Although James Bond is probably perceived as one of the most stylish men around, he certainly messed up his watch in Goldfinger. In Goldfinger, he was wearing a Rolex Submariner (ref.6538 probably) on a NATO strap. On several Rolex Forums, the close-up below shows the watch with as much detail as possible:

I don’t like NATO straps at all, and find them far from stylish, but I guess that there are a lot of Rolex (and Bond) fans that do. But look at the width of the strap, it is way too small, approximately 18mm (if not any smaller). This looks plain ugly, and I can’t imagine they couldn’t find a right NATO strap for this watch in 1964.

Anyway, some of the Rolex / Bond fans are delighted by finally having such a nice close-up, so they can get a NATO strap with similar pattern. Visitor Dieter of the R-L-X forum, found one that comes close AND fits properly. I really wonder if the real fan will go for a 18mm version of this strap to attach between the 20mm lugs.

In this case, I think that Dieter is more stylish than James Bond. His vintage Rolex Submariner with the patina dial looks superb! As far as I can judge it, the original bezel is still there and looks niceley aged. However, I cannot getting used to these NATO straps.

A sporty Rolex should be on a stainless steel bracelet, any time. Also for Mr. Bond.

Related links:

http://www.jamesbondwatches.com/empire-2008-10.htm
http://www.fratellowatches.com/archives/2009/02/18/james-bond-vs-daniel-craig/
http://members.optusnet.com.au/heliosz/jamesbond.html

James Bond nowadays wears an Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600m, but in the past he had all kinds of watches, among them a number of Rolex watches. The famous James Bond Rolex is of course the Submariner, although Ian Fleming wore a Rolex Explorer himself and was probably referring to this Explorer as well in his books. Dell Deaton wrote an excellent article, including some nice photographs of Ian wearing his Explorer, for the US based magazine WatchTime.

However, it seems that Daniel Craig doesn’t take this Omega sponsorship (for EON movie productions) too seriously, as he has been repeatedley spotted with Rolex watches from his personal collection. Besides his vintage Rolex Submariner 6538, identical to the one that Sean Connery wore in Goldfinger, he owns this vintage Daytona as well. It is a Rolex Daytona 6263, as Jake posted on his excellent Rolex Blogspot.

Someone over at the German R-L-X forum posted this snapshot of Daniel Craig and his vintage Daytona ref.6263.

What do you think? Should James Bond be wearing his inventor’s Explorer? Or at least a Rolex? Or just whoever sponsors him? Please leave your thoughts in the comments!

Just two days ago, I received an e-mail from Dell over at www.jamesbondwatches.com telling me that he is in the progress of creating the most comprehensive list of timepieces used in EON Productions (by Albert R. Broccoli) a.k.a. the 007 movies. His website is all about timepieces in Bond movies, so you’ll find the known big brands like Rolex, Omega, Seiko, Pulsar and Breitling, but there are also a lot of ‘unknown’ watches used in these movies. If you are able to identify the unknown watches or can be more specific about some of the used timepieces, please participate!

Picture of this Omega Seamaster Professional 2531.80 by Antiquorum.com

You can find the complete list at: http://www.jamesbondwatches.com/the-list-eon-movies.htm

Enjoy!

I recently saw Quantum of Solace in the movie theatre, where Daniel Craig wears his Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean. Although Omega is one of my favorite brands, I think the new watches by Linde Werdelin are better suited for his needs. Let me explain.

The watches by Linde Werdelin are pure luxury sportswatches, but do combine with the latest digital sports instruments. The watch is called the Biformeter and is available in three versions. The Elemental, Two Timer (extra timezone) and the Hard Black DLC. These watches are powered by an ETA 2892 / 2893 automatic mechanical movement which secure reliable and accurate time keeping. The Elemental is only available in 316L graded stainless steel, the Two Timer in 316L graded stainless steel and in 18 carat gold. The Hard Black DLC model is a limited time piece, produced in a serie of 22 watches. The watch case have been blasted with carbon making them second only to diamonds in terms of hardness. The DLC is therefor James Bond’s ultimate watch, useable in extreme environments.

The stainless steel watches are available on a variety of straps, including stainless steel. The DLC and gold models come on a rubber strap. On the Linde Werdelin website you are able to order them in various colors. Leather straps are also available. A smart move by Linde Werdelin to sell these straps through their own website. This is something more brands should do.

So, what’s the digital instrument in the picture there? That’s the Sea Instrument. A digital device for divers that can be attached on top of the Biformeter watch. The Sea Instrument will constantly guide divers, tracking the critical pieces of information needed on any dive using an advanced 3-axis compass, CPU’s and alarm systems. Presenting the data, using strong graphical displays, it features the divers depth, dive time, vital decompression stops, temperature, maximum depth and surface interval times, constantly keeping the user in a real time picture.

Are you more into skiing? No problem. There is also the Land Instrument.

This 40 gram digital masterpiece (equivalent to 8 sheets of A4 paper) is unmatched in the timekeeping category. It easily clips on top of the Biformeter watch to provide protection, guidance and entertainment when needed. Water resistant to 30m, the Land Instrument is timeless with the software programmed in house to allow Linde Werdelin to continually upgrade and improve the functions. The Land Instrument has a number of cool functions : Temperature including frostbite warning alarm, heart rate including calorie count function, chronograph, 3-axis compass with inclination sensor, altimeter with isotherm, barometer and a logbook.

The Sea Instrument is available for 1000 UKP and the Land Instrument is available for 700 UKP. The Biformeter timepieces start at 2490 UKP for the stainless steel Elemental watch.

Shown below, the 18 carat gold Two Timer model. Which is currently sold out, but was available for 10.850 UKP.

Make sure to visit the Linde Werdelin website to check out their online videos on these ultimate tool watches! Information on pricing, technical specifications on the watches and instruments, accessories (straps, adapters, chargers) etc. are also available through their website.