Joel’s Broken Watch in The Last of Us

Design history

Joel's watch began as a detail in concept art. Neil Druckmann remembers the story of Sarah's gift coming afterward, when the team asked what that object on his wrist might mean.

ByIMWDb Editorial25 October 2026

Joel holds Sarah during the prologue of The Last of Us; the olive watch strap is visible at his wrist.

In Naughty Dog's official podcast, Druckmann recalls a character drawing that already showed Joel wearing a watch. During backstory discussions, the team connected the watch to his dead daughter. Touching it could recall Sarah without requiring Joel to explain the loss in dialogue. He qualifies the recollection as his memory of those early discussions. (Naughty Dog, episode 1)

Sarah's birthday present

The opening of The Last of Us establishes the watch before the outbreak separates it from ordinary family life. Sarah gives it to Joel because he has been complaining about his old broken watch. He pretends the new one is already stuck; she briefly believes him. Naughty Dog's transcript preserves the exchange and Druckmann's explanation that Sarah had saved for the gift. (Naughty Dog)

Joel and Sarah in the opening birthday conversation, before she gives him the watch. Frame reproduced by Gram.pl.

The damaged watch Joel subsequently wears recalls an object the player has already seen working, in a scene where father and daughter could joke about a malfunction. Its cracked crystal gives that earlier scene a persistent physical trace. The watch is recognizably ordinary in its design: a dark dial, prominent numerals and a cloth strap. The damage is what makes this particular example Joel's.

The television adaptation changes the gift. In The Last of Us on HBO, Sarah has Joel's existing watch repaired. GQ describes the distinction between that version and the game's birthday present. The game gives Joel a new watch; the television series returns his old one to him. (GQ)

Sarah hands Joel his gift in HBO’s first episode. This adaptation makes the watch a repaired keepsake. Frame via Kotaku.

The Lüm-Tec comparison

The Lüm-Tec Super Combat B2 is the real watch most often associated with the game design. GQ names it as a source the designers drew on while describing the finished object as custom. The small-seconds layout, field-watch numerals and ridged bezel explain the comparison; the altered dial and absent retail branding prevent an exact production-watch identification.

There is no documented Lüm-Tec placement agreement in the sources cited here.

The original small-seconds Super Combat B2, shown on leather in a Sutor House photograph. A design comparison, not an exact identification of Joel’s watch.

The connection continues in The Last of Us Part II, where the broken watch appears among the objects associated with Joel. Its identity depends on the retained damage as much as the original dial design. The game's appearance record includes the scene of Ellie holding it, a useful comparison with its earlier wrist appearance.

Ellie holds Joel’s damaged watch in The Last of Us Part II. The cracked crystal and small-seconds dial remain visible.

MSTR makes a wearable version

MSTR's Joel's Watch is the authorized physical translation. The maker documents its work with Naughty Dog and PlayStation, a run of 1,000, a 41 mm silver-colored case, an olive NATO-style nylon strap and a Seiko quartz movement. Its published specification calls for a mineral crystal. (MSTR)

The replica supplies working hands where the game leaves a broken watch. Its Seiko movement and mineral crystal are MSTR’s construction choices; neither specification identifies a hidden component of the fictional original.

MSTR’s licensed replica reproduces the field-watch layout and olive strap with a working quartz movement.

Browse the catalog: Watches in video games.

Sources