Education Secretary Gillian Keegan today said it is "very disappointing" that teachers are striking over pay - while again wearing a £10,000 Rolex on TV.
The cabinet member has been criticised before for wearing the expensive timepiece while branding salary demands unrealistic.
But she has brushed this off as "inverse snobbery".
Today she wore the watch again as she toured TV studios to discuss strikes which saw tens of thousands of school workers walk out,
Commenting on the walkout by the National Education Union in England and Wales, she said meeting unions' demands would be "economically incoherent".
The Education Secretary said: "One school closure is too many and it remains deeply disappointing that the NEU proceeded with this disruptive action - but many teachers, head teachers and support staff have shown that children's education and wellbeing must always come first.
"Conversations with unions are ongoing and I will be continuing discussions around pay, workload, recruitment and retention, and more."
Nearly one in ten schools in England were fully closed during the teachers' strike, the Department for Education (DfE) data has suggested.
Based on the schools whose status were known, 45.9% were estimated to be fully open, 44.7% open but restricting attendance and 9.3% closed.
Nearly a fifth (17.4%) of secondary schools were estimated to be fully open and a further 73.6% were restricting attendance, compared to 52.1% of primary schools estimated to be fully open and 38.7% restricting attendance.
Unions say they had no choice but to strike after talks with Ms Keegan broke down.
Eagle-eyed social media users previously spotted the expensive timepiece on Ms Keegan's wrist, but she hit back over criticism, telling LBC radio in December: "I guess I'm supposed to never have made anything of myself, never have made any money, stayed in Knowsley.
"I don't know. It's like an inverted snobbery or something."
It was identified by watch buff Rory Broomfield on Twitter as a Rolex Lady-Datejust 31 Everose in two-tone gold and steel, with a chocolate diamond dial on a smooth bezel, with a Jubilee bracelet.
Critics have accused wealthy cabinet members of not appreciating the plight of struggling families trying to make ends meet.
TUC union general secretary Paul Nowak said: 'It's very easy for a Cabinet full of millionaires to not really experience what's happening in our public services and the real pressures on our public service workers."
Further strikes are expected unless an improved pay offer is made.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "The overwhelming feeling among school and college leaders and teachers today will be one of sadness that we have reached a point at which strike action has been taken as a last resort against a government that will not listen.
"This has clearly been a difficult day for everyone concerned, but the stark truth is that the erosion of teacher pay and conditions over the past decade, and resulting teacher shortages, mean every day in education is a difficult one."
