The Sweep of the Second Hand (2001)

Dean Monti's first novel is narrated by Malcolm Cicchio, who runs a failing art cinema in a Chicago heat wave, believes he is losing a minute of sleep every night and has yellowjackets living in his wall. His ex-girlfriend Lena is about to marry a cardiologist, and she will not give him back his watch. (Open Library)

Watches

Timex (unidentified model): The watch was Lena's present: nothing gold, no date, a simple Timex with regular numerals and a black leather band, which Malcolm showed to friends, family, waitresses and bank tellers without ever convincing her that he had reacted properly. Getting it back becomes the errand of the book. At her wedding, as the groom, Doctor Andrew Buntrock, takes hold of him to throw him out, the doctor's cuff rides up and Malcolm sees a familiar Timex with a black leather band on the thick wrist. The maker is named; the model is not.

Source text: There was nothing unusual about the watch, it wasn't gold, it didn't display the date or anything. Just a simple Timex watch with regular numerals and a black leather band. (Dean Monti, The Sweep of the Second Hand, scan cataloged as Academy Chicago Publishers, 2001, p. 164; he describes it again on p. 172 and sees it on Buntrock's wrist on p. 273; his surname is on p. 38 and the jacket copy sets out the quarrel; Internet Archive scan OCR)