#casio

part 1 / part 2 / part 3

was watching Conclave with my friend and being a watch nerd, he notes:

Lawrence

Lawrence was wearing something like an Orient Bambino (possibly passed down). Watches like that are from the eighties.

Clearly, it's not embellished, and worn over time. A used Orient Bambino exudes decorum without being flashy. Pragmatic and cultured.

__________________________________________________

Bellini

Bellini's watch was quite simple as well.

Potentially an Omega De Ville or more likely a classic Seiko Dolce. Also an old model, implying that he's worn it for some time.

(Apparently, the Omega De Ville doesn't have the same angles) Regardless, people who opt for tank faces (square watches) tend to be ambitious. Simultaneously, they want to project humility.

'He's been doing all the right things to get what he wants,' says my friend. 'He's been curating his image.'

__________________________________________________

Benitez

Benitez's Casio f-91w is a functional watch.

'It exists just to do its job,' says my friend (Nate). 'No fanfare. It tells time and like [Benitez's] character, it's not trying to show up anybody. It just does its job.'

Considering this Casio costs 12 TIMES less than Bellini's Seiko Dolce, you might think this is a humble watch.

But it's not even that. It's an 'I exist' watch.

A few thoughts on Jud Duplenticy's watch

It's one of the original Casio G-Shock 5000 descendants, hard to tell if it's a 5600 (l.) or even a 5200 (r.) but maybe someone can figure the exact model out with higher quality images eventually. I would guess it's a 5600 because it's still today so popular and widespread but I will talk a lot about the 5200 here.

Now why do I find that watch significant? The G-Shock has always been a watch aimed at active lifestyles, the original G-Shock was the first "unbreakable" watch. The notorious 5200 commercial that saved the entire G-Shock brand advertised it as a "sports watch that's ready for action". And he is a priest wearing it. A priest should wear a delicate watch, a classy watch (think of the watches picked for the cardinals in Conclave where Benitez stood out with his Casio F-91w for its practicality and cheapness). But I would assume it's one of few possessions from his previous life that he kept because it is a watch very in line with his old life as a boxer leading a scrappy life. So him not losing the watch when he became a priest tells us about his struggle to put down his old life, his constant falling back into the boxing and fighting. A priest shouldn't need a watch like the G-Shock; but this priest does. And it is of course a hugely nostalgic watch, so it's doubly a call back to the past, to his past.

Normally I would say the F-91w is the perfect choice for his character for the exact same reasons as it is for Benitez- it's the simplest, most accessible, reliable and cheapest watch out there. But he wears the G-Shock equivalent of that watch. So I personally choose to read that as an intentional choice to underline his connection to his own past and the way that life will always haunt him.

And I think it also serves as a metaphor for him as a person: the 5200 commercial laid the groundwork for how the G-Shock is viewed, describing it as "so tough this G-Shock can take a slap in the face and not even flinch". Like Jud the G-shock is tough, it can take a beating, it's durable, it's rugged, and it's old-school.

Afterthought: While a more unlikely possession for him to have, I do like the idea of it being an original 5200. I do struggle to see the little red arrow you find on the 5600's watch face in screenshots which is one indication of it, and the 5200 does have a history that seems appropriate for him. The aforementioned ad that saved the brand saved it not the way you think, but because the ad sparked backlash with Casio being accused of false advertisement- until tests reproducing the ad confirmed it really IS that tough which increased sales and formed the bedrock of the brand's popularity. The same way Jud had to rely on his toughness until his innocence was proven and he could lay the foundation for a welcoming and beloved, accessible church. However, worth keeping in mind that if you want to buy this watch today it's not the cheap piece it was when it came out in the 80s being a vintage item now, so I imagine it has to be something that was given to him a long time ago and not bought by him himself, like I imagine the 5600 might have been.