Underrated Movie Watches: Seiko Pulsemeter, Polerouter & More
Under the Loupe
Something I’ve always wanted to write about is movie watches. For those who know me personally, you’d know that I absolutely crush movies. At the time of writing I’ve seen 186 this year, and I try to write short reviews when I can on my Letterboxd. Watches in movies has always been a crossover of two big interests of mine.
Two great accounts that cover this are Watchesinfilms and Telewatches, both super knowledgeable and have a good eye and you should give them a follow. Something that I always think about are the weird watches used in movies, maybe the movie is a bit niche, or it just doesn’t have the same popularity online. Like everyone knows about James Bond and his Omegas or the story about how the Goodfellas watch is a Seiko, but what I want to talk about is watches in lesser talked about more film heady movies.
To begin, I want to start with a watch I had the pleasure of selling many times, the Seiko Pulsemeter. I keep a red one in my personal collection, which also has a bit of lore. Freddy Mercury had a red Seiko Pulsemeter which was auctioned a couple years ago. But we’re here to talk about movies and not rock icons at the moment. The Seiko Pulsemeter was most prominently featured in the movie Aliens, and worn by the space marines. One of my hot movie takes is that I like Aliens considerably less than the original as the vibe is just totally different. It’s like someone saw Alien and turned on the lights. It’s just so much more of a Hollywood movie and probably a financial vehicle whereas the original is dark, moody, and nothing short of movie magic.
Image from Reddit
But Aliens is not the only movie that has a Seiko Pulsemeter. The watch was also worn in the Dutch movie Spoorloos, or The Vanishing. This is a super creepy movie and almost an all too real horror story about a kidnapping. It’s a good movie if you ever get a chance to see it, and its one that film nerds regularly cite as one of the better spooky thriller movies. I did not know this was the watch until after I saw the movie and dug around finding a Reddit thread from 7 years ago on the subject.
Another movie watch I really love is a Lucien Piccard from the movie Sorcerer. Firstly, it's a great watch. Integrated bracelet, octagonal case, clean roman numeral hour markers, you can tell this is from the 70’s. The watch doesn’t really play a giant role in the movie but it’s prominently featured towards the beginning of the film so it was something that caught my eye. This is also a great movie by the way, Roy Scheider (Jaws, All That Jazz, French Connection) has to transport this big truck through a South American jungle. Plus I absolutely love the director William Friedkin and this is one of my favorites (Cruising, The Exorcist, and To Live and Die in L.A. especially).
Image from Reddit
Lastly, and this one is probably known to all my Universal Geneve collector buddies, but in the French Film La Piscine or The Swimming Pool, style icon Alain Delon wore his personal Polerouter. There is a great article here for all my menswear followers that breaks down his fit along with a great suit he wore in the movie. This is a super stylish movie by the way, Jane Birkin stars opposite Alain Delon and as we all know is just the one of the prettiest most fashionable people ever. What is funny is that before I saw this movie, I saw A Bigger Splash, a 2015 movie by Luca Guadagnino and just did not ever know it was essentially a remake of La Piscine. Both films are great and you should watch either.
Editor's Picks
First up is a vintage Zodiac Sea Wolf from Secondhand Elegancy on Instagram. Keeping in theme, Zodiac is one of my most rewatched movies of all time. In the film the guy they suspect of being the Zodiac killer has a great white dial vintage Sea Wolf. I prefer the models with this lilac colored bezel, but I always told myself if I get a Zodiac for the personal collection I want a white dial. This watch comes with a fully linked bracelet and is in great condition. If you’re like me and always looking for one of these, you may not find another in better condition than this.
Another watch available comes from collector buddy Wristervintage on Instagram. This is a Tissot PR 516 on the original NSA bracelet. As he notes (bit of a callback to my last blog post!) this watch is an evolution of the Roger Moore Tissot from Live and Let Die. As many collectors know Tissot and Omega had more of an intertwined history in the past and this watch uses the same Quartz movement Omega was using. I think this is an absolutely great vintage diver packed with vintage charm.
In the Shop
After a big big week of sales and eBay options, site stick is a little thin! But there are two great watches at an amazing value you should look into.
First is this vintage Movado Dress Watch. By my own estimation, which may be incorrect, this is from the 1940’s, which is absolutely bonkers given the condition of the dial, which hasn’t ever been touched. I got the watch serviced and it runs like a charm. Put a vintage bracelet on there and boom, what we have is an absolutely stunning piece and the most perfect watch to get into vintage Movado. The case is sharp and has never been touched, I’d be absolutely shocked if there is a better example of this same watch floating around.
Next is a Universal Geneve calatrava. This is something I bought to keep personally, but alas I have another UG calatrava that’s all too similar so this couldn’t break into my watch rotation. Perfectly all original and with a charming patina, this is an amazing value buy. I refuse to list it on eBay or Chrono24 because I actually want it to go to someone who will wear it. Many people asked why I photographed it on top of mushrooms and it really was just a funny idea I had on an empty stomach. I will have you know the mushrooms were later used for a ridiculously delicious pasta.
As a sneak peak to the people actually reading this, there should be some great watches coming in this month. A Tudor, Movado, Omega, and stunningly stylish LIP watch should all be set to hit the site in the coming weeks.
A Few More Minutes
Nothing big to add, I had to update the return policy on the site to note the addition of restocking fees. Unfortunately when someone buys a watch and I refund them, I have to pay the payment processing fees out of pocket which is a challenge. It’s really unfortunate as I don’t really have the headroom to cover this, and I try to oblige all returns to the best of my ability, but that’s how it all shakes out.
I’m going to start recording video content soon, primarily for IG reels, YouTube, and Tik Tok. If anyone has a watch or watch collection they want to show please reach out to me because I’d love to interview you and film it.