Bond’s watch: Real fantasy (a guest post by Dell Deaton)
By The Prodigal Fool, published on 6 August 2010
What is it about the James Bond watch that stirs such passions?
For many, I suspect it’s the implied promise of making fantasy real. Consider the following.
Unless you’re Steven Spielberg, who has, in fact, publicly attributed his ownership of an Aston Martin to personal affinity for Our Man and the film Goldfinger, said iconic 007 auto brand is not within reach. A Beretta or Walther PPK, while perhaps more financially within reach, lacks a certain, shall we say, social discretion.
Clothing you say? Surely most mature men will realize that efforts to duplicate Bond’s wardrobe simply underscore how little one does in fact resemble the genuine article, in every dimension (pun intended).
Even the most ardent fan is wise to be governed in all of the aforementioned considerations by sage wisdom dating back to contemporaries of Ian Fleming himself.
“By his very nature, the secret agent needs no such peg and no tangible props,” noted Kingsley Amis in his groundbreaking analysis, The James Bond Dossier, 1965. “Most secret agents of the mind, I should think, take advantage of the chief characteristic of real secret agents. Not only have the latter no need to be outwardly different from other men; they must not be different. So our fantasist can say to himself whenever he feels like it and without any special preparation: Under this fiendishly clever bank-clerk (etc.) disguise lurks intrepid ruthless 00999.”
Ah, yes. Discretion.
Watches, James Bond Watches
Allow me to humbly suggest that the James Bond watch exclusively, perfectly fits this delicate discussion of intersection between fantasy and reality for us in every way.
For those who will never accept any actor other than Sean Connery in the role, there’s the Rolex 6538 Submariner of the late-1950s. Sans minute-markers on the bezel, but of course. Thanks to Bob Ridley of Watchmakers International, a proper reference example has been expertly restored for display at the National Watch & Clock Museum throughout the run of its special “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit.
Or, as Q once acknowledged, how about something for the Americans? Hamilton remains the choice of unshakeably loyal ally Felix Leiter, and in 1973 Roger Moore wore the only Bond-watch ever made in the United States for his debut as Agent 007 in Live and Let Die.
Do be advised, however, that there’s little subtlety for the wearer in your need to press a button to have it show the time — in bright, red, LED digits.
One can also have truly groundbreaking liquid-crystal-diode (“LCD”) technology here as well, thanks to Seiko UK. An aversion to the numeric countdown-to-destruction layout of these watch faces? Brings sort of a horn-rimmed glasses, masking-tape-around-the-bridge image to your mind? Do lay rest to such anxieties. The Seiko selection further includes a couple of the finest diver’s watches Our Man has ever worn. Looking for something more elegant? Consider the world’s first quartz analogue chronograph, or a simple two-tone timekeeper, both featured in A View to a Kill (1985).
I have it on good authority that the issue of Revolution magazine now hitting book stores is featuring the first-ever, complete and bullet-proof documented list of James Bond watches provided under the historic product-placement partnership with Albert R. Broccoli’s Eon Productions from 1977 through 1985.
Take your pick. Or go for all eight.
Alpha to Omega
As someone (and the only person outside of his family) to have actually worn the first James Bond watch — Ian Fleming’s own Rolex reference 1016 Explorer — I feel comfortable further advocating the most recent: The Omega 2201.50.00 Seamaster Planet Ocean, the model worn by Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace (2008). If you particularly fancy a watch that reflects the actor’s portrayal of the character, this is it.
It’s the watch I’m wearing now as you read this article.
Expect that watches such as this come at a price point quite appropriately consistent with the refined image we associate with Agent 007. And thus we come here to the painful rebuke that must be made to those who’d advocate fakes, replicas, “homage” knock-offs, or so-called “Bond on a budget” alternatives. Such things are so lacking in sophistication as to offend even the most tangential connection to the James Bond pedigree. Do avoid these types.
Instead, might I suggest something from the summer collection of 1958? This is when Ian Fleming himself provided written authority that his James Bond actually then-preferred modestly-priced, expendable watches. Also refer to “the cheap Japanese wristwatch” provided to Bond by Tiger Tanaka in his penultimate novel, You Only Live Twice (1964).
In any case, you can surely justify this as a more palatable loss in the hopefully unlikely event that you must press it into makeshift service as a knuckle-duster.
Kingsley Amis wrote in his Dossier that we do not so much want to dine with James Bond as we want to be James Bond. One empathizes. So, if this is you, surely you will find from among those that comprise a continuous history and six or more brands dating back to the mid-1950s, a wristwatch that reconciles your own lifestyle with that we infer of the world’s most famous secret agent.
This is, after all, the stuff of real fantasy.
The author, Dell Deaton, is widely considered the world’s foremost expert on James Bond watches and is the editor of JamesBondWatches.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @BondWatches.
Bond’s watch: Real fantasy (a guest post by Dell Deaton)
What is it about the James Bond watch that stirs such passions? For many, I suspect it’s the implied promise of making fantasy real. Consider the following. Unless you’re Steven Spielberg, who has, in fact, publicly attributed his ownership of an Aston Martin to personal affinity for Our Man and the film Goldfinger, said iconic [...]
3 Responses to “Bond’s watch: Real fantasy (a guest post by Dell Deaton)”
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[...] discussed Bond’s love affair with the Rolex Submariner and his frequent infidelities with all sorts of other brands, but if you were around these parts last Monday you’ll have read [...]
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A Prodigal August « The Prodigal Guide
6 September 2010
[...] number 8 – Bond’s watch: Real fantasy – In which guest contributor Dell Deaton (widely considered the world’s foremost expert on [...]
A celebration of 007: Bond Week « The Prodigal Guide
7 August 2010
[...] Friday – Bond’s watch: Yes, we’re back to watches because 007 has had nearly as many of them as women in his time. (We said nearly!) His love affair with Rolex and Omega is well-documented, but what of the other brands that have adorned Bond’s wrist over the years? It’s often forgotten that the likes of Seiko, Hamilton and Breitling have all been strapped to 007′s wrist at some point in his career. In a guest post, Dell Deaton will examine some of the more interesting ones. [...]