Christopher Plummer wears a Waltham

Harlan Thrombey, the mystery novelist Christopher Plummer plays in Knives Out, wears a watch most people would not recognize. It is a Waltham, a plain vintage piece with a cream dial on a brown leather strap, and you catch it when he unbuttons his cuff so his nurse can give him his shot. The brand is the interesting part. The Waltham Watch Company changed how watches were made.

Starting in the 1850s, a dozen miles west of Boston, Waltham built the first American watches out of standardized, machine-made parts, instead of fitting each one by hand. The rest of the industry followed. Abraham Lincoln carried a Waltham. And then the company lost to cheaper competition and closed in 1957.

His grandson Ransom, played by Chris Evans, wears a Rolex GMT-Master with the red and blue Pepsi bezel, a watch you can still buy today. Harlan wears one from a company that no longer exists.