Actor Bill Murray spotted wearing a Seiko

When Ghostbusters hit cinemas in June 1984, audiences were too busy watching Bill Murray deadpan his way through a supernatural apocalypse to notice the watch on his wrist. Four decades later, collectors have caught up. The Seiko Voice Note M516-4009 worn by Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman is now one of the more sought-after movie prop watches of the 1980s, precisely because it captures that decade's obsession with wrist-worn technology so perfectly.

The Seiko Voice Note was introduced in the early 1980s as part of Seiko's ambitious 'computer watch' and multi-function electronic wave. The M516-4009 houses a quartz movement paired with a miniature microphone and playback mechanism, allowing the wearer to record short voice memos directly to the watch — a concept that feels almost proto-smartwatch in retrospect. The case is a chunky, angular design typical of early-80s Japanese tech watches, finished in a matte black and silver combination with a digital display. Build quality is solidly utilitarian rather than precious, which makes surviving examples in working condition increasingly rare.

From a collector standpoint, the Voice Note sits in a fascinating niche. It is not a dress watch, not a diver, not a chronograph — it is a pure product of its technological moment, and that specificity is exactly what drives demand today. Working examples with intact voice recording function command serious premiums on the secondary market. The M516-4009 reference in particular benefits enormously from its screen time in one of the highest-grossing films of the 1980s, a movie that has never left the cultural conversation.

Bill Murray's relationship with watches on screen has always tended toward the functional and unpretentious, which suits his public persona. Venkman is a wisecracking scientist — a Voice Note makes far more narrative sense on his wrist than a dress watch ever would. The prop department made a quietly astute choice.

On the grey market, clean working examples of the Seiko Voice Note M516-4009 trade around the $1,000 mark, a significant multiple of original retail. Demand is driven by 1980s Seiko collectors, movie memorabilia enthusiasts, and anyone who grew up watching Ghostbusters — which is to say, a very large pool of potential buyers. No official retail price exists today; Seiko no longer produces this reference.