What did the 35th president actually keep on his wrist, in his pockets and in his hand? Why did he choose them, and which can you still buy today?

Watch the full walkthrough for the complete story behind each object, then use the guide below to see which you can still buy.

Quick Snapshot of JFK’s EDC

Item	Price (as of October 2026)	Made in	Construction & materials
Omega Ultra-Thin (today: Omega De Ville)		Switzerland	Original: 18k yellow gold, rectangular case, 26 mm on the diagonal
American Optical Saratoga	$230 to $275	USA	Squared tortoiseshell frame, nylon lenses
Hermès Sac à Dépêches	Crocodile: on request	France	Crocodile leather, single locking buckle, made by hand in Paris
Silver pillbox	Not sold	Bought in Dublin	Silver, engraved
H. Upmann Petit Corona	$132.99 (box of 25)	Dominican Republic	5 x 44 petit corona
Cartier dress watch (today: round gold Cartier)		Switzerland	Original: 18k yellow gold, round ultra-thin case
PT-109 reproduction	$14	USA	Gold-plated, PT-109 silhouette
Esterbrook Dip-Rite desk pen		USA	Desk pen, 2668 nib
Montblanc Meisterstück 149	$1,380	Germany	Black resin, 18k bi-color gold nib

The 8 Items, and How to Own One

1. The Omega Slimline Watch

Omega · 18k yellow gold

Kennedy’s best-known wristwatch was an ultra-thin 18-karat yellow gold Omega, a gift from his friend Grant Stockdale in 1960. Stockdale had the caseback engraved “President of the United States John F. Kennedy, from his friend Grant” before the votes were even counted.

JFK wore it at his 1961 inauguration, beneath the cuff of his morning coat, and the slim proportion was the point: a watch that disappeared under the cuff and appeared only when needed.

2. American Optical Saratoga Sunglasses

American Optical · Southbridge, Massachusetts

On a 1958 campaign stop, Kennedy toured the American Optical factory in Southbridge, Massachusetts and bought several pairs of the Saratoga, a squared tortoiseshell acetate frame, fitting them with prescription lenses.

These are the glasses in nearly every photo of him aboard a boat thereafter. The popular link to Ray-Ban Wayfarers attached itself only decades later; the photographs tell a different story.

For frame shapes and fit, see our sunglasses guide.

3. The Hermès Sac à Dépêches Briefcase

Hermès · crocodile leather

Bought on Bond Street in London by JFK’s father, Joseph Kennedy, in 1938, this black crocodile Hermès briefcase became the younger man’s favorite. He carried it to the Vienna Summit with Khrushchev, to West Wing cabinet meetings, and to Dallas in 1963.

Introduced in 1937, the Sac à Dépêches (literally “dispatch bag”) was built for the official who moved documents between offices and needed folio dimensions with a single locking buckle.

4. The Silver Pill Box from Dublin

Dublin silver · a gift from Jackie

On a 1955 trip, Jackie bought JFK a small silver pill box from a Dublin shop and had it engraved “With love, Dublin.” It was with him on the morning of November 22, 1963. Kennedy managed Addison’s disease and chronic back pain, and the box carried the medication that kept him going. He didn’t hide it, but he didn’t advertise it either, a quiet example of how a gentleman handles his private affairs.

5. H. Upmann Petit Corona Cigars

H. Upmann · founded Havana, 1844

Kennedy smoked four to five H. Upmann Petit Coronas a day through his presidency. In February 1962, hours before signing the order that widened the Cuban trade embargo, he had his press secretary Pierre Salinger track down a supply overnight; Salinger returned at dawn with 1,200, and Kennedy signed the next morning. After the 1959 revolution the brand split, and a non-Cuban operation moved to the Dominican Republic.

6. The Cartier Dress Watch

Cartier · 18k yellow gold

Jackie gave JFK an 18-karat gold Cartier for their fourth anniversary in 1957, with his initials engraved on the caseback, and he wore it in rotation with the Stockdale Omega. Media often calls it a Tank, but archival and auction records confirm it was a round ultra-thin model; the confusion comes from Jackie’s own Tank and the rectangular Omega. Its whereabouts have been a mystery since 2003.

7. The PT-109 Tie Clip

Commissioned by JFK, 1960

The one object here Kennedy spurred into being: a small gold clip in the silhouette of PT-109, the patrol torpedo boat he commanded in the Solomon Islands.

After a Japanese destroyer split the boat in 1943, he swam four miles towing an injured crewman by a strap in his teeth, and the crew was rescued days later via a message he carved into a coconut. He gave identical pins to his crew, staff, and press, generous enough that even some gold ones went out the door.

8. The Fountain Pens

Esterbrook & Montblanc

Kennedy used two pens for two jobs. For signing legislation he used an Esterbrook with a standard government nib, giving them away by the dozen per presidential tradition; Esterbrooks were later used to sign the Civil Rights Act, with one going to Martin Luther King Jr. For personal letters he used the Montblanc Meisterstück 149, the desk pen of many a leader he met, and one he gifted to Chancellor Adenauer in 1963.

A Gentleman and His Things

None of these objects was chosen for the cameras, with the possible exception of those American Optical Saratogas. Most came into Kennedy’s hands for personal reasons: a watch from a friend who believed in him early, a briefcase handed down from father to son, a pill box engraved by his wife, a clip that carried his past into his presidency. Once he had them, he saw no reason to change.

Taken together, they read as a blend of sentiment, loyalty to friends and family, practical elegance, and the occasional indulgence, all hallmarks of a gentleman. The lesson is less about the brands than the approach: choose well, choose for reasons that matter to you, and then let the objects quietly do their job.

Which of JFK’s everyday-carry items do you find most interesting, and would you consider adopting any yourself? And in your own carry, do any pieces have a story behind them? Let us know in the comments.

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