Actor Pierce Brosnan spotted wearing a Blancpain

In the promotional character photography for DC's Black Adam (2022), Pierce Brosnan appears as the sorcerer Doctor Fate wearing what is unmistakably a yellow gold Blancpain Villeret Ultra-Slim — almost certainly a personal piece rather than a costume prop. Brosnan has stated in press interviews that his character wears his own 'Montblanc' watch in the film, a remark that has puzzled watch enthusiasts ever since. The close-up provided here makes the attribution clear: the Blancpain double-lozenge logo sits at 12 o'clock above 'BLANCPAIN', and 'SWISS MADE' anchors the lower dial. The confusion is forgivable only if you've never spent time with either brand.

The watch displays all the hallmarks of the Villeret Ultra-Slim collection: a clean cream/champagne dial with applied Roman numerals in a restrained serif font, a razor-thin polished yellow gold case, and the absence of any complication beyond the central seconds hand. The dial is almost certainly Grand Feu enamel or a lacquered equivalent, given its warm, slightly domed appearance. The reference appears consistent with Blancpain's classic Villeret Ultra-Slim ref. 0021-1418-55, featuring an 18k yellow gold 38mm case housing the hand-wound Calibre 21, one of the thinnest movements in the manufacture's catalogue at approximately 2.1mm thick. Total case thickness sits around 4.5mm — genuinely shirt-cuff friendly.

The Villeret collection traces its roots directly to the Le Brassus manufacture's founding village and represents Blancpain's philosophical core: mechanical watchmaking with no shortcuts. The Ultra-Slim references are collector favourites precisely because they demand movement-making excellence that a complicated watch can partly disguise. There is nowhere to hide on a clean white dial with Roman numerals.

Brosnan is a known watch enthusiast whose collection spans serious haute horlogerie. His choice to wear a personal timepiece on a film set — whether deliberately or by habit — is consistent with the behaviour of committed collectors. That the character is Doctor Fate, a man who perceives time differently than mortals, adds an unintentional layer of poetry to the pairing.

On the secondary market, yellow gold Villeret Ultra-Slim references in this generation trade between $8,000 and $14,000 depending on condition and box/papers, representing genuine value for 18k gold dress watchmaking at this technical level. New old stock examples occasionally surface closer to $12,000–$15,000. For a watch this refined, that remains a quiet opportunity.