Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well, the Russian elite really like expensive watches!
"Patriarch Kirill has a classical model of Breguet: the watch case is made from white gold, the wristlet is made from crocodile leather, the mechanism is automatic, and there is also an alarm clock. The price for this model is somewhere from 28 thousand EUR to 36 thousand EUR depending on the company and seller."Source
Trouble is that folk complained that the Patriarch who had just deiivered a sermon on austerity and modesty was somewhat out of line!
"Russian bloggers have expressed particular outrage about the patriarch’s watch, rumored to be a Breguet time piece worth tens of thousands of dollars. It was first sighted on the wrist of the patriarch in 2009 on a visit to Ukraine, where he held forth in a televised interview on the importance of asceticism. At the time, a Ukrainian news site, V.I.P. Glavred, published a close-up photograph of the watch apparently poking out from beneath the patriarch’s vestments. The site also identified the watch as a Breguet Réveil du Tsar model, which retails for about $30,000." (New york times, see link below).
So they claimed that the picture was a forgery. Then the patriarch assured everyone that he didn't own such a watch and here's the original picture to prove it!
The person who did the photoshopping is being reprimanded! (I hope he is forced to fly out to N&H to get Photoshop 101 lessons!. Hint: never leave in the reflection
So one blogger in Russia came up with this response and claimed that the watch was being interviewed and the patriarch was noi actually present and has the original picture to prove it!
"The embarrassing discovery further stoked anger over the church and its often lavish displays of wealth and power. It also struck yet another blow to the moral authority of Russian officialdom, which has been dwindling rapidly in light of recent scandals involving police abuse, electoral fraud and blatant corruption."
Read the full story in the New York times here.
So now we know!
Asher
"Patriarch Kirill has a classical model of Breguet: the watch case is made from white gold, the wristlet is made from crocodile leather, the mechanism is automatic, and there is also an alarm clock. The price for this model is somewhere from 28 thousand EUR to 36 thousand EUR depending on the company and seller."Source
Trouble is that folk complained that the Patriarch who had just deiivered a sermon on austerity and modesty was somewhat out of line!
"Russian bloggers have expressed particular outrage about the patriarch’s watch, rumored to be a Breguet time piece worth tens of thousands of dollars. It was first sighted on the wrist of the patriarch in 2009 on a visit to Ukraine, where he held forth in a televised interview on the importance of asceticism. At the time, a Ukrainian news site, V.I.P. Glavred, published a close-up photograph of the watch apparently poking out from beneath the patriarch’s vestments. The site also identified the watch as a Breguet Réveil du Tsar model, which retails for about $30,000." (New york times, see link below).
So they claimed that the picture was a forgery. Then the patriarch assured everyone that he didn't own such a watch and here's the original picture to prove it!
The person who did the photoshopping is being reprimanded! (I hope he is forced to fly out to N&H to get Photoshop 101 lessons!. Hint: never leave in the reflection
So one blogger in Russia came up with this response and claimed that the watch was being interviewed and the patriarch was noi actually present and has the original picture to prove it!
"The embarrassing discovery further stoked anger over the church and its often lavish displays of wealth and power. It also struck yet another blow to the moral authority of Russian officialdom, which has been dwindling rapidly in light of recent scandals involving police abuse, electoral fraud and blatant corruption."
Read the full story in the New York times here.
So now we know!
Asher