From Michael Corleone to Tony Soprano - The Watches of Fictional Organized Crime

Last week I took a look at the watches of notorious gangsters, including Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Pablo Escobar (that article can be read here). This week I thought it would be fun to see what their fictional counterparts wore. From The Godfather to The Sopranos, the prop department made sure to to outfit their stars with time period and character appropriate wrist wear. I will go through some of those choices in depth.

The Godfather

The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Copolla, is perhaps the most beloved mafia movie of all time. The trilogy follows the family of Don Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando) as his eldest son Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) reluctantly joins the “family business.” Over the course of the movies, he is drawn deeper into the business, eventually becoming the new Don.

In 1976 sequel, The Godfather Part II, Pacino can be seen wearing a 14k gold Omega Constellation Pan Pie. Indeed, in the scene Michael Corleone is wearing the Omega, pictured below, he famously says “I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!” (If you are interested, you can also read about Pacino’s other wristwatches here).

While not actually used in the film, Brando was also gifted a Rolex Datejust in 1973, after he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the The Godfather. The inscription on this piece says "Vito's", referring to his character Don Vito Corleone, and "MB" for Marlon Brando. This watch sold at auction in 2019 for $40,000 USD, a bargain in my view.

Scarface

In addition to portraying Mafia Don Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Al Pacino played Tony Montana in the 1983 movie Scarface. Scarface tells the story of a Cuban refugee who arrives in Miami penniless but goes on to become a powerful drug lord. There has been a lot of interest and speculation regarding the watch worn by Pacino in Scarface. You can see it close up in the scene below.

General consensus is that the watch is an Omega La Magique. This was a watch that was made in 1982 in extremely limited numbers (only 261 were ever made). The watch is made of gold and has a quartz, off-center movement so you can see through the dial. You can pick one up for the hefty price of about $18,000 USD.

There are a couple problems with Montana’s watch being a La Magique. As you can see in the video above and the photo below, it appears Montana’s watch has a crown 3 o’clock. The La Magique did not have a crown in the position. Additionally, Montana’s watch appears to have a gold dial. Perhaps, everyone is wrong and the watch worn by Pacino in Scarface is some other mysterious timepiece.

I personally, think that the watch is an Omega La Magique and the props department made a few changes, including to the crown. I also think that Pacino is wearing the watch with the caseback side facing up, perhaps because the gold makes it look more expensive, and something Pacino’s character would wear. Here is the backside of the watch. What do you think?

Casino

Casino is another classic mafia movie. Casino, directed by Martin Scorsese, follows Sam "Ace" Rothstein (play by Robert De Niro), a Jewish American gambling expert handicapper who is asked by the Chicago Outfit to oversee the day-to-day casino and hotel operations at the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas.

Throughout the film Rothstein is seen wearing different timepieces. One of the watches that is featured prominently is the Bueche Girod pictured below. The watch Rothstein is seen wearing is the same model as that on the right, except the one in the film has diamonds up and down the right and left sides of the case. Bueche Girod was a watchmaker that was popular in the late 1970s, especially with the type of person that would frequent Vegas.

De Niro also wore a 25mm Piaget Polo in 18k white gold in Casino. This piece is pretty rare, and featured a blue ‘Lapis Lazuli’ dial and a quartz movement.

The Sopranos

Now that we’ve discussed in detail some of the watches featured in the great organized crime movies, we will move on to some watches that were featured in television. When someone thinks of mafia television shows, The Sopranos comes to mind. The Sopranos featured James Gandolfini as the titular character, Tony Soprano. Throughout the show’s six seasons, Tony moves from underboss to street boss and finally to boss. Befitting of a mafia boss, James Gandolfini can be seen wearing a yellow gold Rolex Day-Date with champagne dial throughout much of the show. Perhaps we will be able to update this article with some new wristwear when The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel film to The Sopranos, premiers October 1st. And oh yeah, James’ son Michael Gandolfini, is playing a young Tony Soprano.

Breaking Bad

The final series we will explore watches from is Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad starred Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a dispirited high school chemistry teacher who is struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime, partnering with his former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), by producing and distributing crystal meth. Throughout the series Walter White evolves from hero, to antihero, to arguably a villain as a murderous meth overlord.

In the show Cranston can be seen wearing this retro-style Tag Heuer Monaco Chronograph with blue dial. This automatic piece is reminiscent of the the Heuer Monaco worn by Steve McQueen in the 1970s. It retails for $6,350 USD.

Gustavo "Gus" Fring, was a fan-favorite villain in Breaking Bad. Portrayed by actor Giancarlo Esposito, Gus Fring was a Chilean-born restaurateur and drug boss. At first glance, Fring was the respected proprietor of Los Pollos Hermanos, a highly successful restaurant chain. However, despite outward appearances, he was a major drug kingpin initially affiliated with a Mexican drug cartel, secretly using his restaurant as a legitimate front for meth distribution throughout the American southwest.

Esposito as Fring can be seen wearing an IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 42 in steel. This complicated timepiece retails for $22,900 USD.