Watch Industry SITREP - February 2026

Space Watch Developments, Epstein’s Watch Collection Revealed, a Queen Joins the Military with a Rolex, Celebrities Affected by Watch Crime, & a Texas Rolex Shootout 

By Benjamin Lowry

With only flirtatious hints of the approaching spring to cling to, we remain mired in the doldrums of winter’s icy grasp, at least where I live. Weather and seasonal affective disorder notwithstanding, the watch industry and broader world of Watches of Espionage have been nothing but busy, and it’s hard to believe it’s already time for the W.O.E. SITREP or Situation Report. 

For the uninitiated, the SITREP is our monthly amalgamation of watches, espionage, mainstream news, and national security, paired with our commentary. Carefully avoiding political opinion and any associated emotional damage, the SITREP is about using watches as our lens as we observe and report on just about anything, either directly or tangentially related to watches and/or espionage. From time to time, we even like to have a little bit of fun in the process. 

These past few weeks have a lot to offer, from intriguing astronaut watch developments to Jeffrey Epstein’s surprising timepiece ties to the Dutch Queen and her Rolex in military service to our usual assortment of watch-related criminal goings on, this time involving both Tom Cruise and a professional athlete. Referencing the seminal Baha Men reggaeton track from 2000, it is time to let the proverbial SITREP dogs out. 

Former Green Beret Wears a Rolex as New Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations 

Derrick Anderson with his Rolex OP alongside Sebastian Gorka after being sworn into his new role.

The link between Rolex and US Army Special Forces is strong, from legendary old-school operators like Billy Waugh to modern Green Berets like Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the United Nations. A few weeks ago, Special Forces officer and attorney Derrick Anderson was sworn in as President Trump’s new Assistant Secretary of War for Special Operations/ Low Intensity Conflict. True to form, Anderson wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a green dial for the event. Setting politics aside, we are always pleased to see a member of the special operations community make it big in government, and the OP is also a less common yet deserving choice compared to models like the Submariner and GMT-Master. 

Queen Máxima of the Netherlands Starts Military Training with a Rolex on the Wrist 

Dutch Queen Máxima wearing what appears to be a Rolex Datejust during her military training. 

They say age is just a number, and for Dutch Queen Máxima, the adage may prove true. 54 years young, Queen Máxima began training as a reserve Dutch Army officer earlier this month in an effort to boost recruitment and “national security awareness” in the Netherlands. Her daughter, Crown Princess Amalia, recently finished her training to become a reserve corporal. Her Majesty The Queen, however, will be awarded the rank of lieutenant-colonel upon completion of her training, much of which was completed with a Rolex Datejust on the wrist. 

Queen Máxima getting after it with a Glock 17 and a Rolex.

Sure, we understand the Queen’s new military role may or may not be a PR stunt, but the sauce here is her strict adherence to the Use Your Tools ethos. It’s been a while since Rolex was a go-to brand for military practitioners, but it does happen, and we can’t help but wonder whether wearing a watch from the Crown hits different when you’re used to actually wearing an actual crown. 

Rolex, Breitling, & Luminox Appear in the Department of Justice Epstein Library 

Epstein, who once dressed as a SEAL officer for a costume party, clearly had a fascination with Navy SEALs that may have bled into watches. 

When the documents were made public, watch-loving internet sleuths were quick to search the Department of Justice’s online Jeffrey Epstein database for timepiece-related information, coming away with some interesting insights. Most confusing is perhaps Epstein’s interest in Luminox. In 2014, one of Epstein’s employees, Ann Rodriguez, placed an order for 20 Luminox watches, confirming with Epstein via email that they would be sent out to be engraved with LSJ on their casebacks, a reference to Little Saint James, Epstein’s now-infamous island home. Additional correspondence appears to indicate the watches were given away to guests of the island as gifts. 

Email correspondence from the DOJ Epstein library showed an employee asking about ordering Luminox watches to be engraved “LSJ”.

Why Luminox, a relatively attainable, lesser-known brand, you may ask? This is speculation, but Epstein had an apparent fascination with Navy SEALs that may have led him to Luminox, a brand that has leaned into SEAL-related marketing for its tritium tube-equipped collection of tool dive watches since the early 1990s. Ironically, Luminox’s SEAL connections are overstated at best, and Epstein’s fascination with the brand is another intriguing anecdote from a vast DOJ library of documents that also mentions some of Swiss watchmaking’s biggest names. 

Insurance documents listing Epstein’s watch collection in 2013.

Additional searches of watch brand names elicit numerous hits for Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, and other brands, as well as several insurance-related emails and documents listing the contents of Epstein’s watch collection back in 2013. Insured value doesn’t always equate to retail price or even secondary market value, but Epstein’s documents still reveal a collection insured at $2.4M with four Patek Philippe watches, two from Franck Muller, a Richard Mille insured at $342,252, a Breitling chronograph, and two watches from FP Journe. 

One FBI document also lists an anonymous witness testimony where a victim alleges she woke up in a vehicle with Epstein after being drugged at a bar and later assaulted. Coming to in the back of a Mercedes, the victim alleges she noticed a Rolex watch on a sleeping Epstein before making good her escape. 

Of course, in the grand scheme of things, the watches are insignificant in comparison to the horrific crimes committed by Epstein, but they are our lens for looking at current events. This is especially relevant given speculation about Epstein's alleged ties to various intelligence services.

Slovak Foreign Minister Resigns After Joking About Apple Watch Recording with Epstein 

Lajčák and Epstein appear to have been close friends. 

From former Prince Andrew to celebrity doctor and longevity expert Peter Attia, the release of the Epstein documents has been a career ender for many, including Miroslav Lajčák, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. Through DOJ documentation of text messages and records of as many as 25 in-person meetings, Lajčák had an undeniable relationship with Epstein that led the Slovak politician to resign earlier this month. One particular text message exchange was particularly interesting to W.O.E., when Epstein joked about whether Lajčák had been given an Apple Watch "to record future conversations” after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. 

This is speculation, but some would argue the timing of the meeting was part of the dark nature of Epstein’s “joke” with Lajčák, having taken place about a month after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in which clandestine recording devices were claimed to have been used to capture audio evidence. In any case, the text messages indicate Epstein’s understanding of the significant counterintelligence risks presented by smartwatches, vulnerabilities that make connected tech a no-go for many military and intelligence professionals. Ok, no more Epstein in the SITREP for a while… I think I need a shower. 

Artemis Moon Mission Commander Wears an Omega Speedmaster

CAPT Wiseman is the owner of an Omega Speedmaster and a Breitling Endurance Pro Chronograph. (Photo Credit: NASA)

Artemis II, the first Moon mission in more than half a century, is tentatively slated for later this year, and its Mission Commander, US Astronaut Reid Wiseman, has been wearing an on-brand Omega Speedmaster. Given the longstanding links between the Omega Speedmaster and the space program, this is not headline news, but it does once again underscore the significance of timepieces in aeronautical applications, including space flight. 

Watch culture and the utility of timepieces are still alive and well at NASA, and Wiseman, a US Navy Captain and Naval Aviator who previously served on the Expedition 40/41 International Space Station crew, is apparently a watch guy, with a Breitling Endurance Pro chronograph and the NASA-issued Omega X-33 also in his collection. We love to see it. 

The First Bremont in Space is a Unit Watch 

CDR Jack Hathaway wearing a Bremont MBIII unit watch, marking the first Bremont in space. (Photo Credit: NASA/@niccoloy) 

First identified by our friend @niccoloy, US Astronaut Jack Hathaway has been wearing a Bremont unit watch on the International Space Station. Commander Hathaway and his world-beating mustache come to NASA by way of the US Navy’s aviation community, where he has accumulated 2,500 flight hours in 30+ types of aircraft, more than 500 carrier landings, and 39 combat missions. 

His watch is a Bremont MBIII produced for F/A-18E pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron 136. Both the squadron’s insignia and the silhouette of an F/A-18E are on the dial. Hathaway’s watch also likely marks the first Bremont in space, a momentous occasion for a brand with deep ties to the military and intelligence community that have spurred over 500 unit watch projects. 

Watch-Related Crime Blotter 

For watch enthusiasts, being a dedicated student of the criminal underworld as it relates to timepieces has several benefits. Selfishly speaking, developing a greater understanding of potential risks may help you to safeguard your own collection and avoid becoming a victim yourself. For some, and I’m talking about W.O.E., there’s more of an “If I decided to become a burglar, here’s how I would do it” angle, but that’s for him and his therapist to discuss.

Tom Cruise Moves out of Fancy Luxury Apartment After Brazen Rolex Robbery 

If Tom Cruise isn’t safe, are any of us really safe?

Last month, we reported on the six machete-wielding perpetrators who robbed a central London Bucherer location before escaping on pre-staged mopeds. As it turns out, American actor Tom Cruise lived nearby and has decided to vacate his—wait for it—$455K-a-month luxury penthouse because he feels less safe in the wake of the incident. Normally, when not-famous people are affected by the recent string of luxury watch robberies, we don’t care or empathize, but if celebrities are being affected, sometimes even needing to leave their $35M penthouse apartments in Knightsbridge, something simply has to be done. We used to be a proper society… 

NFL Player Robbed of Rolex & Jewelry During Flight to Florida 

Nine-year NFL offensive tackle for the Buffalo Bills, Dion Dawkins, has accused JetBlue employees of stealing Rolex watches and jewelry belonging to his fiancée, Daiyaana Muhammad, during a flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale for a vacation. Despite paying $10,000 to travel in first class, Dawkins alleges baggage handlers rifled through his and his fiancée’s luggage to locate the high-end items, and he isn’t pleased. JetBlue has promised a comprehensive internal investigation, and this is one area of watch theft that is less often discussed. Our advice for traveling with watches is always to limit the number of expensive watches you take with you and, if possible, carry the watches you do bring on your person. 

Online Rolex Sale Erupts into Gunfight in Texas Costco Parking Lot 

The Harris County Costco, where the attempted robbery occurred, and an artist’s rendering of the victim’s uncle.

As I always say, be sure to exercise caution when selling a luxury watch in a Texas Costco parking lot. On 22 February, a man was lured to a local Costco after arranging to sell a Rolex online. When he arrived, a trio of masked attackers, aged 16, 17, and 18, produced firearms and demanded the watch. A scuffle ensued, and the robbers were poised to escape with the man’s Rolex, but this is Texas we’re talking about. At some point during the robbery, the victim’s uncle, who stays strapped, emerged from the store and engaged in an O.K. Corral-style shootout in which two of the three perpetrators were shot and, remarkably, no one else was injured. 

The Rolex was ultimately recovered, and all three of the assailants were in police custody within approximately twenty-four hours. There are probably a few lessons to learn here involving meeting randoms in unsafe locations, attempting armed robberies in armed states, and selling luxury watches online. 

Final Thoughts 

From the Moon to the Caribbean island of Little Saint James, from Dutch royal training grounds to Costco parking lots, February reminded us once again that a watch is never just a watch. Timepieces are artifacts of ambition, ego, service, greed, courage, and occasionally, profound stupidity. Despite the rise of digital watches, a well-worn Omega Speedmaster can still signal mankind’s reach for the stars, a Rolex Datejust can still accompany a queen through military training, and a humble Luminox can morph from a misleading marketing trope to something far more unsettling. 

Looking ahead to March, we’ll keep an eye on the watches, tracking where they go, who wears them, and the insights they provide about individuals close to our community and the broader world. Should you ever run into a story that demands our attention and maybe even inclusion in the next edition of the Watch Industry SITREP, you know where to find us. Lowry out. 

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