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Deunan's REX

Deunan Knute and her REX chronograph.

Description[]

Appleseed is known for it's frequent use of visual motifs, or "set pieces," as director Shinji Aramaki likes to refer to them. In the first CGI movie, the most prominent motif might have been the glass pendant containing the Bioroid reproductive data, where in the second it's the timepieces the worn by Deunan and Briareos. They're effectively used to signify several emotive meanings throughout the episode, all the while upholding the requisite Appleseed level of mechanical complexity.

They are not exactly high tech, as both watches would be considered antiquated given the era of the series. It's interesting that at least one of the models is a clockwork automatic, a mechanical timekeeping technology that would be by then about two-hundred years out of date. Also, they're analog in a world where even digital technology is rapidly falling out of date given the advances in biological computing.

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Premise[]

OLED watch 1

ES.W.A.T.'s standard issue OLED timepiece and compass.

A somewhat reclusive cyborg, and a former man who hasn't yet fully adapted to being three-quarters mechanical, Briareos Hecatonchires appears to take solace in a few things; his career, ensuring Deunan's safe passage during her assignments, and at least in the manga, his continued ability to eat and drink. By the time author Shirow Masamune started to freshen up the Appleseed formula for the second CGI movie, Ex Machina, in 2007, a certain affinity for wristwatches had been added to his list of pleasures. Not just any wristwatch mind you, but something unique, and of course, something incredibly detailed.

OLED watch 2

Closeup, showing compass radial detail.

During the opening sequence to the film, ES.W.A.T. operatives were instructed to synchronize their watches by Commander Lance, to ensure split second precision during the hostage extraction they were about to perform. Every operative wore a high-tech but uniform wrist-computer with an integrated directional compass, a field-issue unit sporting a resin bracelet, dual steel crowns, and a high-contrast OLED display, angled 45 degrees perpendicular to the strap. In twentieth-century reality, this design was first pioneered by Italian car designer Giorgetto Giugiaro for the Seiko Speedmaster of 1983. This layout allows the wearer to briefly read the time without having to bend their arm to align the digits to their eyes, a practical timesaver for an athlete, or in this case, an elite police agent.

Briareos, on the other hand, is wearing something different.

Appearances and visual significance[]

In the beginning of the film, Manuel Aeacus, another ES.W.A.T. operative, jokingly mocks Briareos for wearing a low-tech analog watch when he himself is a high-tech cyborg. Briareos rebuffs the comment, saying "it's got its own heartbeat, just like I do," drawing the viewer's attention to the fact he is still partially human and maintains a cardiovascular system. Following the hostage extraction scene in Prague, after the explosion that throws Briareos and Deunan out of the cathedral, she first sees Briareos' damaged watch on the cobblestone street, before shoulder-checking to see him slumped facedown on the ground, severely injured. In effect, both "machines" have just been "broken."

Later, in hospital, following Briareos' reconstruction, Deunan presents to him his repaired watch to which he gloomily comments "this thing's tougher than I am." He then takes a look at the crystal, and sees himself reflecting back. Figuratively, the two mechanical faces are looking at each other. The same scene is a segue into a flashback to Briareos' pre-cyborg days. In a way, seeing the watch has made him think back in time.

Following the fight scene involving the construction Landmate, Deunan waves goodbye to Lance, only to see Tereus for the first time, in the reflection of her own wristwatch.

After Deunan prevents the mercy-killing of Briareos by Tereus, administering to him a cyborg antidote to temporarily ward off the effects of Halcon virus he's suffering from, she embraces his arm and kisses his wrist, right next to the REX.

The "REX" Men's Chrono[]

Analog watch

The analog chronometer worn by Briareos.

Instead of using the standard issue ES.W.A.T. unit, Briareos uses his own analog chronograph, featuring an automatic calibre (mechanism), date counter, and stopwatch. The inside radial of the face contains a tachymeter as well as the necessary markers to calculate distance and liquid fuel consumed, relative to time elapsed, making the watch a variation on a flight data computer.

It seems like the calibre has jewel bearings, likely in all 31 potential bearing positions, owing to the continuous sweep seconds hand on the top-most chrono dial. That said, the online stopwatch second hand on the main dial moves incrementally, which is in reality is almost impossible to achieve, requiring a complicated sub-calibre assembly to accomplish. In a chronograph, that would push the total amount of such assemblies to five, in addition to the main calibre.

Damaged REX

Hope the warranty covers that . . .

The size of the case is at least 60 millimeters in diameter, making it bigger than most other flight data computer watches, and suggests that it might be an exclusive model designed for cyborgs. The face is reinforced with a steel ring held down by six screws that feature a proprietary tamperproof head similar to the Snakeeye, likely to limit routine servicing options only to certified horologists, not unlike the practices of Rolex and others. The overall appearance of the watch suggests that it is designed to withstand G-force shock and agitation, another hallmark of a flight data computer, but is otherwise not waterproof like a dive watch, given the pushbutton stopwatch controls, which are difficult to seal sufficiently for depth-pressure liquid protection.

Two REX watches

Size comparisons between men's and women's models.

The face is covered by some kind of scratchproof crystal, given the clarity of the reflections seen upon the surface. Also, how the material fractures in precise shards when the watch is later damaged, suggests it might be pure clear sapphire, a durable material that resists damage but will shatter completely if hit directly by force. It's used on a lot of high end watches.

The band/bracelet is made of a matte black material that appears to rubber, but is more likely a composite resin, or silicone, as the band is very flexible and can be torn cleanly in half (demonstrated when the chronometer is destroyed), unlike vulcanized rubbers which tend to retain a rigid shape, and warp somewhat when pulled apart. The band is complemented by protector flaps which span the case shoulders (where the band is attached), and sport large REX logos on both.

Given all that info, it's safe to say that Briareos' watch is a plausible design, but that it would be really expensive to build in reality, and a high maintenance device to keep in precision operating condition. Estimated retail prices in today's economy would probably top $15,000, if not more, and would represent the flagship model of the company manufacturing it.

The "REX" Women's Stopwatch[]

Women's REX closeup

Stopwatch face detail.

Deunan Knute, who's been called a gearhead on more than one occasion, and is an admirer of anything mechanically complicated, might have been responsible for introducing Briareos to the REX brand. She wears a smaller variation of the Men's Chrono, a stopwatch that uses a similar design overall, but only has a date counter and stopwatch function. The inside radial of the face lacks the flight data calculations of Briareos' model, but retains a distance tachymeter. With regards to movement, the second hand moves incrementally, which suggests that her watch uses a high-precision quartz calibre, driven either by battery power or a kinetic pendulum attached to a capacitor. The "Building your own REX" segment (see below) would probably produce something visually similar to this model.

Other watches featured in Appleseed: Ex Machina[]

Yoshitsune Miyamoto, ES.W.A.T.'s Landmate technician and engineer, is briefly seen wearing an analog wristwatch (see image) that bears passing similarites to the Rolex Explorer II automatic, although the face and band is slightly different. The case has stopwatch controls, even though the watch lacks any additional dials or hands to correspond with such a function.

Later on, a nurse at the Olympus Police Hospital wears a jet-black bracelet watch, with a rectangular face.

Links and Trivia[]

  • Viewers and watch fanatics have been unable to determine whether the last letter in the name, what looks like a stylized "X," could actually be a Japanese Kanji character. If so, that would make the name two English initials R.E. followed by the unknown word.
  • The only time a wristwatch was featured in the earlier 2004 Appleseed episode, was during the wargame scene, when Commander Lance checks how long it took for Deunan to eliminate his squad during the practice round. His watch is a black chronograph similar to Briareos' in the sequel, but is more basic in design.
  • Although all the ES.W.A.T. operatives are supposed to wear watches, it's interesting to note that their traditional forearm armour panels would actually cover over the timepiece. This may be why in the beginning scenes of Ex Machina, a closeup on one operative's wrist shows that he's wearing a slightly shorter armour panel that ends just above the watch.
  • Fans of Briareos' watch, who have an Android-powered smartphone, will be pleased to know that a free app is
    Briareos Watch

    Screenshot of the widget in action.

    now available on the Android Market that installs the REX Chronograph on your screen as a clock widget. Currently an early version, the widget gives you three size options for the clock face, but as of yet does not feature animation for the caliber gears seen through the face opening. The widget has been tested on the site admin's Acer Liquid MT (Android Gingerbread 2.2) with no detectable issues. Link for the widget is here.
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