Today is the 18th anniversary of Entourage. Do you remember this Ari Gold Rolex scene?
Zach BlassEditor’s Note: Eighteen years ago today, Entourage premiered on HBO. Today, watching it feels a bit like flicking through a lad’s mag from a similar era, given the similar abundance of cleavage and fancy cars on display. In short, it hasn’t aged particularly well and nor has this particular Rolex scene with Ari – not because of political correctness, you understand, but because of just how much the watch world has evolved.
Before anyone gets heated, no I am not about to try and “cancel” Entourage. Whether or not the show would be able to survive the present cultural landscape is an entirely different discussion, and one we are not having here. This is about watches. Recently on Instagram stories, I noticed friend of Time+Tide, Brynn Wallner, share a scene from Entourage on her page @dimepiece. It was a nice blast from the past as I haven’t done a recent binge through all the seasons in a few years. But it also hammered home just how much the watch scene has changed.
In the shared segment of Season 5 Episode 9 “Pie”, powerhouse agent Ari Gold is reminded by his under-appreciated assistant Lloyd that he has an upcoming meeting with Andrew, an old friend and mentor. Ari is reluctant to take the meeting. He and Andrew entered the industry together, but over time as Ari’s career sky-rocketed and he found much greater success, the two have lost touch. Ari tries to cancel for the seventh time, but Lloyd remains steadfast urging him to go until finally his boss relents.
As Ari walks away, Lloyd says, “maybe put on a cheaper watch” to ensure he does not hurt the feelings of his old friend. Ari, who he is wearing a solid gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, rolls his eyes. But after a heavy sigh, he proceeds to give Lloyd his credit card and orders him to go Gearys, an authorized Rolex dealer in Beverly Hills, to pick him up a stainless-steel Rolex.
Today, the mere idea of any watch enthusiast being able to spontaneously stroll into a boutique and buy a stainless-steel Rolex on a whim is almost laughable. But back in 2008, when this episode was released, a steel Rolex was nowhere near as unobtainable as it has become today.
You can interpret the scene in two ways. It either shows how successful and influential you have to be to procure a steel Rolex on demand or how accessible these watches were once upon a time.
What do you think? Even with his power and influence, could Ari Gold walk into an AD today and randomly buy a stainless-steel Daytona at retail?