Bad Actors: Watch Errors on the Screen

It’s undoubtedly enjoyable, as a watch enthusiast, to see a cool watch on screen. Whether TV or film, there’s a fun series of events that takes place. First, you see a glimpse of the watch, and start to make possible connections in your mind. Then, you get a better angle, and your identification begins to gel. And finally, boom, you get the money shot and confirm your suspicion. If you’re watching with someone, you have to share, and they politely act like they care. It’s all a fun ritual for us, watch nerds.

And it’s even better when you see something unique get featured, as was the case with the infamous Citizen in Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood (shameless self-plug, as we were the first to write about that). An interesting watch suggests that the person who chose it knew what they were doing, and somehow, it acknowledges our obsession, too. Of course, there are also paid product placements, which often work out (I’m thinking the Murph, or any Bond Seamaster), but are not of as much interest to me.

But this article isn’t actually about the joy of this experience. Quite the opposite. While seeing a watch get mentioned or worn on screen brings elation, egregious errors can then crush the experience. Ok, I’m being dramatic (this is about TV and film, after all), but some unfortunate error, or even worse, a fake watch, can nevertheless diminish the experience. The Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood example is not only famous because Brad Pitt wore a cool watch with panache, but also because the watch didn’t exist in the year the movie was set. And, as a watch nerd, we’re also saddled with the knowledge of these mistakes that, like a character breaking the 4th wall, can pull us out of the experience.

So, what follows are a handful of times in which something wasn’t right. Some aspect of the watch was off, whether it was the watch itself, the use, or the context – just something didn’t quite make sense. Spoiler alert: plot points are mentioned below.

Your Friends and Neighbors

The mistake, if you can call it that, that triggered this article, by triggering me, was in Apple TV’s new series, Your Friends and Neighbors starring Jon Hamm, Olivia Munn, and Amanda Peet. A story about a wealthy and successful businessman who has come on hard times and turned to theft for both pleasure and financial gain, the show has, thus far, featured watches quite prominently. But, in doing so, it has also highlighted a big, and frankly shocking issue.

Now, I’m only two episodes in, but in both I’ve seen thus far, there are scenes where John Hamm’s character breaks into the house of one of his wealthy neighbors, rifles through their stuff, and finds, inevitably, a high-end and highly coveted watch. First was a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5811, which features a white gold case and a blue dial. Iconic, if you will. They show the watch in his hand, they mention the specific details, they quote Patek’s famous “You never actually own a Patek…” ad campaign, and all checks out. But then…

In what could have been a watch nerd’s dream come true, they decided to cut away from reality and put a segment video graphic on the screen, showing different angles of this very famous, well-known watch, along with written specifications, such as the water resistance and frequency of the movement. They even label the balance and balance spring materials correctly Gyromax®, and Spiromax®, respectively. Someone did their homework (or, at least, went to the product page). Except, on the top left corner of the screen is a vignette of the caseback, showing off the incredibly obviously fake movement. Undecorated, to say the least, shoddy rotor, and just clearly something cheap.

Ouch. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Did this big production show really use a fake watch and show it to us? Perhaps, I thought, the joke would be that his rich friend had a fake, but that was proven false by an appraisal scene in which Hamm was offered $175k for it. Shocked, I assumed that experience was a fluke and that the show would go on.

Well, episode two, another house, another watch, this time another particular timepiece, the Richard Mille RM 011 Felipe Massa Chronograph in rose gold. And, like in episode one, they went through their little breakdown with Hamm rattling off specs like a regular ol’ watch nerd. But, once again, the caseback was shown in the top left corner of the screen, and, like, not even a resemblance to an RM movement. Faker than Henry Cavill’s upper lip in Justice League. Clearly, this is a theme in the show.

None of this would have been an issue if they had just left well enough alone. They display the watches in Hamm’s hand, in darkened rooms (these are robberies, after all) that match the names and descriptions of what they say. Believable enough, but they go for the stylish detail shots. And mind you, in the first two episodes, they don’t use these elaborate graphics for anything else, just the watches, as if they wanted to highlight the mistake. Apparently, they use the infographics again when Hamm steals a Hermès Birkin. If there are any Birkin experts out there, let us know if it’s real in the comments. At least the show is enjoyable.

The plot thickens. In a NYTimes article specifically about the use of watches in these first two episodes, it never mentions that they are fakes. In fact, the opposite is suggested: “The prop masters borrowed the watches used on the show from authorized vendors who charged ‘between 5 and 10 percent of the value’ for a one-day shoot, Mr. Gargiulo said. ‘It saves us $180,000 and we don’t have to try to resell it at the end of the job,’ he said.” So, either they got duped, the close-ups were shot separately with fakes, or they are only referring to the watches being worn. Regardless, someone’s got some explaining to do.

Breaking Bad

I’ve watched Breaking Bad from start to finish at least three times. It’s hardly breaking news (sorry) that it’s one of the best shows of all time. So, I give this rather frustrating and prominent watch-related error a pass, though it drives me nuts every time. In episode 4 of season 5, Jesse Pinkman gives Walter White a TAG Heuer Monaco for his 51st birthday. It’s a gift steeped in meaning, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. The watch eventually plays a role in a different episode that highlights its chronograph complication. Or, well, should have.

Just four episodes later, Walt, who has long left his scruples behind, plans, with the help of some rather unsavory characters, the killing of ten people, nine of whom are inmates, and one a lawyer, all simultaneously, within two minutes, at separate jails. It’s one of the most violent segments of the whole series, a crescendo of sorts, clearly echoing the end of The Godfather, implying Walt’s ascension. It’s a magnificent, if highly disturbing, montage of murder.

And, it puts Walt’s new, fancy TAG Heuer Monaco to use. As the killings are all happening in jails, Walt has to sit and wait for them to occur elsewhere. So, at the moment this highly orchestrated slaughter is meant to begin, Walt starts the chronograph. This doesn’t happen in the abstract or off-screen; the watch is dead center in the frame, larger than life. What a glorious way to feature an iconic watch and a beloved complication. However, there was one problem: he started the chronograph by pushing the crown in.

Oh, the horror! Two big, glorious pushers ready to be pressed, and they decide to push in the crown? What? Sure, technically, that could start the chronograph had it previously been started, and then the crown was pulled out, hacking the watch. But, in that instance, which is absurd, the watch wouldn’t be keeping time. Why would they do this? I honestly don’t know, and it’s this question that haunts me to this day. It doesn’t ruin the scene, thankfully, but such a precisely arranged event beginning with error has a tangible irony. Don’t you think?

Sinners

Ok, this next one is really anal, but both me and my girlfriend noticed it when we saw the film just the other weekend. That said, I’m not 100% about it either. Sinners has been out for two weeks and is killing it at the box office. Ryan Coogler’s period-piece-horror-flick-musical is a unique, entertaining, well-acted, and well-executed film that is quite unlike anything else in the genre. The film stars Michael B. Jordan in two roles. Called the Smokestack twins, one named Smoke and the other Stack, they are gangsters of the Prohibition era who return to Mississippi, where they grew up, after spending some time in Chicago, presumably amongst Capone and crew. They intend to open a juke joint using money and booze they stole in Chicago.

As is always the case with period pieces, the attire is as important as the environment and vehicles, and Sinners feels convincing. Smoke and Stack are very well-dressed in three-piece suits, projecting their wealth, success, and gangster lifestyle. Smoke, the more serious of the siblings, wears a watch on his left wrist, which is established early in the film when he anxiously checks the time, waiting for a car to arrive.

There’s never a clear shot of the dial, but it appears to be a relatively small, cushion-cased watch with a round dial and wire lugs. So far, so good, as it resembles many watches from the time, including early Rolexes. The issue is the strap. I said this was anal, right?

Spring bars didn’t exist at the time, so wrist watches had some sort of wire lugs or lugs integrated into their cases. Straps fed through the lugs or wrapped around them, or even the whole watch. Assuming the watch Smoke wore was actually from the period, it would make sense for it to have a passthrough strap of some kind. The issue is that, at various points in the film, you can make out metal oval-shaped rings on either side of the watch, making the strap seem an awful lot like a G-10 (known by a more common acronym), most likely made of leather.

So close, and yet not quite right. G-10s were created by the British Ministry of Defence in 1973, which is well-established. We learn during the film that Smoke and Stack fought in WWI, making it possibly some kind of trench watch, which would have likely had a long, single-piece leather or canvas strap. But, from what I can tell, those rings just didn’t belong. There is a thorough breakdown of the straps of WWI on AF0120 Strap, which shows an extensive array of types and brands, none of which featured rings.

This one is very minor, and frankly, does not affect the film itself. I still think there is a possibility that I’m just wrong here, though the reality of a leather G-10 being close enough in appearance, and still military in origin, thus making its way in, feels likely too. Those darn rings!

Event Horizon

I saw Event Horizon in the theater when it was first released in 1997. I was thirteen years old, and my parents likely thought it was just some sci-fi film. Oh boy, were they wrong. A dark, graphic Lovecraftian horror film with plenty of gore, Event Horizon was an eye-opener that I’m sure my Mom was very upset by. I recall the gore being pretty shocking for me at the time, but it also sparked my love of horror. What’s truly horrifying is that Event Horizon has only a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (what’s wrong with people?!).

Anyway, in Event Horizon, we find ourselves witnessing a rescue crew responding to the distress signal of the eponymous ship, which disappeared some time ago. A great cast, including Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, and Jason Isaacs, investigates only to find the crew missing and sinister forces at work. Eventually, all hell breaks loose, quite literally. So, what does this have to do with watches?

Ok, this is another anal one, but in the opening sequence of the film, after some textual context, we see the Event Horizon, an imposing, evil, and rather awesome looking ship, orbiting Neptune. The camera is taken into the cavernous hull of the vessel, where it appears there is no life. Objects float around in zero gravity, clearly indicating that systems are malfunctioning. One of these objects, famously, is a watch. Well, not just any watch, but the most space-appropriate watch: an Omega Speedmaster.

A knowledgeable nod to the Speedmaster, as well as a telling object to find floating around, the issue is not with the watch itself, but rather the story. You see, the chronograph is running, indicating that the watch was wound within the last 40 hours. However, we know that the ship had been missing for seven years, and given what unfolds, it is unlikely that anyone survived that long (let alone was in the mindset to wind their Speedy). Had it been an automatic, while it wouldn’t be able to wind naturally in zero gravity, as the watch could bounce off walls, I think an argument could be made that the rotor could turn because of impact.

Ok, I know this is absurd. This is the kind of thing someone says who can’t have any fun. But here’s the thing. I, like you, know way too much about these watches. I see a watch and instantly know how it winds, the power reserve, etc. I could even play out the logic of that automatic winding situation. Does this affect the film in any way? Not at all, and given what follows, you’ll likely forget about it soon. But am I wrong?

Nerdy side note, as the Speedy seems to be based on the model that was current when the film was released in 1997, it would suggest that it is, in fact, a 50-year-old vintage watch. If so, it’s in excellent condition!

The Finale

These are just a few of the many watch errors displayed on the screen. There’s Ben Affleck’s Rolex in Argo, there’s a pocketwatch in the end credits of Wonder Woman that grew an extra hand and became quartz, and there are watches that aren’t telling the right time or ticking at all. At a certain point, this is less about the accuracy of the media and entirely about the obsessive nature of the hobby. I’m sure it’s the same for other interests as well, whether it’s cars, bonnets, dialects or, like, just history itself. But, hey, when a show or a film gets something really right, it’s damn exciting too.

If you have any favorite errors, let us know in the comments!