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Actor Bob Odenkirk spotted wearing Mercury

When the costume department on Better Call Saul put a vintage Mercury LED digital quartz watch on Bob Odenkirk's wrist, they made a decision that speaks volumes about the character of Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman. It is not a Rolex, not a Piaget — it is a piece that screams new money ambition filtered through 1970s kitsch, and it works on every level.

The Mercury LED digital watch visible in this scene features a gold-plated integrated bracelet with a brick-link construction, a cushion-shaped tonneau case, and a deep-set red LED display window — all hallmarks of the 1975–1979 LED digital boom era. Mercury, like brands such as Buler, Sicura, and Trafalgar, was a secondary-tier label that sourced pre-assembled quartz LED modules — likely of Asian or Swiss origin — and housed them in affordable gold-plated cases aimed squarely at consumers who wanted the futuristic look without the Pulsar P2 price tag. The quartz movement requires a button press to illuminate the red LED display, a feature that felt space-age in its day.

From a collector's standpoint, these unsigned or secondary-brand LED digitals occupy a fascinating niche. They were made in relatively small runs, many did not survive due to battery corrosion destroying the movement, and finding one in working condition with intact gold plating is genuinely difficult. Grey-market prices remain modest — typically $30 to $80 — making them accessible entry points into the LED digital category that also includes serious blue-chip pieces from Omega and Hamilton.

The production team's choice for Saul Goodman is historically consistent. The show is set primarily in the mid-2000s, but Saul's aesthetic is deliberately retro-tacky, and a worn, gold-plated digital watch from a forgotten brand absolutely fits a man who buys his suits in loud colors and advertises on late-night television.

For watch collectors, the Mercury LED digital quartz serves as a reminder that the 1970s digital revolution produced thousands of models across every price point — and that even the humblest examples now carry genuine historical weight as artifacts of a pivotal technological moment in horology.