From Narcos to Goodfellas - The Watches Worn by Actors while Portraying Real-Life Gangsters in Film and Television

I previously wrote about the the watches worn by real life crime bosses such as Pablo Escobar, Al Capone and Lucky Luciano. I also wrote about the watches worn by fictional crime bosses such as Michael Corleone, Tony Soprano and Walter White. Due to the great interest in these articles, I thought it made sense to follow them up with an article about the watches actors wore when potraying real-life crime bosses in both film and television.

Narcos

Narcos is an American television series that for the first 3 seasons tells the story of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who became a billionaire through the production and distribution of cocaine. The series also focuses on Escobar's interactions with drug lords, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, and various other opposing entities. In my previous article, I discussed the iced out Rolex Day-Date owned by the real Escobar.

So what did Wagner Moura, who played Escobar in Narcos, wear while portraying the cartel boss? There has been a lot of conjecture regarding the watch Moura wore for his portrayal of Escobar. Is Moura wearing an Omega DeVill Quartz, a vintage Rolex Cellini, or just an unbranded prop? While any of these are possible, I think a vintage Rolex Cellini Ref. 3805/8 is the most likely watch. I think it’s the Cellini because the watch in Narcos is rectangular but had curved bulges on each side, the dial and the case are both gold, there is no crownguard, and the lugs are similar in shape and length.

Goodfellas

Goodfellas is a 1990 American biographical mafia film direct by Martin Scorsese. The film, based on a nonfiction book, tells the story of the rise and fall of mob associate Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) from 1955 to 1980. The film also stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci who apparently must appear in every mafia movie every made. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Pesci won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Henry Hill was an American mobster who was best associated with Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant.

While you might expect Liotta to wear an expensive watch for his portrayal of Hill, production opted for an inexpensive Seiko Quartz SQ 7813 8019. The watch is gold in color, so perhaps production thought that looked expensive enough for the average moviegoer.

Bugsy

We previously discussed the watch worn by Jewish-mobster Bugsy Siegel. He wore a Bulova Clinton in solid 18k gold. Bugsy was a 1991film starring Warren Beatty as the titular character. The film followed Siegel from 1941until his death, recounting his mob ties and the development of Las Vegas.

Determining the watch worn by Beatty in the film is no easy task. Could it be a Jaeger LeCoulture Reverso? Possibly, but the lugs look too ornate to be a Reverso. In this instance, I think the best guess is the simplest, Beatty wore a vintage 1940s Bulova Clinton (or Comptroller). This would be both period appropriate and accurate to what Siegel actually wore. A vintage from that era would not be so prohibitively expensive that production would be priced out of using the most accurate timepiece. You can see that the “bullet” lugs on Beatty’s timepiece are similar to those on the Clinton/Comptroller. The only thing that gives me pause is that the dial appears to be dark.

Boardwalk empire

Boardwalk Empire is an American television show focusing on Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (based on Enoch L. Johnson), a political figure who rises to prominence and controls Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition period of the 1920s and 1930s. During the show Steve Buscemi’s Nucky Thompson associates with many real-life gangsters, including Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, and Charles “Lucky” Luciano. In addition to being critically acclaimed, the show was known for having meticulously put together costumes, created by New York City based Master Tailor Martin Greenfield.

One would expect then that the prop department would pay great detail to the watches worn by the actors. Apparently that was not the case. Vincent Piazza, during his acclaimed portrayal of Lucky Luciano, wore a square gold-plated Rensie watch. Thanks to some internet researchers, we know a little bit about Rensie. The Rensie Watch Company was founded by German-American Paul V. Eisner (naming the company by spelling his name backwards. Eisner registered the Rensie brand in January 1943. Thus it is not time-period appropriate for Lucky Luciano to be wearing this Rensie Boardwalk Empire (which takes place in mostly in the 1930s). However, the look and feel of the watch does look appropriate for the time period. (You can also read more about the real Lucky Luciano’s Patek Philippe here).

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco is a 1997 film that recounts the true story of Joseph Pistone (Johnny Depp), an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias Donnie Brasco. In the film, Donnie infiltrates the Bonanno crime family by befriending a Mafia hitman, Lefty Ruggiero (played by Al Pacino), who vouches for him.

There is very little available regarding what watch Pacino wore in the film. After looking at various timepieces, it appears that Pacino is wearing a Cartier Centiure, like the one pictured below, but on a bracelet. My identification is based on the fact that both the watch in the film and the Centiure have a two-tiered bezel/case and the watch in the film appears to have the classic Cartier Roman numerals and minute design. The Centiure was initially designed in 1927 and relaunched in the 1970s. Pacinos’ watch appears to be the one with the multi-tone gold bracelet picture below. This variation was introduced in the 1990s, in time to be used in the film.

Gotti

It almost feels dirty discussing Gotti with the other classics in this article. The 2018 film, starring John Travolta as Gambino crime boss John Gotti, received a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and was universally panned (hence, I never saw it). However, Travolta’s wrist game in the movie was actually pretty strong.

In the movie Travolta can be seen wearing a Piaget Ultra-Thin White Gold. While the piece pictured below is the not the exact watch, John Gotti Jr. (Gotti’s son) served as a consultant on the film, and Travolta actually wore Gotti Sr.’s Piaget during the film.

The Irishman

The Irishman is a 2019 mafia film written and directed by Martin Scorsese. The film follows Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a truck driver who becomes a hitman involved with mobster Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and his crime family. The film also includes Sheeran’s time working for the powerful Teamster Jimmy Hoffa, played by Al Pacino.

In the film, De Niro can be seen wearing a very cool vintage Mathey Tissot gold wristwatch. In the film, the Mathey Tissor was presented to De Niro’s character by Jimmy Hoffa at a banquet honoring labor union officials. Mathey-Tissot, which is not the same as Tissot, was established in 1886 in the Swiss Canton of Neuchâtel. While it made high-end pieces in the past, today they most sell affordable quartz and mechanical watches.