An Overview of James Bond Watches
Rolex Submariner ref. 6538 - worn by James Bond between 1962 and 1965
We have many icons in the watch world today; Newman, Biver, and Genta, are all prominent examples, and all from different eras. However, another important figure in horology, and a fictional one at that, is James Bond. Bond is a very appealing character to most watch collectors; he’s smooth, intelligent, a gentleman, but also dangerous. More than that however, the assortment of timepieces he’s worn in movies over the years has given rise to a specific category of wristwatches: Bond watches.
The first James Bond watch appeared in “Dr. No” (1962) and was a Gruen Precision 510. Bond wore it shortly before his trip to Jamaica to investigate the murder of John Strangways, where he switched it out for the Rolex Submariner ref. 6538. Unfortunately, these first watches had no gadgets attached, just like the next Submariner ref. 6538, which appeared in 1963 in “From Russia With Love”. The following year, “Goldfinger” cemented the ref. 6538’s position as top Bond watch when James, in classic Bond fashion, checked his ref. 6538 to see the timing of bombs he had set while lighting a cigarette and admiring on a dancer at the bar. This timeless scene led most to consider the ref. 6538 the ‘official’ Bond watch.
His third watch was the Breitling Top Time ref. 2002, which he wore in “Thunderball” (along with the ref. 6538, its final appearance). The Top Time finally had a gadget, a Geiger counter, although the saw bezel on the Rolex Submariner ref. 5513 in “Live and Let Die” is probably cooler.
Many more Bond watches were worn throughout the years, among them: a Hamilton Pulsar P2, a Seiko T001, a TAG Heuer ref. 980.031, and a Casio World Timer. In the 1990s, when James Bond films started to do real product placement, the Omega Seamaster was brought into the Bond world and made the official Bond watch. In fact, the first ever mentioned of ‘Rolex’ in a James Bond film was disparagingly in contrast to Omega. Despite this shift, true Bond watch fans still exist, and as long as Bond keeps wearing watches those watches will always have wrists to call home.