, Sea-Dweller, Yachtmaster and Yachtmaster II are all out of my price range, you have to be realistic here. Yes, I would have thought Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Breguet or A. Lange & Söhne were the barometer of success and I don’t own one so you could argue that I have failed by Seguela’s measure.