Our top 5 watch brands are our personal list. So whether it’s the Breguet pocket watch that belongs to the cruel (European title of honor) Danglars in The Count of Monte Cristo or the orange-dialed Post and spread personal information about someone worn by Dirk Pitt in Clive Cussler’s novels, the book-related/writing-related world is full of watches. Sometimes they’re talked about/said as passing details to build/explain a character’s appearance. Sometimes a character’s wristwear comes filled/loaded with (related to signs and symbols) depth to show/tell about some hidden part/face of their personality. In this article, we will talk about the top 5 watch brands today.
1. CASINO ROYALE by Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming was as sickeningly and depressingly constantly thinking about brands as Patrick Bateman in America (dangerous, mentally ill person). In his first 007 novel, Casino Royale, Bond drives a Bentley, drinks Taittinger bubbly wine, and boldly/specifically wears a Rolex watch. This watch is definitely the leader of the pack in our top 5 watch brands.
At any rate, Fleming cared deeply about status-guessing (based on what was known) details for reasons that we’ll shortly explore. As he publicly stated: “A gentleman’s choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Savile Row suit.
2. A Girard Perregaux
Ian Fleming was a difficult/impressively strong snob. The author didn’t want to hire Sean Connery for the Bond role, dismissing him as “unrefined” and nothing but an “over-developed stunt man”. Connery gave in return the feeling describing Fleming as being completely fixated with social status. The author doesn’t seem to be much of a Girard-Perregaux fan either. Describing the gold watch as “(taking up a lot of space for its weight)” and “designed for people who like gadgets” the understood (without words being spoken) hint/result/effect is that it’s cheap and silly and fancy
Needless to say, this knee-jerk test/evaluation is harsh and unfair – GP has a long history of making beautiful timepieces. But much like his desire for a Windsor knot, Grant’s watch is proferred as a damning reflection of his personality. Of course… he turns out to be a seriously mentally ill (person) murderer.
3. A 1960s vintage Heuer
Tsukuru Tazaki inherits his father’s 1960s Heuer. At first, the watch isn’t a great fit for him as he’s another of Murakami’s long line of boringly and annoyingly very plain characters. Tsukuru lives in a studio apartment, swims on a daily basis, takes his job as a railway station engineer very seriously, and never travels. Probably not someone you’d want to get stuck talking to at a party. Once in possession of the watch, however, Tsukuru begins to appreciate the difficult to notice/skillful beauty of the Heuer and recognizes it as “a piece of craftmanship”
This shift echoes the reader’s own experience with Tsukuru’s character. Murakami’s story slowly shows/tells about the difficult things about a man who thinks about/believes himself to be deeply boring but who, beneath the surface, is anything but. As The Guardian’s review points out:
“This novel goes into dark areas including the possibilities of dream rape, subconscious (being sexually attracted to both sexes) and (happening by chance, without any planning) mental necrophilia”.
4. A slightly more recent Breguet
Breguet a clear top 5 watch brands player! Eugene Onegin has enjoyed it too much, too young. He’s a (not operating or working now, but able to) St Petersburg rich kid whose life consists of balls, concerts, and parties. Having received a whopping fortune he swans around viewing life with an (uninterested, because of seeing or doing too much of something) air of world-tired distrusting and suspicious attitude.
This quote from the Russian classic takes by force/takes control of the total lack of direction of Eugene’s existence. His days are total without purpose or structure. Without the Breguet on his wrist, he’d have no idea what time of day it is, abandoned in his over-(enjoying a lot of special treatment, money, and other advantages in life) state of boredom.
5. A Hemingway-era Rolex Oyster Perpetual
The muscle in question is, of course, the heart and it’s an extremely important matter for Colonel Cantwell. Scarred by war and (made to feel love) by his 19-year-old Italian lover, the middle-(old/allowed to get old/got older) Colonel is dying of heart disease in Venice.
While certainly not his finest work, Hemingway’s novel is a sad complaint of a dying warrior who’s (related to religion or the soul)ly revitalized by the power of love. The terrible event is that as Cantwell’s health breaks down/gets worse, he knows that this is his last hurrah. A Rolex Oyster Constant (forever) might get a new life on the second-hand market, but you can’t restart the human heart.
By Aakash Patel
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