Wrist Watch Magic Tricks That Have Blown Our Minds!
World famous magicians have used all kinds of different props to perform their mind-bending feats of magic. These illusions have used objects as large as the Statue of Liberty and as small as a 1 pence piece. And the impact that these magic effects have had on audiences worldwide end up being just as big no matter how small the object used is. One object used quite regularly by magicians are luxury wrist watches, so take a look at some of our favorite Wrist Watch Magic Tricks below!
There have been all sorts of different wrist watch magic tricks carried out by many different magicians. From mental watch magic to destroyed and restored wrist watches, there are a vast number of different effects which have wowed audiences. Today we’ll look at 5 of the most famous wrist watch magic tricks from the history of watches (and magic!)
Derren Brown Steals a Watch!
Derren Brown is probably the most famous mentalist magician in the UK if not around the world. After his early Channel 4 TV series Derren Brown: Mind Control – which aired in the year 2000 – Derren went from strength to strength as the UK’s top magician. Dropping the cheesy Saturday night TV style of previous TV magicians like Paul Daniels, Derren wowed a new generation who wanted something darker and grittier.
Alongside many of Derren’s most famous TV stunts – like predicting the national lottery and planning an art robbery with pensioners – Derren pulled off some incredible tricks in his early TV series. A very memorable Derren Brown trick (although some may not exactly call it a trick) is perhaps one of the most amazing wrist watch magic tricks of all time. Derren spoke to a commuter while relieving him of many of his personal possessions. He took the persons wallet, tie and also – his wristwatch – right in plain sight while talking to him. This wowed many audiences who could not believe such slight of hand could happen in broad daylight. It also taught the member of the public to be a lot more careful with his possessions in future!
Derren Brown has gone from strength to strength in the years since with huge TV specials and sell-out stage shows. A new TV show called Derren Brown: Sacrifice is set to air on Netflix this Wednesday and the mentalist magician’s large fanbase will be looking forward to seeing what he does next!
Doug Segal Reads Minds at New Year!
Doug Segal is known very well for being incredibly funny – as well as being incredibly good at reading minds! He has made a name for himself with his yearly shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – picking up two awards for his 2012 show. He has also had critically acclaimed stage shows tour around the UK gaining fantastic 5 star reviews. He has also appeared on TV on many occasions, including a very famous appearance involving a wristwatch at New Years Eve!
Doug Segal’s performance on BBC One is of one of the most famous wrist watch magic tricks took place on New Years Eve. It was watched live by an audience of over 9.5 million people. He appeared with Claire Balding and two members of the public where he carried out an impressive piece of mind reading! Doug Segal asked the member of the public to think of a random time without saying it out loud. Doug written down the time of 2:34 which he hoped would be the correct time. Working out this time would be impressive on its own but he then went one step further! Segal pulled out a watch which he set to a random time before handing it to Claire Balding and asking her to move it to set it to a random time without looking at it. Incredibly, not only was the time Doug Segal written down correct – but the time the watch had been set to at random also matched exactly what the person was thinking of.
Since this show Doug Segal has been a regular on BBC TV and has performed all over the UK. He regularly performs at comedy clubs and events all over the UK and is well worth checking out if he’s performing at a club near you!
Paul Zenon’s Famous Bar Bet!
Paul Zenon has had an interesting career as a magician, not only being known for his performances but also for his magic books such as Street Magic and Dirty Tricks. He has regularly appeared on television on his own TV shows and also as a guest on other television shows. One famous performance included Paul holding a glass of cider over a man’s head in a bar. While this doesn’t sound like the setup for a famous trick…the reason it’s so famous is because it went wrong! The drink was meant to stay in the glass despite the glass being covered, unfortunately that didn’t happen and the man ended up covered in the drink! Not exactly a great feat of magic, but hilarious nonetheless!
The famous bar bet that Paul Zenon opened up to the world did not show up on one of his many television appearances but in one of his books! In the book Paul Zenon’s 100 Ways to Win a Tenner he came up with a lot of different tricks and scams to try out at your local bar. One of these tricks is one of the wrist watch magic tricks you will learn about right now! You make a bet with your friend that you can ask them three questions about their watch and that they will get at least one wrong. You allow them to look at their watch for 10 seconds and then to cover it up. You firstly ask them if it has a second hand, then if it has a number 6 on it and finally what the time is. It’s almost certain that they will get one of these questions wrong and if you have made this bet, you’ll certainly be in the money!
Penn and Teller (Don’t) Destroy a Watch
Finally, we come to quite possibly the most famous magic duo in the world – Penn and Teller. Penn and Teller have been mainstays on US television since the 1980’s. They started their TV careers with appearances on huge TV shows like Saturday Night Live and David Letterman. They then moved onto their own specials, like Penn and Teller: Don’t Try This at Home and their own series in the UK called The Unpleasant World of Penn and Teller.
One of the most well known wrist watch magic tricks was performed by Penn and Teller on this TV program. Their guest Stephen Fry was asked to hand over his watch to the magic duo who then preceded to do the worst thing you could imagine to happen to your watch: Cover it up with a handkerchief and then smash it up with a hammer! They restored the watch and handed it back to its owner and it was intact…but it wasn’t the watch originally handed over by Stephen Fry. Stephen Fry did manage to get his watch back, but only after being found in the most unbelievable of places. You’ll have to watch the video yourself to find out where!
This performance took place before the biggest years of Penn and Teller’s career. The duo have moved on to many different TV series, including the immensely popular show “Fool Us”, as well as their world famous show in Las Vegas. Their stage show also came over on a UK tour in 2017, over 30 years since their first US TV appearance and over 20 years since their first ever UK TV series!
