James Bond and his wristwatches - a journey through half a century

When producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began shooting the first Bond film, " Dr. No, " in January 1962, they could not have imagined how huge a success it would be and what influence the world's most famous secret agent would have on an entire society for many generations to come. James Bond, the man who has to save the world from chaos and disaster, orders a shaken vodka martini shortly beforehand while wearing a perfectly fitting tailored suit and, after a successful mission, enjoys victory with one of the countless attractive Bond girls.

The BOND myth begins – IAN FLEMING and his 007

James Bond, the original novel character by author Ian Fleming (first novel 1953), is a veteran of the Second World War whose path to becoming a double-zero agent is paved by his work with the naval secret service. The Bond of the early films, however, probably has a similar background, but is too young to have actually held a significant position in the Second World War. In the film "Casino Royal" (2006), the 007 producers adapted the character and his biography to the post-Cold War era. Secret agent James Bond lives in a comfortable apartment in a Regency house near King's Road in the London district of Chelsea. On the ground floor is the living room, full of bookshelves, and a magnificent Empire secretary stands next to a large window. His bedroom is on the upper floor. 007's apartment is shown briefly in two films:

In “Dr. No” (1962) the apartment has a magnificent entrance hall and Bond already has a television, which was rare for the time. In “Live and Let Die” (1973) eleven years later, Bond lives in a modern apartment with an open living and sleeping area and an ultra-modern kitchen including an espresso machine. James Bond has a penchant for good food and select drinks. In the course of his missions he has ordered the famous Taittinger Blanc de Blancs Crut 1943 (probably the best champagne in the world), Dom Perignon 1946 and in the film “ From Russia with Love ” (1963) his excellent knowledge of wine saved him when he realized that Captain Nash, who orders red wine with his fish, could not possibly be a British agent. In " Diamonds Are Forever " (1971) he recognizes the killer Mr. Kidd in the fake sommelier because the latter does not know that Cháteau Mouton - Rothschild (Bond's favorite wine) is a Bordeaux wine. In addition to exquisite taste in good food, selected drinks, fast cars and pretty women, it is of course the wristwatches that accompany Bond and his viewers on every adventure. We would therefore like to briefly introduce you to the watches of 007 as well as those of his companions and enemies. Let yourself be inspired and discover old memories and information that were new to you until today on a journey through almost 50 years of James Bond 007 - the focus of course is on the various timepieces...

JAMES BOND – AHEAD OF HIS TIME

Breitling

In the film " Thunderball " (1965), 007 has to travel to the Bahamas. Shortly after his arrival, Q (MI6's supplier of weapons and gadgets) gives him a modified BREITLING TOP TIME with a built-in Geiger counter. In the film, the second hand measures the radiation so that Bond can discreetly check whether he is near the hijacked nuclear weapons with which the villain Emilio Largo and the Phantom organization are blackmailing the world. Another BREITLING ( NAVITIMER Ref. 806) is worn by Domino's brother in " Thunderball " .

Cartier

In Diamonds Are Forever (1971), the talented diamond smuggler Tiffany Case wears a square CARTIER with a black leather strap. (Presumably CARTIER TANK ). While it is unclear which watch Case wears on screen, Bond author Fleming outfitted it accordingly elegantly in his novel.

Longines

In “Casino – Royal” (2006) a LONGINES EVIDENZA CHRONOGRAPH Ref. L26564536 can be seen on the wrist of Bond villain Le Chiffre. The banker has a penchant for the finer things in life and finances this through deals with terrorists, among other things. The wristwatch can be seen at a Texas Hold'em poker tournament in the Casino Royal in Montenegro, in which 007 also takes part, although an Audemars Piguet, Franck Muller or Ulysse Nardin would certainly have been a good fit here.

omega

Ever since Pierce Brosnan took on the role of the British secret agent in “ Goldeneye ” (1995), the watch on his wrist has also changed. In the aforementioned film, 007 uses a laser on his OMEGA SEAMASTER 300M DIVER QUARTZ to cut a hole in the ground on a train belonging to ex-MI6 agent 006 Alex Trevlyan. In Cuba, Trevylan finally takes Bond’s watch away from him. By pressing the watch’s helium release valve, he defuses two limpet mines that Bond has planted. In the following film, “ Tomorrow Never Dies ” (1997), Bond flies to Hamburg in a hand-wound OMEGA SEAMASTER 300M DIVER . When he arrives at the airport, he checks into the famous “Atlantic” hotel in his 750 BMW. On the mission, he has to put a stop to media mogul Elliot Carver’s activities. During the mission, he exchanges the watch in “Wai Lin’s Bicycle Shop” for a modified version from the Chinese secret service.

In “ The World Is Not Enough ” (1999), Bond activates LEDs on the dial of his SEAMASTER by pressing the screw-down OMEGA crown. This lights up the inside of his inflatable ski jacket, in which he is buried under an avalanche with Elektra King. Brosnan also used the helium valve on his OMEGA as a detonator in his final mission, “ Die Another Day ” (2002), when 007 puts him in C4 explosives and hides him under diamonds in the smuggler Van Bierk’s briefcase. On Colonel Moon’s premises, a turn of the watch bezel causes the C4 to explode. After his release from North Korea, he finally receives a new watch from Q – his twentieth, as becomes clear in this film. In “ Casino Royale ” (2006), not only did Daniel Craig change the lead actor, but the entire story of the character James Bond began from the beginning, in a sense.

At the beginning of the film, Bond wears a black OMEGA SEAMASTER CO-AXIAL PLANET OCEAN and later an OMEGA SEAMASTER 300M DIVER. When Quantum of Solace came to cinemas in 2008, Bond wore a black OMEGA SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN . To coincide with the film's release, OMEGA also launched the SEAMASTER DIVER 300M JAMES BOND 007 COLLECTOR'S PIECE CO-AXIAL with a black dial, 41 millimeter diameter and 007 logo at the end of the second hand.

For " Skyfall " (2012), OMEGA released the limited edition SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN SKYFALL with the reference number 232.30.42.21.01.004. Here, the 007 logo can be found on the dial at the seven o'clock position and on the stainless steel clasp. The glass sapphire case back also provides a view of the movement and the rotor engraved with " Skyfall 007 ". The original model that Daniel Craig wore in Skyfall was auctioned off by Christie's auction house after filming. This was the SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN 600M TITANIUM. The model was a special production and is otherwise only available in stainless steel. It is therefore not surprising that the 42 millimeter titanium watch fetched the equivalent of 194,000 euros.

In the last 007 adventure “ Spectre ” (2015), the secret agent presents himself with the OMEGA SEAMASTER AQUA TERRA 150M , James Bond Limited Edition with yellow dial elements – as a special tribute to the famous secret agent, the watch is immune to magnetism of more than 15,007 gauss.

Patek Philippe

In " Moonraker ," Bond's opponent Hugo Drax has the vision of killing all of humanity using a chemical weapon and hiding in space with a group of "perfect" men and women in order to later build a new civilization. In addition to his plans to conquer the world, Drax is interested in the finer things in life and is interested in classical music, art and enjoys life in a French chateau. In Fleming's novel, Drax wears a simple gold PATEK PHILIPPE. We suspect that this is a CALATRAVA .

Rolex

In his novels, Ian Fleming describes to readers exactly what the secret agent's watch looks like - here he is talking about a heavy "ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL" . In the first filmed Bond adventure, " Dr. No " (1962), Sean Connery alias 007 wears a ROLEX SUBMARINER , although at that time it did not have any additional functions. This is also the case in " From Russia with Love " (1963) and in " Goldfinger " (1964). Here, however, the watch can be seen with the famous NATO strap in the prequel, when Bond shines a lighter on the watch. The beautiful Pussy Galore, as the Goldfinger pilot and Bond girl, also wears a ROLEX , namely a GMT MASTER Ref. 6542.

In " On Her Majesty's Secret Service " (1969), Bond wears a ROLEX SUBMARINER with an Oyster bracelet and a first Rolex chronograph (Pre DAYTONA ) . In the film " Live and Let Die " (1973), his ROLEX SUBMARINER is equipped with what are probably the most remarkable functions of the time. By pulling out the crown or turning the rotating 60-minute bezel, the watch can generate a strong magnetic field. According to Q, this could even ward off bullets. At the beginning of the film, Miss Moneypenny delivers Bond's freshly repaired watch to his home before Bond begins his mission to investigate the deaths of three British agents. Later, we find Bond tied up and hanging over a shark tank. With the help of his ROLEX and the built-in saw, he is able to cut his bonds and overpower his opponent Dr. Kananga.

In 1974, Roger Moore wears a ROLEX SUBMARINER 5513 in “ The Man with the Golden Gun ”, while his opponent Francisco Scaramanga wears a ROLEX CELLINI KING MIDAS. Although Seiko becomes a new sponsor in 1977, Roger Moore briefly wears a bicolor ROLEX DATEJUST with a Jubilee bracelet in “ A View to a Kill ”. In “ Licence to Kill ”, 007 is seen again with a Rolex Submariner, before OMEGA and Pierce Brosnan take over.

Seiko

James Bond wears a SEIKO wristwatch on his wrist in five different missions. In “ The Spy Who Loved Me ” (1977) it is a SEIKO 0674, which can receive a text message and print it on embossed tape. In “ Moonraker ” (1979) it is a SEIKO DIGITAL LC M354 MOMORY BANK CALENDAR that accompanies 007 on his mission. The back of the watch has a detonating cable built into it. 007 uses the cable to free himself from the fiery shaft of the Moonraker shuttle. In “For Your Eyes Only ” (1981) Bond is equipped with a SEIKO H357 DIGITAL ANALOG ALARM with a display for ongoing LED text messages and an integrated radio. In " Octopussy " (1983) it is a SEIKO G757 SPORTS 100 with radio tracking device that helps him track the fake Fabergé egg. Towards the end of the mission he wears a color model of the SEIKO liquid crystal TV watch, on which he can see the recordings from Q's video camera installed in a hot air balloon. Bond's SEIKO watch in " A View to a Kill " (1985) has no special functions.

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