Jamie Foxx wears a Raketa

Jamie Foxx didn't just play Ray Charles. He became unrecognizable. Taylor Hackford's Ray (2004) follows Charles from his childhood in Northern Florida, where he went blind at seven, through decades of musical innovation, addiction, and personal turmoil. Foxx learned to play piano for the role, wore prosthetic eyelids, and moved through the film with a physical commitment that earned him the Academy Award. The performance disappears into the music in a way biographical films rarely achieve.

Foxx wears a Raketa, a Soviet watch brand whose factory in Petrodvorets dates back to 1721, originally established by Peter the Great. The modern brand launched in 1961, named "rocket" in Russian to celebrate Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight. It's an unusual choice for an American musician, but the real Ray Charles toured internationally throughout the Cold War and was known for eclectic personal tastes. A Raketa on a blind musician is also a watch chosen entirely by feel rather than appearance, which says something about both the brand's robust construction and the character's relationship to objects.