Don’t lie, you secretly like Ryan Gosling, don’t you. Yes, you may roll your eyes while watching as he inevitably takes off his shirt on screen (again), but deep down inside you know that he is pretty darn cool, and that’s actually okay.
The reason it’s okay, is because of the film Drive, where Gosling plays a nameless, hard-as-nails, getaway-driver-for-hire. He is a well-dressed, brooding man who lets his actions speak louder than words – most of those actions being comprised of repeated punches to the face. But his soft spot does come out in the form of a stunning Patek Philippe watch that the film tells us was handed down to him by his father.
Here’s where it gets interesting to watch fans. Due to the significance of the timepiece to the film’s storytelling, the filmmakers took their time in deciding what to choose. The eventual decision was a Patek with a brown leather strap – effortlessly cool, classic and understated. But before you pop out to the shops to pick out up, here’s the catch: it is not a real model.
The sheer amount of physical stunts in the film ensured that the risk of the watch breaking was too great, and therefore the props team had to create five replica timepieces that would be used during filming. The piece is based on Patek Philippe’s stunning Calatrava collection (pictured below), and it is easy to see why someone could get so attached to it. In fact, after the film wrapped, the only piece of memorabilia that Gosling asked to keep was the watch.
Prices for a Patek Philippe Calatrava vary depending on model and condition, but you can expect to pay around Dhs70,000 for a men’s rose gold model, such as this one.
