Leonardo DiCaprio transformed himself into Jordan Belfort in the Wolf of Wall Street. He stands up in front of a crowd of cheering and brawling stock brokers claiming that he sits in the back of limos, wearing a $2000 suit and a $40,000 gold watch. He hurls this timepiece out into the open arms of the rabid frenzy of drugged up brokers just before the party gets going.
Watches in Famous Movies
This timepiece is a Tag Heuer and is not actually a fully gold watch. It is gold plated and is made to look like the Rolex Submariner. In actuality it is closer to $2,000 than it is to $40,000 in after market. This timepiece though does have the look of a wealth. The actual gold Rolex Submariner does go for over $40,000 today and it has been the inspiration for many timepiece designs and look-alikes.
Calculator watches were the buzz in the 1980’s. Cheap, durable, and made with a silicone band, these battery powered quartz timepieces told time perfectly in the present, past and future. The Back to the Future movie left us with this timepiece that everyone could appreciate. If you wanted to collect this little gem, you wouldn’t have to pay much at all. In fact, you could pick up a little Casio calc watch for under $30. This timepiece was central to the story as it helped Michael J. Fox’s character get back home after traveling back in time.
Steve McQueen was probably one of the coolest actors in history. He wore this Tag Heuer Chronomatic Monaco 1133B on the set of the the 1971 film “Le Mans”. Jo Siffert, the famous Swiss racing driver who inspired the story and also trained Steve McQueen on the set was one of the first spokesmen for a watch brand, as he represented Tag Heuer in the 1960’s. However, although today great actors are often gifted these timepieces with the hopes that they would pose with their timepieces and become an “influencer,” Siffert had to buy his timepiece.
By today’s standards, this is not considered a great timepiece and is certainly not a Rolex Daytona. However, you could still pick up this piece of movie history for about $5000 today.
Although the James Bond series has moved on to Omega as the brand of choice in the current string of movies since the 1990’s, the original bond watch is still the Rolex Submariner 6538. The Rolex Submariners become key to many of the story lines as Q often decided to add high tech gismos to the standard timepiece. The Submariner by itself is pretty amazing. It could submerge to a depth of 1000 feet without damaging the timepiece. It has the luminescence that gives great time no matter whether you are in the day or night, or even if you have to diffuse a ticking timebomb.
The Rolex Submariner is a Naval Officer’s timepiece. The Rolex Submariner is a tool, not unlike the “blunt instrument” that M called Bond in a more recent film – the remake of Casino Royale. Yet it is so much more than that. It represents style, intelligence, and strength. Add to that the ability to block bullets with an electromagnet, cut through steel with a working rotating blade, or cut through metal bars with a laser, and this timepiece is the ultimate spy watch fit for any mission.
One of the most fun movie series of the last 20 years is the Men in Black franchise. This Hamilton timepiece made it to the silver screen on the wrist of Will Smith in this blockbuster film franchise. It didn’t cut through steel or stop bullets, but these G Men had to work against time to save the world over and over again against alien threats.
