Mad Men’s Don Draper and His Luxury Watches

AMC’s Mad Men was the snapshot of a bygone era, but its influence on today’s fashion still lives on.

Set in the 1960s, the characters’ wardrobes stay true to the times, and protagonist Don Draper is no exception. Through the course of its seven-season run, Draper went through many transformations, wristwatches included. Here’s a selection of his timepieces:

Draper’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso got a lot of screen time starting in the second season. It’s a gold number with a white dial—in one episode, Don’s wife had the watch engraved, which Jaeger-LeCoultre mimicked later on when it released a special Mad Men-edition Reverso in tribute to the show.

But the Reverso isn’t the only Jaeger-LeCoultre watch to make an appearance on Draper’s wrist. During season one of Mad Men, he sported a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox with a replacement “Tuxedo” style dial.

For Mad Men‘s season four, Draper started wearing a Rolex Explorer, which had a black dial and stainless steel Oyster bracelet. At one point during the show, Draper and his advertising agency worked on landing the Rolex account, so the wardrobe change was prescient.

A 1966 OMEGA Seamaster De Ville made its appearance on Draper’s wrist in season six. Considered one of the dressier OMEGA models, the Seamaster Deville has a black dial and date indicator at 3 o’clock, and was one of the hottest watches at the time it was released.

Don Draper will probably go down in pop culture history as an icon of style. Kudos to the Mad Men costume designer, Janie Bryant, for her attention to detail and ability to pick authentic, smart clothing and accessories to reflect Don Draper’s outsized presence on the screen.
Editor’s Note: This article was first published April 8th, 2013 and has since been updated for accuracy. 

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Image Credits: Header, 1-4; AMC.