Will Smith wears a Breitling Chronomat

Before he was Agent J, Will Smith was James Edwards, an NYPD cop wearing a two-tone Breitling Chronomat in gold and steel on a matching bracelet. This is the watch he wore before the Men in Black erased his identity. In the same film, after recruitment, he switches to the Hamilton Ventura, the franchise's standard-issue piece (FAW 79). The Breitling belongs to Edwards's old life, and it disappears when that life does.

The Chronomat is a flashy choice for a police officer's salary. Two-tone gold and steel, a chunky case with rider tabs at the cardinal points, a watch that announces itself from across the room. It fits Barry Sonnenfeld's version of Edwards: the fastest man in the NYPD, smart enough to chase down an alien on foot through midtown Manhattan, confident enough to wear a watch that costs more than his monthly rent. The Breitling is ambition on a wrist.

Smith has nine sightings across the database. The MIB franchise alone accounts for five: this Breitling, three Hamilton Venturas across MIB I through 3, and a Hamilton Pulsar in the time-travel sequences of MIB 3. Outside the franchise, he wore a Breitling Airwolf in Independence Day, a Casio Illuminator in Enemy of the State, a Victorinox in I Am Legend, and a Piaget Polo in Focus. The pattern is consistent: big personalities get big watches.