Round-UpOmega And James Bond: An Overview Of Agent 007’s Iconic Watches
With the film ‘No Time To Die’ set to premiere in April this year, we round up the last 25 years of James Bond’s choices in timepieces
May We Recommend
The world’s coolest spy doesn’t need any introduction. And nor does his time-telling companion. For more than 20 years now, Bond’s watch of choice has been an Omega. This has certainly contributed to the brand’s legendary status, despite making very brief screen appearances. The collaboration began as a redesigning of Mr Bond himself. Trends shifted wildly in the early 90s and the producers had to keep up. Teaming up with several market conglomerates—such as BMW, Ericsson and Omega—moulded James Bond into a commercial success. Among the brands giving Bond a capitalistic makeover, what caught the immediate attention of the audience was Omega, catapulting the watchmaker into showbiz stardom. It became every fan’s dream to live out their James Bond fantasies—chasing villains in adrenaline-inducing fast cars, shaking (not stirring) their medium dry martini, and keeping track of almost borrowed time with an Omega strapped onto their wrist.
Now, after a hiatus of five long years, Bond is set to return to the big screens with No Time To Die. And we’ve decided to take a look back at the last 25 years of Bond’s chosen timepieces. Without further ado, this is the Seamaster, the Omega Seamaster.
GoldenEye (1995)
Pierce Brosnan as James Bond played a suave, sophisticated gentleman, who was an experienced diver with the navy. The watch perfectly suited this personality with aplomb. It was the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Quartz Professional, a professional dive watch, capable of handling the toughest of situations.
It had a midnight blue dial with Omega’s signature wave pattern and a Helium escape valve at the 10 o’clock on the case. This little piece of kit was packed with gadgets such as a laser and a detonator, making the watch integral to the plot.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002)
All three movies that followed Goldeneye featured the automatic, certified chronometer version of the Seamaster Diver 300M Professional, albeit loaded with different gadgetry for each movie. From a detonator, which could remotely trigger a hand grenade in Tomorrow Never Dies and a mini grappling hook in The World Is Not Enough, to a powerful laser in Die Another Day, the Seamaster 300M Professional Chronometer was an important member of the supporting cast. Visually, the automatic variant of the Seamaster was similar to its quartz counterpart. However, with the Swiss watch industry booming post the quartz crisis, a COSC-certified automatic was definitely the way to go for Mr Bond.
Casino Royale (2006)
With a new Bond in town, the franchise went through a significant restructuring. The carefree, suave persona of the character withered away and gave way to a more realistic and damaged Bond, portrayed by Daniel Craig. For the first time, James Bond wore two watches in a movie. The first was a black 45.5mm Seamaster Planet Ocean on a black rubber strap, which he wears during the wild opening sequence set in Uganda. For the rest of the movie, he sticks with the classic blue 41mm automatic Seamaster Diver 300M. Omega and the film crew manage to announce the collaboration in an assertive, grand yet tasteful manner during the film. In a dialogue shared between Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) and Bond, she tries to guess the watch he is wearing.
Vesper Lynd: “Rolex?”
James Bond: “Omega.”
Vesper Lynd: “Beautiful.”
Quantum Of Solace (2008)
Bond returns to wearing a single watch for Quantum Of Solace, namely the 42mm Planet Ocean 600M with a black dial and bezel, on a stainless steel bracelet. Since the start of the Daniel Craig era, in order to portray a more realistic super-spy, the watches weren’t packed with any sort of gizmos that we saw and loved in Brosnan’s Bond films. The watch in Quantum Of Solace follows in the same footsteps. Even so, the black Seamaster is still given a fair bit of screentime.
Skyfall (2012)
Arguably one of the best Bond films to-date, Skyfall managed to portray a more modern, pragmatic version of James Bond while still paying homage to the series’ iconic status. In the beginning of the movie, Secret Agent 007 is seen wearing a titanium Planet Ocean 600M with a black dial, fitted with a dark grey ceramic bezel and a redesigned dial. Later in the movie, he’s seen sporting a dressier 38.5mm Seamaster Aqua Terra, which is also his first Omega without a rotating bezel.
Spectre (2015)
Bond: “Does it do anything?”
Q: “It tells time.”
Lies! Spectre marked the comeback of the gadget-watch, surprising both the audience and Mr Bond himself. The Seamaster worn by 007 in Spectre actually doubled up as a bomb, which once activated, indicated the countdown through its indexes. This also marked the first time Omega created a Bond-specific timepiece for the movies. The explosive watch is the Seamaster 300m Master Chronometer tricked out with a 12-hour bezel, a lollipop second hand, and an exquisite military five-stripe NATO strap, all lending a lovely vintage façade. It was the first time the iconic Seamaster was available with a NATO strap. The blue Aqua Terra also makes a brief special appearance in the movie.
No Time To Die (2020)
Omega unveiled the watch that will be strapped to the wrist of 007 in No Time To Die at the at the premiere of the film’s trailer. The watchmaker has, once again, worked closely with Craig and the film’s team to develop the Seamaster Diver 300M 007 Edition. Within a 42mm grade-2 titanium case sits an aluminium dial with an aged brown hue. The watch looks purposeful and militaristic in nature, and is available with either a titanium mesh bracelet, or a striped NATO strap with 007 engraved on the loop. On the caseback, you’ll find a series of numbers, which follow the format for genuine military-issue watches. For instance, ‘0552’ is a naval code number, with ‘923 7697’ being the number for a divers’ watch. The letter ‘A’ signifies a watch with a screw-in crown, while 007 is Bond’s iconic code number. Finally, the number ‘62’ refers to the year of the very first James Bond film. The watch is powered by the in-house Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 8806 and unlike the previous Bond watch, this one won’t be a limited edition, giving fans a reason to rejoice.
The film is set to debut in April, and the question on all our minds is: does the new Bond watch do anything besides telling the time? Well, we certainly hope so. Because, as Mr Bond puts it, “Sometimes the old ways are the best.”
