3 of The Greatest Wristwatches in Hollywood History

Movie stars often sport wristwatches as part of their costume, but some timepieces can become tied to their character’s identity. The watches in this list garnered attention for their roles in some of Hollywood’s greatest hits. From high-tech and gadget-filled dive watches to simple and elegant timepieces, this list highlights the importance of watches in taking movies and the characters in them to the highest level.

1. Omega Seamaster Professional 300M (ref. 2531.80) | Die Another Day (2002)

Omega delivered on every front with the Seamaster Professional ref. 2531.80 – even before Q Branch got their hands on it. The deep blue dial is wrapped in a 41mm steel case with an anti‑reflective, scratch‑resistant sapphire crystal, enabling the watch to resist water up to 30 meters deep. Powered by a self-winding movement with a ~44-hour power reserve, this Omega is right at home in elegant and action-packed settings – the perfect piece for a 00.

Following appearances in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and The World is Not Enough (1999), the Seamaster Professional ref. 2531.80 reprised its role as a high-tech and mission-critical timepiece on Pierce Brosnan’s wrist for Die Another Day (2002). In the movie (and only the movie, sadly), the watch features a laser inside the crown activated by a press of the dial and a detonator pin in place of the helium escape valve.

Though the watch is no longer in production, you can find a used Seamaster Professional ref. 2531.80 for between ~$2,000 and ~$3,000 as of this writing.

2. Heuer Monaco | Le Mans (1971)

This watch received a brief mention in last week’s article about chronograph watches, but its fascinating story earned it an encore in yet another list. The latest model is powered by a Calibre 11 Automatic movement with a ~40-hour power reserve, which sits behind the famed blue dial and inside a 39mm polished steel case. Water-resistant up to 100 meters and designed to perform and look good doing so, the TAG Heuer Monaco embodies every bit of the “cool” that made it so iconic in 1971.

Steve McQueen famously wore the watch as Porsche driver Michael Delaney, although McQueen was also sponsored by the Heuer brand, which continues to use his likeness and legacy in their branding materials today. Six Heuer Monacos made their way onto the Le Mans set for use in filming – almost all of which have since sold for several times their initial sale price. In December 2020, one of the six sold for just over $2.2 million at auction.

One of the latest TAG Heuer Monaco watches retails for significantly less than $2.2 million – ‘only’ $8,100 on TAG Heuer’s website.

3. Hamilton Ventura | Blue Hawaii (1961), Men in Black (1997)

Hamilton shook the world with the release of the original Ventura in 1957 – this uniquely shaped timepiece was the world’s first electric watch. Although the watch independently garnered fame because of its new-age technology, it soon became even more popular after it became known as the watch worn by Elvis Presley. The most recent iteration is powered by a quartz movement that sits inside a triangular stainless steel case measuring 32mm x 50mm. The black dial is complemented by a black leather strap, which almost perfectly matches the piece worn several decades ago by The King himself.

The Hamilton Ventura took the big screen by storm in not one but two major films – Blue Hawai (1961) and Men in Black (1997). Its first major role came on the wrist of Elvis Presley, who dashingly wore the piece as ladies man Chad Gates at the Coco Palms Resort (unrelated, but this resort has a fascinating history). Following that box-office success, the watch then found its way onto the uniform checklist for Men in Black agents, taking a starring role in every one of the franchise’s films since 1997.

The most classically accurate Ventura with a quartz movement retails for $975, but there are several other forms including a quartz chronograph ($1,095) and several automatic variants (~$1,195).

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