Amazon Prime’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a reworking of the 2005 action flick starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, is the latest, and by far best-looking TV spy series we’ve seen in some time. The latter is in large part due to Madeline Weeks, the former GQ Fashion Director who designed the show’s costumes, putting particular emphasis on the watches worn by Donald Glover’s lead character John Smith, in the Brad Pitt role.
Indeed, Glover’s wristcandy in the show’s first season could serve as a blueprint for the perfect 10-piece watch collection. The watches he can be spotted wearing include:
- a Rolex Submariner
- a Rolex 1675 Pepsi
- a Root Beer gold Rolex on an oyster band Ref. 1675
- a contemporary Datejust stainless steel Rolex with a fluted bezel
- an unusual vintage Snoopy Rolex watch dial on an Oyster Perpetual
- Rolex Daytona black (ceramic bezel)
- Rolex Daytona white (stainless steel)
- a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch Ref. 5711/1A
- a Patek Philippe gold watch with a black dial, possibly a Ref. 5070J
- an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak blue dial Self-winding Chronograph
His watches get more expensive as the series progresses; Weeks explained to GQ that as part of the backstory, Glover’s character often goes shopping to celebrate a successful mission. He starts off broke, though wearing a stainless steel Submariner, at the beginning of the series; and accrues plenty of watch-shopping lucre as each successful six-figure mission is completed. His co-star Mya Erskine meanwhile is content to wear the same Cartier Tank Must throughout the series, a sensible choice if not as action-ready as Glover’s timepieces.
Weeks told GQ that she “looked to quintessential ’70s thrillers like Robert Redford in Three Days of the Condor and Serpico with Al Pacino” as inspiration for John’s watch habit. We also think that she must have seen Redford sporting a classic Submariner in 1976’s Watergate flick All the President’s Men. John Smith’s style is “a little bit more iconic and a little bit retro” than the typical thriller protagonist. “He loves nice things, and [the watches] was a way we could show it. But he’s not a snob. He owns these watches that are crazy expensive, but not flashy, no diamonds or anything like that,” Weeks said. “We wanted everything to be covetable…. Each Rolex that he wears, you can’t even get those watches” at a Rolex boutique.
Certain forum commenters have speculated that some of Glover’s watches are actually replicas. In particular, when discussing a Patek Philippe Nautilus review, some noted that the watch “looks too thick and clunky,” while others observed that the crown on the Submariner is unscrewed in at least one scene. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate Glover’s choice of timepieces. “His popular grail-watch choices, including the much-discussed Patek Philippe Nautilus, make him seem relatable and human, buying the popular top-end classic grail watches we would all have in our collections if money wasn’t an issue,” noted one observer on WatchUSeek.
“The integration of these beautiful watches as a way to demonstrate the character’s development and telegraph his sense of self-worth is very clever and well executed,” says Bob’s Watches Founder and CEO Paul Altieri, a serious collector in his own right. “Weeks obviously has excellent taste, and we instantly can read all kinds of things into Glover’s character just based on what watch he is wearing.”
As for which watches Glover might sport in future episodes, Altieri says the Rolex Sky-Dweller, vintage Explorer II “Steve McQueen Rolex,” the iconic Omega Speedmaster, and possibly a rare Panerai Luminor rose gold watch might well make the cut. “I don’t see him in a Hublot or a Richard Mille,” Altieri explains. “They’re just a bit too loud. Though if he ever does wear a watch like that, we’ll know a major plot twist is coming.”
