Here at TimesTicking we enjoy perusing pop culture to mine its subtle (and/or blatant) uses of time pieces. After all, horology isn’t always a highlight in this context—so it’s become a bit of a directive for us to locate any watches and clocks that orbit the popular culture sphere. Movies tend to be a big standout when it comes to utilizing watches and clocks (as one might guess). Set designs and wardrobes are made to be believable—all the way down to the finest detail. This is what’s so exciting about the new Wonder Woman 1984 trailer. Humanity’s woman of truth-and-justice is getting a fast-forward in her timeline and there’s a WWI-era nod to her past in the 1984 cinematic promo.
“Wristlets” Before “Wristwatch”
During WWI, the era in which the first Wonder Woman film takes place (if you haven’t seen the film), wristwatches were a new concept. Jerry-rigged wristwatches were being fashioned by soldiers out of pocket watches and spare leather. Some prominent watchmakers released what they referred to as “wristlets” around this time, as well. Wristlets were seen as a high-society women’s novelty prior to WWI-era watches. As it turns out—these women were ahead of the times in terms of timekeeping.
The wristwatch in Wonder Woman, however, does not belong to the Amazonian warrior herself. In the first film Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) demonstrates his father’s wristwatch to Wonder Woman (Diana). He claims that the watch “went through hell n’ back”. All of us at TimesTicking are impressed with the research that went into the use of this watch and its design. Without giving anything away from the first movie, we will say that seeing this watch on display in the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer was pretty exciting. It shows that she still remembers Steve and the past that set off her career as a superhero. What might be more interesting to see is what they’re going to do with Steve Trevor—considering Chris Pine is on the list of actors for the new film which takes place nearly 70 years after the events of the first.
Stacking Retro Style
DC doesn’t always knock it out of the park with their modern superhero movies. Wonder Woman is a wonderful exception and has shattered records while employing a diverse range of industry professionals in its production. Surely this massively successful DC Universe movie will give the star treatment to its sequel. Diana’s exploits will be taking on a fresh aesthetic for the 1980s—while retaining sentiment from the 1910s. During a time when digital watches had almost fully usurped mechanical wristwatches (the 1980s), having a proto-wristwatch involved in this sequel is a fantastic horological detail. Steve Trevor’s watch may not have any true bearing on the film’s plot but its presence is a testament to how good research can help with strong storytelling. We look forward to any other period-specific timepieces in Wonder Woman 1984. We’ll be sure to wear our best wristlets out to the theatre.
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.
