Horological Meandering

MTF
[PuristS]
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NO (long explanation inside)

or maybe more strictly.......probably no; in the case of the Scarpetta series of novels, it seems unlikely that any 'cynical product placement' occured.

Probably the mention of Breguet timepieces in books by various authors is not 'cynical product placement': Stendhal, Mérimée, Pushkin, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Thackeray, Victor Hugo, Kuprin, Max Jacob and Patrick O'Brian, as listed in modern advertisements.

The most populist author who took great pains to include detailed descriptions of brands and specifications of cars, watches, clothes, drinks, cigarettes and weapons was Ian Fleming in the James Bond (007) novels. I remember, as a child, asking for Cooper's Oxford Cut Orange Marmalade because that's what 007 ate. I also dreamed of the day when I could have a Sea Island cotton shirt from Turnbull & Asser on Jermyn St, London.

.25 ACP Beretta automatic pistol carried in a light-weight chamois leather holster was changed to a Walther PPK in a Berns-Martin triple-draw holster made of stiff saddle leather.

Bond's cigarettes filled with a blend of Balkan and Turkish tobacco with a higher than average tar content from the tobacconists Morlands of Grosvenor Street were called "Morland Specials."

His champagne of choice was Bollinger in the books but this was carried on a product placement in the films because the Broccoli-Wilson family (film producers) became friends with the Bollinger family.

Bond films are notorious for their product placement, ostensibly because our hero had the newest gadgets and fashionable items before anybody else but recently Citroen, Renault, BMW, Aston Martin, Lotus, Jaguar cars, Rolex/Omega/Seiko watches and Church's shoes have been spotted.

Bulgari watches turn up in Iron Man and Transformers films and JLC graced Bruce Wayne's wrist (The Batman).

The list goes on.......

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