{
  "id": 3494152,
  "title": "Sam Altman's love of watches is getting memed 'Lord of the Rings' style",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/sam-altmans-love-of-watches-is-getting-memed-lord-of-the-rings-style",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-26T10:55:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-custom-watches-lord-of-the-rings-memes-2026-8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently commissioned seven custom Vanguart timepieces for himself and other senior staff members at the company, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The luxury watches, modeled after Vanguart's titanium Orb, began at $180,000. This news quickly caught the attention of X users and watch enthusiasts, who began to meme the watches in the style of the titular rings in J.R.R. Tolkien's \"The Lord of the Rings.\" The custom watches, which were not Altman's first rare timepieces, have become a symbol of status among Silicon Valley's elite.",
  "summary": "Sam Altman found out this week that one does not simply commission seven ultra-rare OpenAI watches without attracting a few \"Lord of the Rings\" jokes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}