Ian Flemings James Bond hit the stage in 1953, the same year that Rolex developed their Submariner. In his books, Fleming had Bond wearing a Rolex Perpetual Oyster, and when Sean Connery finally came to the big screen in 1962 with Dr. No, he did so wearing a Submariner.
Since then, the first four Bonds, Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton, spanning eleven movies, all wore one. There’s an article done by John E. Brozek for International Wristwatch Magazine, called “The James Bond Submariner, An Unauthorized History…”, that is well worth reading to learn more about the association between James Bond and the Rolex Submariner.
Actually, “Q” branch had one specially made for Roger Moore in “Live And Let Die” that had a spinning buzz-saw bezel, and a magnetic field that could deflect a bullet. Not sure how magnetism can affect a lead bullet, but there you go.
It wasn’t until Pierce Brosnan took over in “Goldeneye” that Bond commenced wearing an Omega Seamaster. Most recently, Daniel Craig has continued to do so.
According to Wikipedia,
“another reason for the change from the Rolex Submariner watches that Bond previously used to wear is the change in the business environment that surrounds modern high-profile films. Omega was amenable to participating in high profile co-promotions and product placements in the movies, something that the conservative Rolex company avoids”.
Related products: Rolex Submariner
2 responses so far ↓
1 Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner // Jan 16, 2008 at 4:42 pm
[...] RSS ← The James Bond Submariner [...]
2 James Bond’s Omega Seamaster // Jan 30, 2008 at 5:34 pm
[...] until this time it had been a Rolex Submariner, but Brosnan débuted wearing an Omega Seamaster, and continued to do so in later films. The reason [...]
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