If we take Ware’s backstory on board, an Elgin watch is a perfect fit. âElgin was founded in 1864, primarily manufacturing pocket watches. By 1913, they were producing men’s strap watches. However, it was still considered somewhat effeminate for men to be wearing a wristwatch rather than a pocket watch. That all changed with the advent of America joining the fighting,â says Leslie Fleischman, managing director of The Vintage Watch Room. âTowards the end of the war, Elgin produced three models, all named after the three principal Allied Generals; the Kitchener (UK), the Foch (France), and the Pershing (USA). These were open to public ownership after the armistice in 1919.â
Smoke dresses more hardcore, in workwear-style tailoring, compared to his twin, who wears sharp Italian suits. And the trench watch is an outwardly visible signifier of his military roots and how his character will develop into a gun-slinging vampire killer. Weirdly, in a movie about blues-loving vampires, it helps add to a sense of reality.
âRyan [Coogler] wasn’t too particular about what the watch looked like. He was more concerned with it being period-appropriate for the time. We showed him a few watches he was happy with. However, he deferred to MBJ and said to let him pick,â says Ware. âDuring a camera test, initially, Michael was happy with the first choice. However, when he put on his suit jacket, the sleeve would catch on the watch face and look a little sloppy. He didn’t care for that. So the watch that made it into the movie was our second choice. It worked much better for Michael.â
Watches snagged on more than just shirt sleeves over the course of filming. 100-year-old military watches donât work like modern-day G-Shocks, and things can go wrong. âThe one he [Jordan] wears in the movie did actually work. Until he goes into the water to stab [spoiler alert] Remmick. We quickly found out it was not waterproof,â says Ware. But thatâs actually more common than you might imagine. âElgin watches were not really waterproof. During WW1 there were trench watches where the case was made by Francois Borgel, [and were] considered waterproof. But weâve never seen a Borgel-cased Elgin,â says Fleischman.
With a high-octane thriller like Sinners, having a watch that is grounded in reality is a constant, albeit subtle, reminder of Smokeâs past life and military credentials. Sure, itâs not a direct point of reference in the dialogue, but just like watches IRL, it is a poignant and present signifier to the world. In Smokeâs case, he is showing that he fought for his country, and is a capable guardian of those close to him, which comes in handy when shit goes down.
This story originally appeared on British GQ.