Opinion: Watches of the Expendables

It’s no secret that Sylvester Stallone is a big watch fan, especially of Panerai. He is often credited with the brand’s rise in popularity here in the States. Sly has been caught wearing many different Panerai references in public, and his fondness for the brand extends to his movies as well. You’ll find a Panerai on his wrist in Daylight, Rambo, and, the focus of this article, all three Expendables movies. When Stallone was picking a watch for the Expendables, he needed a big tough watch for some big tough guys. What better brand than Panerai? A few other brands make an appearance as well but Panerai takes the spotlight as we focus on the watches of the expendables.

In the first Expendables film, Sly wears the PAM 332 Regatta Rattrapante. A reference limited to 500 pieces featuring Panerai’s 44mm 1950 case with a DLC treatment. As the name would imply, it’s a rattrapante, or split-second chronograph. This no doubt comes in handy when you’re placing two separate explosive charges and you need to time both — happens to us all the time. The watch is most prominently featured on Stallone and Jason Statham throughout the film.

In the second film, Stallone opts for the PAM 382 Bronzo. Here you have a 47mm dive watch in Panerai’s Luminor Submersible range with a brushed bronze case, and it’s powered by Panerai’s in-house P.9000 movement. Typically referred to simply as “Bronzo”, the 382 has achieved somewhat of a cult status amongst Panerai collectors. This time, the PAM gets a little more facetime than in the first film and can also be seen on the wrists of Statham, Couture, Lundgren and Crews. Only 1000 of these were made, so hopefully the team didn’t beat them up too badly. Arnold, although also a Panerai fan, wears a 46mm Bell & Ross BR01 — as well as a bad-ass automatic shotgun that makes human confetti out of JCVD’s henchmen.

Arnold’s Bell & Ross BR01

In the latest film, Stallone sticks with the Luminor Submersible line. This time it’s the 47mm PAM 389. This watch features 300m water resistance, a 47mm antimagnetic titanium case, ceramic bezel, a power reserve of 3 days, and also has the P.9000 movement. It’s a definite tool watch, albeit, one meant for well endowed wrists.

Stallone makes somewhat of a departure from Panerai in Expendables 3 at a certain point in the movie. He can also be seen wearing a Richard Mille RM 032. It’s a 50mm(!) titanium dive watch with a skeletonized dial, flyback chronograph, and annual calendar. I’m not sure how tactical a $100k+ watch with bright red strap is, but it sure is cool, and Sly can do whatever he wants. I mean, the guy ended the Cold War with his fists, and that’s a fact.

Throughout the series, Sly has definitely picked some bad-ass watches for himself and his crew. It’s nice to see a fellow watch fan of his status feature pieces that he is personally a fan of in his movies. He sill wears the PAM 332 he wore in the first movie, and he also gave the PAM 382 Bronzos to his cast members to keep — watches they can still be seen wearing in public. As long as he continues making these movies, we’ll continue to write about his cool watches.

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