There’s an interesting new Apple TV+ television show starring Jon Hamm that involves a heavy dose of wristwatches.

The show is called Your Friends & Neighbors, and in earlier episodes, Richard Mille, Cartier, and Patek Philippe timepieces are part of the storyline.

In fact, not just watches, but numerous luxury items are referenced as part of the storytelling. Hamm at one point explains to a tee how you cannot buy a Hermès Birkin handbag at retail (which is true in real life). This is uniquely similar to the way Rolex markets its hottest professional watch models, such as the GMT-Master II, Submariner, and Daytona.

Without giving away too much, in the season 1 finale, episode 9, a (discontinued) stainless steel Rolex Daytona Cosmograph (Ref. 116520) is prominently displayed and discussed as an integral part of two scenes, and referenced verbally in a third scene. The most interesting part is that it’s a birthyear Daytona.

A birthyear Rolex (or any brand) refers to a watch that’s the same as your birthyear, or someone else’s. It’s often your child’s year of birth. The purest form of this is for a parent to buy the watch the year their child is born, then hold it (wear it) and gift it to them at a later date, like when they turn 18.

The Rolex Daytona Ref. 116520 is powered by the caliber 4130, Rolex’s first in-house chronograph movement, which was produced from 2000 to 2016. It’s commonly available on the pre-owned market and has long been one of Rolex’s most popular timepiece models. Rolex Daytona 116520s can be found for sale from just under $17,000 to over $100K — depending on the exact model, year, condition, and provenance.

Judging from the sheer detail involved in the show, the producers of Your Friends & Neighbors are certainly aware of the unwritten rules of buying highly sought-after luxury handbags and timepieces. And based on the finale, we can now safely assume they understand the minutiae of watch-collecting culture as well.

 

Screenshot by Apple TV+. Photo by Bulang & Sons.