A watch is so much more than a device used to tell the time. You can tell a lot from the watch a person is wearing. The watch they wear reflects their style and personality. The choice of leather or metal strap, automatic or quartz, chronograph or world timer, stainless steel or gold, added diamonds or none, and brands from Rolex to Hamilton, each one of these things can give insight into who you are. Filmmakers are well aware of this fact, which is why they pay special attention to which watch their heroes will be wearing. The style choices are often as important as the casting choice in forming the character. Therefore, you can’t have a Bond movie without James Bond wearing a luxurious timepiece or a Sci-Fi movie without a reliable chronograph. In this article, we are going to list some of the most iconic movie watches that helped fully form their protagonists.

The Dark Knight Trilogy

Batman Begins was the first movie in the rebooted franchise about the popular comic book character helmed by director Christopher Nolan. Like Val Kilmer in Batman Forever before him, Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, Batman’s billionaire alter-ego, wears a luxurious Reverso Grande Taille. He also wore the same watch in the acclaimed sequel, The Dark Knight. The watch was slightly updated for the finale of the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, where Bale wears a custom-made Grande Reverso Ultra Thin with Batman’s iconic symbol on the dial.

Independence Day: Resurgence

The Swiss-made Hamilton watches have a reputation for being the favorite pick of many Sci-Fi directors. The brand was even tasked with designing a custom, futuristic timepiece for the iconic film 2001: The Space Odyssey. Recently the watchmaker’s models were prominently featured in movies such as Interstellar, The Martian and Independence Day: Resurgence. In the sequel to the critically acclaimed picture, Liam Hemsworth wears the Hamilton Khaki X-Wind. This Hamilton Khaki Chronograph also makes an appearance as Hemsworth pilots a craft.

American Psycho

Another movie on this list staring Christopher Bale, American Psycho sparked a lot of controversies. The protagonist Bateman is vividly depicted as a serial killer. Therefore, many brands felt that it might be hurtful for their reputation to appear in the movie in this context. That’s why Cerruti had a clause that stated that Bale must not wear their clothes in the scenes where he’s killing people. The same goes for Rolex, a company that boasts a flawless reputation. However, the less-favorable protagonist of American Psycho sports a Rolex Datejust. Therefore, Rolex conditioned the filmmakers with the same clause Cerruti did. Because of this, the iconic line from the book, “Don’t touch the Rolex,” had to be changed as well.

Driver

Anyone who read the books knows that the watch was given to the protagonist by his father. In the movie, the watch Ryan Gosling sports is a Patek Philippe with a brown leather strap. Since Gosling portrays a getaway driver, a reliable timepiece is crucial.

Pulp Fiction

This Lancet watch is probably one of the most iconic movie watches due to the fact that the watch survived the war in a rather peculiar way. The story is recounted by Bruce Willis’ character Butch and also stars Christopher Walken.

15 Minutes

If there ever was a Holy Grail among watches, it’s definitely this Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. This iconic watch has a dial named after Paul Newman, who used to wear the timepiece. This Rolex is also worn by Robert DeNiro in the cult picture 15 minutes. While you can still buy the stainless steel model with the white face worn by DeNiro in the movie, watches from the original series are extremely difficult to track down.

Looking to Own One of These Watches?

If you’d love to own a watch that your favorite protagonist wore in a treasured movie, be it a Rolex or a Hamilton Khaki Chronograph, visit Leo Hamel’s luxurious jewelry store on San Diego Avenue. Our friendly salespeople will help you find the right watch, whether new or pre-owned, from our vast and ever-changing inventory.