Succession finale: The most significant watches from the hit show

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Are you reeling from the finale of Succession, too? Over the nine episodes of the third season, the HBO show has consistently upped the dramatic ante, combining Machiavellian politics with sibling rivalry and filial warfare. Sure, that may just sound like the ingredients of your average family Christmas. But part of Succession’s giddy appeal – aside from the deft script and killer one-liners – is that the action takes place in the the realm of the super-rich, a land of private jets, super-yachts and, of course, magnificent timepieces. Here are three of the most significant watches from the hit show.

Cousin Greg’s Rolex Submariner

Cousin Greg doesn’t enjoy a lot of dignity in Succession. In the very first episode of series one, he’s introduced while participating in the theme-park section of the company’s international management-training program. Forced to cavort in an itchy costume, Greg gets too stoned and ends up vomiting through the character’s eye holes. This rather sets the character’s prevailing tone.

Greg’s farcical attempts to secure a Rolex in the latest series once again reinforce his role as clueless whipping boy. As the battle lines between Team Logan and Team Kendall are drawn, Greg is somehow led to believe that Kendall appreciates his loyalty so much so that he will buy him a watch as a token of his gratitude. While in a limousine after a gala event, Greg proceeds to ask for Kendall’s blessing to pull the trigger on a “very expensive” Rolex – which appears to be a Submariner.

Kendall insinuates he will take care of the watch when Greg asks for the “green light” to buy it.  “Yeah, fuck it,” Kendall says. “Fuck it you deserve it.”

But when Greg later tries to ask for Kendall’s credit card, his cousin proceeds to berate him – insisting he had no intention of buying him a watch and was merely hooking him up with a connect.

Even more confounding is the fact that this watch dealer is asking $40,000 for this watch. Black-dial Submariners, after all, should not cost over $15,000 USD and the Glidelock-style clasp confirms it’s a recent model. Worse still, after Greg buys the watch for himself out of peer pressure, he later discovers his new watch does not even work.

Kendall Roy’s Vacheron Constantin

Kendall Roy is one complex character. He hurls himself into all-out war with his toxic father, yet also remains privately desperate for his approval. At the same time, his efforts to project a cocksure swagger ultimately reveal a sad and brittle man riddled with deep insecurities.  Still, on the positive side, he also has the best watch collection on the show.

Kendall is ofter seen wearing the distinctive silhouette of a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711/1A, but he’s also a big fan of  Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron is, of course, a storied brand that oozes status and power, although ironically Kendall wears one of their watches in two of his most humiliating moments.

During Kendall’s excruciatingly misguided rap to his father, Kendall wears the 260-piece limited-edition Harmony Mono-Pusher Chronograph, with the manually wound in-house caliber 3300. Its 42mm cushion squared case exudes classic luxury, a design inspired by an archival piece from 1928, and a considered flex for any owner who straps it on.  In the final episode of series three, Kendall also appears to be wearing the watch in a scene that culminates with the oldest Roy brother holding his head in his hands

Siobhan “Shiv” Roy: Cartier Panthère

Siobhan (a.k.a. Shiv), is a living example of how even the vaguest whiff of power can still corrupt. At the start of Succession, Logan Roy’s only daughter seems more redeemable and in touch with reality than the rest of her clan. Business-savvy, smart and liberal-minded, she works as an adviser to a progressive anti-capitalist politician. But over the three series, Shiv appears to become blinded by her quest for the CEO’s chair and starts to act just as ruthlessly as the rest of her family.

As someone who means business in her sharp pant-suits, it makes sense she wears something elegant and reliable: the Cartier Panthère. Shiv wears the piece in both yellow and steel, switching between both throughout Succession episodes, a reflection perhaps of her conflicted loyalties. The quartz-driven watch is a no-nonsense symbol of status and power, a perfect match for Shiv’s increasingly hard-nosed persona.