Watches We've Seen in Movies and Shows January 2024

Typically after the work day has concluded, my wife and I have had dinner and we have put our twin daughters to bed, we like to finish the day off by watching a movie or series like most people do. Having been in the watch industry for nearly two decades, it is hard to turn off your brain to all things watches, and when a watch pops up on the TV we instantly pause the scene and try to figure out what watch is being worn.

For some strange reason, my wife is much better at spotting a watch than I am. For the most part I don’t even notice and she’ll be like “what’s that watch?” Since she seems to be much better at this than I am, she has been keeping tabs of the different watches we’ve seen and this morning I received an email from her with a rather large list of movies and TV shows and the watches we spotted on them. Since this list is already rather long, I thought it would be a good time to start talking about the watches we’ve been seeing on screen.

I guess it only makes sense to start with the first entry on the list of keep working our way through the list. The first movie that we spotted something interesting being worn in was the movie Moonfall. I believe we watched Moonfall on Max and found the movie to be pretty interesting. We do tend to enjoy end of the world style movies with Moonfall skewing a bit to the sci-fi end of the spectrum. The movie basically deals with the moon being knocked out of orbit and the other worldly reasons for it.



The main protagonist in the movie is played by actor Patrick Wilson and throughout the movie you can see him wearing the same steel black dialed chronograph. Upon closer inspection you can see that is an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional. This watch is actually cast perfectly for the movie as well as for Wilson’s astronaut character. Since 1965 the Omega Speedmaster has been used by NASA to accompany astronauts on their missions and has even been on the surface of the moon. With Moonfall obviously focusing on the moon and astronauts, there really couldn’t have been a better watch to feature throughout the movie.



The next movie on the list is the Netflix action thriller Extraction. In this movie Chris Hemsworth plays a mercenary who is tasked with the impossible mission of rescuing a kidnapped son of a drug lord in Bangladesh. The movie was actually pretty insane with some of the longest action set pieces we’ve seen. Throughout the movie you can see Hemsworth’s character wearing a rather large and impossibly tough looking watch. To nobody’s surprise the watch being worn is a Casio G-Shock. The G-Shock featured in the film is the Master of G Rangeman GM-9400.



The GM-9400 is one of the toughest G-Shocks in the collection with full shock resistance and a 200 meter water resistance. The GM-9400 also is powered by solar, so there isn’t even the need to change the battery, which could be helpful if you were on years long missions. The color scheme also makes the GM-9400 blend in well with various camouflage outfits mercenaries like Hemsworth’s character would wear. In all the Rangeman GM-9400 is a near perfect solid casting for Extraction.



Up next we have the Netflix series FUBAR starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as an undercover CIA agent living a double life pretending he is a gym equipment salesman to his family. The series takes on an interesting turn when it is revealed that his daughter is also undercover in the CIA. Naturally the two are paired up together and the show turns out to be fairly funny. Now Arnold has been involved in the watch industry heavily since the 2000s. His first major involvement was when Audemars Piguet created the End of Days Royal Oak Offshore for the movie of the same name, after followed many limited editions celebrating Arnold. One in particular was the watch created by Audemars Piguet for Terminator 3 T3. The watch was the Royal Oak Offshore T3, which came in a white dial as well as a black dial in a 48 mm titanium case.



In FUBAR it is extremely easy to spot the huge watch on Arnold’s wrist, and being a huge fan of Royal Oak Offshores and having worn numerous T3s over the years, the watch was instantly identified as a black dial variant of the T3. Is the Royal Oak Offshore T3 the best choice for a gym equipment salesman or a CIA operative? I guess the gym owner might make more sense, since it’s a huge watch and Arnold is huge… also if his business at some point was successful enough, the roughly $30,000 price tag on the aftermarket could make sense. I’m not sure how well a T3 would do on CIA missions though. Something like the above mentioned G-Shock might be a better choice while out in the field. Since its Arnold though, he gets a pass for any of the watches he did in collaboration with AP showing up in any of his projects from me.



Interstellar was the next movie up on the list, which is a sci-fi / adventure movie we watched on Amazon Prime Video. The movie follows former NASA pilot played by Matthew McConaughey as he goes through a wormhole looking for a new home for humankind. To not get too much into the plot of the movie, which would require a few articles, the movie really has a huge focus on time. So naturally casting a watch in the movie would be rather important, since time is crucial to the plot.



Throughout a rather plain vintage watch can be spotted many times and even plays a crucial role in the movie. The watch that the producers picked for the movie was none other than the Hamilton Khaki Filed Murph Auto. This watch could be seen being worn by Murphy Cooper played by Jessica Chastain. Murphy’s father Cooper played by Matthew McConaughey also wears a Hamilton in the movie, being a Khaki Aviation Day-Date. Both watches are cast accordingly to the characters, with Murph’s watch being a gift and Cooper’s watch being appropriate for a pilot. It also makes sense both watches were Hamiltons, since Murph’s was a gift from her Hamilton wearing father.



Not all the movies and shows that we watch are well known and as popular as those mentioned above, with the next movie we’re going to talk about is the horror / mystery film Arctic Void which we watched on Amazon Prime Video. The movie is about a group of three filmmakers that go on a trip to the arctic to film their documentary movie. While on the boat that is taking them to their destination things get a bit weird and everyone onboard disappears. The movie was rather enjoyable, enough so that I still remember it months later. One of the main protagonists of the film is Ray Marsh played by Michael Weaver. Throughout the movie you can see Ray wearing a rather large stainless steel watch.



It takes a few scenes for the watch to really be visible, but once it is, it’s not easy to tell the exact reference, but the brand and model line are super recognizable. The large crown guard on Ray’s watch gives the watch away as a Panerai Luminor instantly. Although we can’t make out the exact model, the closest in Panerai’s current catalog is the Luminor Marina PAM01562. This model has a stainless steel case and bracelet along with a black dial. This is a very close match to the watch Ray wears in the film. Now the $9,500 retail price might be a little high for somebody working on a low budget documentary film as the character portrays, but on the secondhand market, similar watches can be had for much less. With an expedition out to the arctic, the Panerai is also a great choice given its rugged construction.



Getting back into big well known movies, next up we have John Wick Chapter 4. The John Wick series have always been extremely well done action movies directed by Keanu Reeves’ former Matrix stunt double Chad Stahelski. With a former stuntman directing an action movie, you know the formula is there for a great movie. In John Wick 4, John is now in a position where he has to confront those who have a price on his former hitman’s head. The watch John Wick is seen wearing is a rather plain dress watch. The watch being in question is the Carl F. Bucherer Manero Autodate.



Now the Manero Autodate is a great watch, but maybe just a strange choice for John Wick’s character. True the dress watch aesthetics do go well with Wick typically wearing a suit, but I think the watch could have been cast a bit better. I think if you’re sticking with a dress watch, somebody of John’s reputation and wealth would probably have been served better in a Patek or Vacheron… but to be honest the perfect watch for John Wick would have been a Rolex Submariner. To get this point across further, Keanu Reeves even gifted every member of the stunt team for John Wick 4 with their own Submariner. Huh.



For our final movie we have Dwayne The Rock Johnson’s Rampage. In Rampage The Rock plays primatologist Davis Okoye who through a failed genetic experiment is force into saving the world from giant animals / reptiles. The plot of the movie was adapted from the popular old school arcade classic of the same name. Overall we enjoyed Rampage for what it is, just a fun and over the top action movie with some humor tossed in. Being a bigger than life personality as well as a large human, the Rock’s watch had to also be oversized for the movie.



For the watch cast as The Rock’s sidekick in Rampage, the MTM Special Ops Cobra 47 watch was picked. This huge watch looks the business crafted out of durable brushed titanium and coming on a rugged black fabric strap. The watch also features a durable quartz chronograph movement. While the watch certainly looks the part, we’d like to have seen something just as tough but also being mechanical. I’d hate to go back to a brand already featured in this article, but maybe a Panerai Luminor Submersible in titanium would have been a more real world choice for The Rock’s character in Rampage. You get all of the size and durability of the Cobra 47, but with a superb mechanical movement as well.



Well there you have it, seven movies or series we have recently watched and the watches featured in them. I guess I didn’t realize how long my wife’s list of movies was, seeing this was only the first fifth of the list. Also this list will only grow the more we keep seeing watches popping up in the movies and shows we watch. So I’m sure more articles like this will continue to be posted from time to time.