If you haven’t heard about the new John Wick film then you’ve probably been out living a happy life with your still-living dog. As a blockbuster sensation, the John Wick franchise has brought men’s fashion and stylized violence to a wide audience across the country. Though the plot devices and narrative may have a bit of a morbid bend, the fashion itself juxtaposes well against the film’s ballet of violence in both stunning and artful ways. A subtle but powerful aspect of the film’s fashion is the men’s wristwatch. No great suit from James Bond to John Wick has ever been without its well-crafted, modern, and luxurious wristwatch. Being no exception, the third film in the Wick series features plenty of screen time for this timeless accessory.
John Wick 3 opens with the protagonist trying to outrun a ticking clock. The brooding, gun-toting assassin has one hour before a large international bounty is placed on his head. In an obvious hurry to get patched up and find an escape route, John is almost minute-by-minute checking his wristwatch. This wristwatch gets quite a bit of screentime from the get-go—and it’s quite a watch. John is sporting a Manero Autodate by Carl F. Bucherer (CFB). It’s a sleek, minimalist timepiece that slips quite well under his suit coat. It features a black alligator-leather band, silver and white dial, and an anti-reflective sapphire crystal. As John is running to stay alive, his watch is also running—on a 25 jewel swiss movement with a 42 hour power reserve. It’s truly a subtle bit of irony: John’s fight for his life is also powering the life of his timepiece.
As the film progresses, it’s pretty plain to see that CFB is the featured watch brand of the film. In one of the film’s key fight sequences, John is fighting a fellow assassin in a high-rise room full of windows. Given the primarily urban settings of the film, advertisements are easily visible from the mentioned windows. As John is tossing his opponent, throwing blades, and dodging hits, a near-constant stream of CFB watch images is rolling in the background. It isn’t easy to lock down each individual model. However, a gorgeous display of their fashion and dive watches continues to roll alongside the blood and choreography. As it were, if you seek out the CFB website you’ll find that they in fact have been involved with the franchise for some time now. It appears that CFB has made a powerful ally in the Wick franchise. Between John’s wrist and the world around him, their timepieces are a feature that help reinforce the aesthetics of John’s world.
The John Wick series—like other action franchises—co-opts a stylish and well-built wristwatch to reinforce the fashionable-but-tough mystique of its cinema action hero. Like James Bond’s classic Rolex Submariner, John’s CFB watch plays into his powerful style. It seems utilizing the power and reach of a popular film to effectively advertise men’s timepieces won’t be going away anytime soon. Whether or not Mr. Wick outlives his watch’s power reserves is up to you to find out—as an audience member. But if you ever find yourself with a damaged high-end watch due to a martial arts related quest for salvation—keep your real life watch repair experts in mind.
Times Ticking has been in operation for more than 30 years, since 1982. We have performed watch repair for customers both locally and internationally. If it Ticks! We KNOW it! Our team of watch repair technicians have a combined experience in watchmaking of over 120 years.
