Robert Redford wears a Rolex Submariner

Robert Redford plays Bob Woodward in Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men (1976), and the watch on his wrist is his own Rolex Submariner ref. 1680 "Red Sub," reportedly purchased to celebrate the success of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). The 1680 ran from 1967 into the late 1970s and was the first Submariner to carry a date and a cyclops lens, marking the model's drift from pure dive tool toward daily-wear luxury. Its red "Submariner" dial text, made only in the early years until around 1975, is what gives this version its nickname.

Dustin Hoffman, playing Carl Bernstein, went method on accessories: he wore the real Bernstein's personal watch and carried his actual wallet during filming. Redford did not match the gesture. The real Bob Woodward wore a Heuer during the Watergate years, but Redford passed on a period-accurate prop and stuck with his own Submariner instead. Pakula, who built the film on dim newsroom fluorescents and the rhythm of two reporters working phones, did not push back. The watch is on screen because Redford was wearing it, not because the production picked it.

Pakula's two hours chase the conspiracy that ended Richard Nixon's presidency. The Submariner is on Redford's right wrist throughout, his real-life preference.