Higgins' watch

[MaximRecoil]

Does Higgins' choice of watch seem odd to you? Would the Higgins character really choose a newfangled Japanese digital watch? I would expect him to have something much more traditional; maybe a classic WWII-era British Army watch (manufactured by several companies), like this one, or this one; or maybe a Rolex Speedking, like some British soldiers of that era upgraded to on their own dime.

And for formal events, I would imagine him to have a fancy gold watch of some sort.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

I don't think that Higgins would ever wear a fancy gold watch.

Assuming that he's really the majordomo and not Robin himself, I find it plausible, that he's not wearing a famous brand - be it for the watch, his suits, shirts and so on.

Jonathan has a sophisticated lifestyle, he deifinitely knows a lot about the good things in life but like he doesn't drink a US$ 1000 from the cellar, he won't spend crazy money on a watch.
Same with Magnum, who would not buy the Rolex (as he would never be able to cough up enough cash) himself, he inherited it from his father.

[ConchRepublican]

I seem to remember a Higgins pocket watch? I bet THAT'S his high end hand-me-down/family heirloom.

[MaximRecoil]

I don't think that Higgins would ever wear a fancy gold watch.

I mentioned the "fancy gold watch" as a side note, specifically for formal events (like events that call for a tuxedo). I think his everyday watch would be a classic military watch. I can't see someone like Higgins going with the '80s digital watch fad, nor any other fad for that matter.

By the way, the WWII-era Rolex Speedking that was often bought by British (and other) soldiers as an upgrade to their standard military watches, was not gold and was not outrageously expensive at the time.

Same with Magnum, who would not buy the Rolex (as he would never be able to cough up enough cash) himself, he inherited it from his father.

Even that watch wasn't outrageously expensive when his father would have bought it in the 1950s. It even wouldn't have been totally unbelievable for Magnum to have bought that watch himself during his military days in the late '60s and '70s, especially if he bought it used, as it was only $255 new at that time. Now, $255 was quite expensive for a watch at the time, but not outrageously so like the same watch is today.

I seem to remember a Higgins pocket watch? I bet THAT'S his high end hand-me-down/family heirloom.

Interesting. Does anyone know what episode(s) that was in? I'm curious about what kind of pocket watch he had.

[J.J. Walters]

Maybe it was a gift from Sato Osawa.

[MagnumILWU]

'The Eighth Part of the Village'

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

The Digital Seikos from the 80s have been far away from being fads.

The technology was established, incredibly accurate and was a pragmatic, rational choice. Functionwise, there was nothing better than them and Seiko was the best quality available at that time. Higgins for being a pretty pragmatic person - sometimes - would likely have chosen them.

As for your gold watches remark: I don't think, that he'd even wear a "fancy gold watch" on special occasions - that was a general remark which included them.

I agree, that he may use a heirloomed pocket watch as well, but don't remember an episode where we can see one.

[MaximRecoil]

The Digital Seikos from the 80s have been far away from being fads.

Digital watches were an '80s fad, regardless of who made them.

The technology was established, incredibly accurate and was a pragmatic, rational choice. Functionwise, there was nothing better than them and Seiko was the best quality available at that time.

Whether those things are true or not has nothing to do with whether or not they were a fad. How many digital watches does Seiko make today? Any? Can you link to some on their current website?

As far as accuracy goes, it has nothing to do with whether or not they are digital ("digital" only references the type of display). The accuracy comes from the underlying time-keeping mechanism. In the case of digital watches, by the time they became a fad, that mechanism was quartz-based, which is more accurate than mechanical movements, and was/is available with both analog and digital display watches.

I knew no one in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch. My father, grandfather, all of my uncles, great uncles, neighbors, etc., all had analog watches that they'd had for many years or even many decades; Hamiltons, Walthams, Elgins, Bulovas, Gruens, etc. On the other hand, nearly every watch worn by a kid that I went to school with in the '80s was digital, that is, until the "Swatch" fad hit our school in about '86 (those were analog).

Higgins for being a pretty pragmatic person - sometimes - would likely have chosen them.

He wasn't pragmatic to the exclusion of tradition. Most men are quite set in their ways by the time they are in their 50s or 60s, and Higgins came across as someone very set in his ways.

Digital watches were also often looked upon with scorn by the older generation, as a "dumbing down" type of device (sort of in the same way as velcro shoes, another thing I doubt Higgins would have had, despite them being briefly a fad in the '80s). As an example, I remember in 5th grade (1985), a kid named Jeremy asked our teacher, Mr. Maxell, what time it was. Jeremy normally wore a digital watch, but for some reason he wasn't wearing it that day, maybe it was broken. In any event, Mr. Maxell wasn't the coddling type. For example, if anyone asked him how to spell a word, he would point at the dictionary. So for Jeremy, he pointed at the clock on the wall (analog of course). As it turned out, Jeremy couldn't tell time. So, class did not proceed until Jeremy had learned to tell time, and for several weeks thereafter, Mr. Maxell would randomly confirm that Jeremy had retained what he'd learned, by having him look at the clock on the wall and tell him what time it was. Mr. Maxell blamed digital watches for this outrageous oversight in Jeremy's education, and in this case, it was true. Jeremy never had to learn to tell time because he had a digital watch.

As for your gold watches remark: I don't think, that he'd even wear a "fancy gold watch" on special occasions - that was a general remark which included them.

I agree, that he may use a heirloomed pocket watch as well, but don't remember an episode where we can see one.

Most old pocket watches were "fancy gold", at least the ones that became heirlooms (at the very least they were sterling silver). I have one myself; a 14 karat gold-cased Waltham manufactured in 1919, given to me by my grandfather (which still works perfectly by the way). So if you can see him with an heirloom pocket watch, why do you take exception to the idea of him wearing an equivalent wrist watch on certain occasions?

[MaximRecoil]

Well, now I know why the Higgins character wore that watch: it is because it was John Hillerman's own watch. In this interview which took place between seasons 4 and 5 of Magnum, P.I., you can see him wearing that same Seiko digital watch (there is a good shot of it at about 6:16) - link.

So the people in charge of the show didn't actually give any thought to what sort of watch the Higgins character would really wear; Hillerman—who has little in common with the Higgins character—simply wore his own watch.

I don't know how many of you have seen this interview already, but I'd never seen it before. It is the first time I've heard Hillerman's natural accent, and as I suspected after hearing his not-so-convincing Texas accent in The Elmo Ziller Story, it is fairly neutral. He mentions in the interview (at about 10:50) that he lost his accent when he went to New York and enrolled in the American Theatre Wing for a year, due to having a real good voice coach. Actually, I think I can hear a hint of the old Hollywood "Transatlantic accent" coming from him, which makes sense given his theater background in the 1950s, and having a voice coach at the American Theatre Wing no less. Also, going from a "Transatlantic accent" to a posh British accent (like Higgins') is a small step.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

so far with the "I knew no one in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch" theory

Being a watch nut, I am pretty sure that I've seen a different Seiko on Higgins wrist.

I seem to recall that I've seen at least 2 different digital Seikos over the years.

[MaximRecoil]

so far with the "I knew no one in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch" theory

It wasn't a theory, it was a statement of fact, and it hasn't changed. I knew no one in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch. I didn't know John Hillerman in the '80s, and I still don't know him.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

I don't think that I'll have to explain in which context the mentioned line was used by you.

So, people in Higgins age had this kind of watches back then - hope that we can finally agree on this

And btw, there is no such a thing like "fancy gold" - it's just gold

[MaximRecoil]

I don't think that I'll have to explain in which context the mentioned line was used by you.

Yes, I think you will have to, if you are under the impression that there is some context which alters the plain English meaning of my sentence. I knew no one in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch, and that is a fact, period.

So, people in Higgins age had this kind of watches back then - hope that we can finally agree on this

Say what? I never claimed, suggested, nor even hinted otherwise. Of course there were people in the '80s in Higgins' age range with a digital watch. I said that I didn't know any of them. This suggests that it was uncommon. It does not suggest, nor even hint, that it never happened anywhere in the world.

And btw, there is no such a thing like "fancy gold" - it's just gold

Again, say what? "Fancy" refers to the gold watch, not to the gold itself. Any gold watch is "fancy", as is anything else that is made out of gold for primarily cosmetic reasons. Gold is an expensive precious metal, which elevates objects fashioned from it for primarily cosmetic reasons, above "plain" by default.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

I'll not elaborate further as it will not add anything to the topic.

[Higgins (aka Bondtoys)]

Here a pic of the watch in question from the Hillerman interview:

I have tried to make the best out of the screengrab: