Miami Vice (1984)

This is the 1984 television series. For the 2006 film, see Miami Vice (2006).

Miami Vice

Created by Anthony Yerkovich for NBC, Miami Vice follows Metro-Dade detectives James "Sonny" Crockett (Don Johnson) and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) working undercover against South Florida's drug trade; its MTV-influenced visual style and Armani-heavy wardrobe made it a defining look of the 1980s. (IMDb) The series ran five seasons from 16 September 1984 to 25 January 1990. Michael Mann, the show's executive producer throughout its run, later wrote and directed a 2006 feature remake. (Wikipedia)

Watches

Rolex Day-Date

Worn by Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett. Crockett wears a yellow-gold Day-Date on a President bracelet from the pilot episode through most of the first season, but the screen watch was a prop. A 1985 Rolling Stone profile of the production describes a crew member retrieving "Crockett's gun, shoulder holster and the gold Rolex" between takes and quotes Johnson: "Johnson's Rolex is stainless steel... the $8600 gold watch is a fake." Close inspection of production stills shows bracelet details inconsistent with a genuine President. Montres de Luxe separately catalogs the same yellow-gold Day-Date on a President bracelet, describing only its screen appearance rather than addressing the prop question. (Revolution; Montres de Luxe)

© NBC

Rolex Datejust

Worn by Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett. Subsequent episodes move Crockett to a two-tone Datejust on a Jubilee bracelet, ahead of the Ebel chronographs the production later dressed him in; no source narrows the reference. (Revolution)

© NBC

Ebel Sport Classic Chronograph

Worn by Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett. Crockett's later watch is a yellow-gold chronograph built on the Zenith El Primero, a movement Ebel rebadged as its own calibre 134 largely unmodified, unlike Rolex's extensive rework of the same base for the Daytona's calibre 4030. Ebel renamed the Sport Classic range "1911" in 1986 for the marque's 75th anniversary, so period and retrospective coverage describes the same watch under both names. Unlike the fake Day-Date, Revolution considers the Ebel pieces likely genuine and supplied directly by the brand. Montres de Luxe independently corroborates the yellow-gold chronograph under the Sport Classic name, dating Crockett's wear to seasons two through five and noting the same yellow-gold Day-Date recurring in other episodes. (Revolution, Revolution; Montres de Luxe)

© NBC

Hublot Classic

Worn by Bruce Willis as Tony Amato. Montres de Luxe identifies the watch worn by Bruce Willis, in a guest appearance as arms dealer Tony Amato in the episode "No Exit", as a Hublot Classic in gold and steel, worn on his right wrist as usual for the actor. (Montres de Luxe)

© NBC