Lethal Weapon (1987)

Lethal Weapon

Richard Donner's buddy-cop landmark pairs suicidal Vietnam veteran Martin Riggs with settled family man Roger Murtaugh across an LAPD narcotics case. Warner Bros., 1987. (IMDb)

Watches

Timex Black Max 42911

Worn by Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs. Riggs's watch in the first film is probably the Timex Black Max SportsQuartz ref. 42911, not the TAG Heuer Formula 1 ref. 383.513/1 to which it has long been attributed. A collector's reinspection of the 4K master isolates cues that fit the Timex and contradict the TAG: a gold Q above the Timex signature, a red-tipped seconds hand, baton rather than circular hour plots, no red chapter ring, and the 42911's ribbed strap and clasp. The coffee scene makes the case unusually persuasive, but neither the dial printing nor case back is perfectly readable in the available frame, so the reference remains a probable identification rather than a production-confirmed fact. Timex's 1987 US catalog lists the black quartz sports watch at $29.95, precisely the cheap, functional choice one might expect on a detective who lives in a trailer, while the familiar TAG appears clearly in later Lethal Weapon films. (r/Timex identification and 4K frame; 1987 Timex catalog) Propstore's 2026 lot essay for Murtaugh's Timex describes Riggs's watch in passing as a "modern Tag Heuer Formula 1 sports watch", so the auction house and the r/Timex frame analysis disagree; the essay is an aside about a watch that was not in the lot and offers no reference or frame of its own, and nothing available settles it. (Propstore) Watches of Espionage's Christmas-films Dispatch is another voice on the TAG side, giving Riggs "a black plastic TAG Heuer Formula One" of 35 mm, black dial, case and strap, worn "in all four Lethal Weapon movies" and launched in 1986, the year before the film; it publishes a photograph marked "Photo Credit Unknown" and offers no frame analysis. (Watches of Espionage)

© Warner Bros.

Timex watch

Worn by Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh. Murtaugh's watch, from the personal collection of weapons specialist Mike Papac, sold at Propstore's Los Angeles Spring 2026 live auction (March 2026) as "this real-world vintage classic gold Timex quartz watch", with a glass crystal and "a gold-plated president bracelet", worn on his left wrist "throughout the film"; its hands stopped at 11:26 on a dead battery. The essay reads the older detective's gold dress Timex against Riggs's sports watch as the film's generational contrast made visible on the wrist. Timex sold gold-tone quartz dress watches on President-style bracelets throughout the 1980s and the lot names no model, so only the brand is established, by the lot rather than by a frame. (Propstore)

© Warner Bros.