James Bond, Mr 007 himself wouldn’t be complete without his accessories. Whether that’s a bulletproof car, his wristwatch, or a martini, it’s fair to say that James Bond is a man who loves his clever accessories. Brands like Omega, Rolex and Seiko are all commonly seen on the wrists of Mr Bond. Omega has even released a line of watches named after James Bond. Viewers idolise Bond, which has led to a rise in the number of people looking into buying a new luxury timepiece.
Starting from the newest Bond film release, No Time to Die, and back to the first Bond film, Dr. No, the extensive history behind 007 and his watches can be explored.
Omega Seamaster 2020 – No Time to Die (Daniel Craig)
Like Daniel Craig’s other Bond films, he wears another Omega Seamaster in his most recent Bond film, No Time to Die. Unlike some Bond watches, the Omega Seamaster is not a limited edition timepiece and is part of their collection that was released in February 2020. Daniel Craig wears it with a titanium (Milanese) mesh strap, but you can also get it with a Shark mesh strap too. This watch was designed with input from both Daniel Craig himself and the producers of James Bond. This meant that the final product was a lightweight watch in a vintage colour, which makes the watch stand out on the wrist of the spy.
Omega Seamaster Professional 300M – GoldenEye (Pierce Brosnan)
When Pierce Brosnan took over the role of James Bond in 1995, he changed the watch that was associated with the character of James Bond too. As previously mentioned, this collaboration has stuck as the Omega Seamaster can be spotted in the newest Bond film – No Time to Die. Brosnan opted for an Omega Seamaster, and throughout his time as Bond, they used different models of this watch. As an example, in GoldenEye, Bond’s watch was complete with the power to emit laser from the bezel as it was used to cut through the floor of a train.
TAG Heuer Professional Night-Dive Reference 980.031 – The Living Daylights (Timothy Dalton)
When thinking of the icon that is James Bond, you probably wouldn’t initially think of Tag Heuer. This watch has only featured in one Bond film, The Living Daylights. What made this watch stand out to viewers was the luminous dial and the fact that this watch can be seen on James Bond and his villain.
Seiko 6923-8080 SPD09 – A View to Kill (Roger Moore)
In Roger Moore’s last film as 007, he didn’t just sport one watch. Instead, he opted for four watches. Not at the same time of course. One of those watches was the two-tone steel and gold Seiko watch. If you don’t watch the film closely, the Seiko 6923-8080 SPD09 can barely be spotted, it only appears from under Bond’s sleeve a handful of times. However, this watch can be seen in the Château de Chantilly scenes in A View to Kill. This watch is among one of the cheaper watches that Bond decided to sport, but now they can be difficult to find on the current watch market.
Rolex Chronograph – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (George Lazenby)
George Lazenby appeared for the first, and last time, as James Bond, wearing a Rolex Chronograph. The steel wristwatch was supposed to have been redesigned to make it a compass, with the seconds hand becoming a compass hand to guide him. After On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was filmed, the producers decided to sell Bond’s accessories and costumes from the film. This Rolex Chronograph ended up selling for a whopping £23,400 in 2003, it has since been sold again.
Rolex GMT Master – Casino Royale (David Niven)
Casino Royale is loosely based on the original novel, and although many prefer the version with Daniel Craig as 007, this film does include one of the most wanted Rolex watches of all time. The Rolex GMT Master allowed Bond to communicate through it (unfortunately this isn’t an option in real life), and it didn’t need a watch fanatic to see that it was a Rolex.
Rolex Submariner – Dr. No (Sean Connery)
The association between the Rolex brand and James Bond goes all the way back to the original Casino Royale novel, written by Ian Flemming. In the novel, James Bond wears a Rolex Oyster Perpetual, but in the film adaptation, Sean Connery opted for a Rolex Submariner. It’s known that Flemming was an avid fan of Rolex watches, and was often seen sporting the Explorer. Many people would agree that no watch will beat the original Rolex Submariner, as James Bond now tends to wear an Omega Seamaster. The Rolex Submariner is undoubtedly the original James Bond watch, and this status is still upheld as many people refer to it as ‘The James.’
In Dr. No, Sean Connery wore the Submariner with a leather strap, but in Goldfinger Connery chose a different kind of look, which explains why he opted for a NATO. There are rumours as to who the watch originally belonged to, as many said that it came from Connery’s personal collection. Now, the watch has a different owner as it sold for £44,000 at an auction.
Watch brands are now competing to be seen on the wrist of 007
Distinguishing what watch a James Bond has on can be difficult, but more recently watch brands have been more open about acknowledging that it’s their watch, and what model he is wearing. The James Bond collection that Omega has certainly demonstrates this point.
It seems that it’s not just gadgets that 007 loves to flex. It’s his timepieces too. The history that Bond has with both Rolex and Omega demonstrates the status symbol of this character. The next question isn’t so much about who is going to be the next James Bond, but what watch will they be wearing?
