James Bond's watches and their affordable alternatives
In this post I list the most iconic watches worn by everyones favourite spy – Bond, James Bond. In the original novels by Ian Fleming, Bond is described as wearing a Rolex watch, probably because Fleming himself wore a Rolex Explorer – which I will return to at the end of this article. However, it is not specified in the novels with model Bond wears, only that he uses his stainless steel Rolex as a knuckle duster to beat up villains.
On screen however, we get to see Bond wear numerous different watches over the soon to be 25 movies.
I will go through the most iconic watches worn by Bond throughout the franchise and suggest frugal alternatives along the way.
#1 Gruen dress watch
In the very first Bond movie, Dr. No from 1962, Bond (Sean Connery) wears a simple Gruen watch with a white dial. The watch is very understated in relation to the watches Bond will come to be associated with later and it has no build-in gadgets yet.
Gruen Watch Co. how ever went out of business in 1958 and do to its Bond association, this little watch ha become increasingly rare and sort after. Finding one at a reasonable price point would be exceedingly difficult at this point.
Affordable alternative: Orient Bambino V2
The Orient Bambino sports that same midcentury minimalist style that Bond's 1950s Gruen watch. And it does so at an incredible price for an automatic dress watch. There is simply no automatic dress watch out there that beats this little pearl at its price point – I dare to go as far as claiming that I beats most dress watches at much higher price points as well! There I said it.
#2 Rolex Submariner
This is the watch that most people associate with the Connery era James Bond, but it was also worn by Timothy Dalton and the late Sir Roger Moore.
Most memorable was the watches appearance in Goldfinger from 1964, in which Bond (Sean Connery) wears it for scuba diving in the intro scene, whereafter he takes off his dry suit to reveal wearing a just a iconic ivory dinner jacket underneath.
This scene showing Bond wearing a dive watch with a black tie outfit could very well be said to be responsible for dive and other sports watches becoming acceptable to wear with a suits. At the time, however, Bond would only wear a dive watch because he was actually diving.
Sean Connery checking his Rolex Submariner wearing a white dinner jacket
Affordable alternative: Seiko SKX007
The Rolex Submariner starts at around $7,000.00 today, making it out of reach for many (although I've heard that it is considered an "intern watch" on Wallstreet).
So a more accessible alternative is the Seiko SKX007 – Yes, of course I had to select a watch with 007 in it for a Bond article!
But it's not just the name. The Seiko SKX dive watches are some of the best bang for your buck dive watches available to day. To James Bond his watch is a tool, he uses the dive bezel to time bombs in Goldfinger, as well as for actual diving. You might not be comfortable doing that with a 7 grand Rolex on your wrist.
The Seiko is a certified dive watch, its build like a tank and have a reputation to go years without service - it's extremely durable!
It's also, like the Rolex, a fully automatic watch, with an in house movement. Something you rarely see with watches at its price point.
And the best part is, it cost only a fraction of a Rolex!
To get the bond look you can either go with this black rubber strap version that is ideal for diving with the watch, or you can easily exchange the rubber strap for a striped aftermarket nylon strap like the one Bond wears in Goldfinger.
Alternatively you can go with a steel bracelet like the one Sir Roger Moore wears as Bond later. Oh and talking about Sir Roger Moore, did I mention that Seiko is a true Bond brand? Moore wears numerous Seiko watches in his career as 007, but I will come back to that!
#3 Seiko watches
In 1977 with the release of The Spy Who Loved Me, James Bond (Sir Roger Moore) has gotten a new watch. Over the franchise, Bond's watches have come to be associated with wild gadgets, so it is only natural that Bond would exchange the age old technology of mechanical watches for (at the time) state of the art digital watches with the precision and durability of a quartz movement.
Of course there is also the more cynical perspective on this change, that the invention of the much cheaper to produce quartz movement in the 60s that let to the so-called "quartz crisis" around this time, had pushed traditional watch making to the edge of extinction.
Seiko on the other hand, riding on the success of the new technology, had the means to make a lucrative endorsement deal with Ion, the production company behind the Bond films, to make their watches part of the new Bond Q-branch issued equipment.
Sir Roger Moore wore numerous Seiko watches over his tenure as the worlds most famous secret agent, from analog chronographs to digital display watches with advanced functions like a calendar and memory – and no, I'm not talking about the fictive gadgets that Q-branch installed in the movies, but the actual features of the watches.
My favourite Seiko watches worn by Bond count a Quartz LC memory bank calendar, a duo-display alarm-chronograph and "The Tuna" a quartz dive watch with a 600m water resistance rating.
Affordable alternatives: Seiko watches!
One of the greatest things about this Bond era, is that yo can actually have the real Bond watches without selling your Aston Martin to pay for a Rolex.
If you want a new watch a not have to search the internet for old 70's watches still running, Seiko makes updated versions of many of those same models to this day. The PROSPEX Marinemaster for example is the newest evolution of the dive watch 007 wears in For Your Eyes Only from 1981.
If the price tag on the Prosper series is too high for you, you can always go with that SKX007 I talked about above, or a retro digital watch, like these from Casio:
Like Seiko, Casio watches are made in Japan, and the two above are probably the closest you'll get to the watches 007 wears in The Spy Who Loved Me and Octopussy.
#4 Omega Seamaster
Fast forward to the 90's and Brosnan Era. This is the bond of my childhood and the endorsement deal with Seiko have been replaced with a deal with Omega.
Bond is back to wearing analog Swiss made luxury watches instead of Japanese made digital watches.
This time, his choice – Q's choice maybe – of watch is the Omega Seamaster dive watch with a stainless steel bracelet and blue bezel/dial. While Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is back to automatic watches (except for in Golden Eye where he wears a quartz movement, but otherwise identical, Seamaster) the Q-branch on-screen gadgets get more ridiculous than ever. Those gadgets were awesome in the 90's, but I'm not sure that part of the Brosnan Era Bond movies aged all that well.
However, some might complain that the Seamaster is the wrong watch for Bond, as Fleming wore a Rolex and described 007 as doing the same. But as Rolex never payed any endorsements to have their products in the Bond franchise, it is perfectly understandable that the production company chose Omega for financial reasons.
But I my opinion, the choice of an Omega watch for Bond is actually suiting for the story line. The British military have a historical connection with Omega watches and therefore it is more likely that an actual British MI6 agent would have worn an Omega than a Rolex.
While the Omega Seamaster will not set you back quite as much as the Rolex Submariner, it is still an investment piece, like any Swiss made luxury watch. So here are my choice for affordable alternatives:
Affordable Alternative: Citizen Eco-Drive
An affordable alternative for a dive watch with a blue dial and dive bezel and a stainless steel bracelet is the Citizen Eco-Drive. Stylistically it is virtually identical to the watch Brosnan wears in all his Bond films, but without just being an Omega knock-off.
If you are more into the Craig Era Bond films, you might opt for the Citizen Eco-Drive Professional model with a black dial and dive bezel, the one worn by the latest incarnation of 007 in the shape of Daniel Craig wears in all his rounds as 007. This version comes with a black rubber strap, like the watch 007 wields in Craigs Bond film, Casino Royale from 2006.
#5 Rolex Explorer I
As promised I would end with the watch that is most likely to be the watch of choice for the literary Bond as well as for Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, himself.
Fleming is famous for having worn a Rolex Explorer I, or rather since this was before the introduction of the Explorer model II, it was just called The Explorer at the time.
He was probably looking at his own wrist when making up James Bond in his head, as it is a well known fact that Fleming to a lot of inspiration from his own life and life style when writing the novels.
Affordable alternative: Seiko SARB033
Between the simplistic design, the stainless steel bracelet and the black dial, the Seiko SARB033 looks as much like it's Rolex counter part as possible without being a cheesy Rolex imitation. But it does so at an extremely low price for the watch you get. Like the Rolex, the Seiko SARB033 sports an automatic movement and a scratch resistant sapphire crystal – that is even more durable than the crystal of Rolex Fleming had!
Do like Fleming and put it on a black leather strap or keep it as it is, this is an extremely versatile watch, that easily could serve as your only watch if you are on a budget but would like the most possible watch you could get for your money.
Disagree with my choices? Any watches I missed? Leave a comment below!