为什么CEO们喜欢戴便宜的斯沃琪

    谷歌搜索(Google)的自动填充选项显示，对于高盛公司(Goldman Sachs)CEO劳埃德•贝兰克梵，人们最想知道的问题之一是，“劳埃德•贝兰克梵戴什么表？”

    答案是：斯沃琪(Swatch)，一款简单的塑料材质腕表，零售价大约为100美元。实际上，这位高管还拥有多块斯沃琪表——其中包括一块在正式场合佩戴的黑色款。

    如果你在华尔街工作，你可能对以下打扮并不陌生：体面的西服、普通的鞋履和电子表。比如，黑石集团（Blackstone）CEO史蒂夫•施瓦茨曼就拥有好几块斯沃琪表，他尤其热衷颜色鲜艳，设计前卫的款式。一款颜色尤为鲜亮的手表上绘制着其度假地圣特鲁佩斯的地标图案。

    人们可能认为施瓦茨曼和贝兰克梵这类公众人物的着装打扮肯定不会过分高调，但正如谷歌的搜索结果所示，一些美国商业大腕喜欢佩戴塑料表，这种打扮也让人们感到费解。对斯沃琪青睐有加的权力人物还包括托尼•布莱尔和法国总统弗朗索瓦•奥朗德。英国对冲基金交易员克里斯•赫恩多年前就已经有了一块黑色的斯沃琪。联博基金(AllianceBernstein)CEO皮特•克劳斯也是该品牌的粉丝。据称，即便是奢侈表制造商百达翡丽(PatekPhillipe)的老板在滑雪时也佩戴一块斯沃琪。

    在向《财富》杂志《Fortune》提供的声明中，瑞士斯沃琪集团(Swatch Group)并没有详细解释为什么如此多政客和高管青睐这款廉价配饰。一位女发言人表示，该公司的瑞士血统和艺术设计可能是部分原因。上世纪80年代，斯沃琪以亚洲大规模生产的替代品身份出现在人们视野中，随后获得了瑞士制表业拯救者的美名。但权贵们为什么如此钟情于该品牌依然是一个谜。这位女发言人写道，“我们认为政治家戴斯沃琪有他们自己的原因，但我们并不知道这些原因是什么。”

    According to Google auto-fill, one of the most searched terms relating to Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein is, “What watch does Lloyd Blankfein wear?”

    We have the answer: It’s a Swatch, a simple plastic timepiece that retails in the ballpark of $100. In fact, the executive has several of them—including a black one for formal events.

    If you work on Wall Street, you’ve probably seen the look before: good suit, unremarkable shoes, digital watch. Witness Steve Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone. Schwarzman not only owns multiple Swatches, he wears them in funky colors and designs. One particularly bright-colored edition bears the landmarks of his vacation home in St. Tropez.

    Public-facing figures like Schwarzman and Blankfein may be expected to dress without excessive bling. And yet, as Google attests, it’s curious to see a plastic bangle on some of American business’s most powerful men. The list of power players who sport Swatches goes on: Tony Blair has one, as does French president Francois Hollande. U.K. hedge fund trader Chris Hohn has had a black one for years. AllianceBernstein CEO Peter Kraus is a fan of the brand. Even the boss of luxury watch maker PatekPhillipe reportedly wears one while skiing.

    In a statement to Fortune, Switzerland’s Swatch Group didn’t have much to say about why politicians and executives might want to wear the budget accessory. The company’s Swiss roots and artistic designs may play a role, a spokeswoman said. When the Swatch was introduced as an alternative to Asian mass production in the 1980s, it was credited with helping to save the Swiss watchmaking industry. Ultimately, though, the watch brand’s patronage among the high and mighty is a bit of a mystery. “We assume that politicians have their reasons for wearing our watches,” the spokeswoman wrote, “but we don’t know what those reasons are.”