Movies & Watches: Omega Edition
We at S.T Hopper continue to source the best pre-owned watches in Lincolnshire and today I'm delighted to show you our latest gem back from service. We now have in stock a Limited Edition Omega Seamaster 50th Anniversary James Bond Co-Axial watch.
To celebrate this we look back at the watches used in the James Bond franchise from a previous article that we originally posted in 2015.
James Bond watches 1962-2015! Enjoy!
James Bond.... The longest running film franchise in movie history. Throughout the movies he has needed the help of many gadgets including his most important gadget.....his watch! Bond isn't the only person who relies on his trusty watch, the bad guys need a help in hand too! Let's look back from the very beginning the relationship Mr Bond & Co have had with their most important gadget, the trusty watch!The Sean Connery Years
Sean Connery as James Bond with his Walther air pistol
Sean Connery's breakthrough came thanks to the role of James Bond from 1962-1971 and then again in 1983. He appeared a total of 7 times as Bond, all commercially successful. His first job after leaving school was working as a milkman (bonus trivia for you!)
Dr. No (1962)
Sean Connery starred as James Bond for the first time in the hit movie Dr.No and for many Sean Connery is the best Bond of all. His preferred watch was the Rolex Submariner on a NATO strap. Legend has it the Rolex would not supply a free watch for the movie, instead the watch was loaned to him by the films producer, Cubby Broccoli
James Bond's first choice the Rolex Submariner 6538
From Russia With Love (1963)
Based on the 1957 book of the same name, Mr Bond continues to wear his trusty Rolex Submariner this time on a black alligator strap.
Goldfinger (1964)
Based on the book of the same name by Ian Fleming, James Bond chooses his ever faithful Rolex Submariner. Bond girl Pussy Galore played by Honor Blackman is seen here wearing a Rolex GMT Master and was the first time a woman wore a man's 40MM Sport Rolex on film.
Honor Blackman and her Rolex GMT with Sean Connery from a scene in Goldfinger
Thunderball (1965)
Based on the book of the same name by Ian Fleming, Sean Connery is seen here on set with the eye patch wearing SPECTRE #2 wearing a Breitling Top Time
James Bond (Connery) with SPECTRE #2 (Emilio Largo) on set of Thunderball
You Only Live Twice (1967)
This was the 5th movie in the Bond franchise to be released. The screenplay was written none other than Roald Dahl. Amazingly there were no watches present in the film! Mr Bond left home without it. Fear not in 2002 Swatch produced special limited edition watches for each and every movie that was released at that time. A ladies watch was made for the movie You Only Live Twice, Blofeld's Cat
Blofeld's Cat Swatch watch which is now highly collectible
Casino Royale (1967)
A film loosely based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name. Stars Peter Sellers as Evelyn Tremble, this scene shows him making good use of his Rolex GMT Master 'Pepsi' Bezel
Rolex GMT Master showing beauty millionaire spy Vesper Lynd (Ursula Andress)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
After the announcement that Sean Connery decided to retire from playing James Bond, George Lazenby, an unknown Australian actor and model took on the role. This film clip from the movie shows him wearing a Pre-Daytona Rolex Chronograph 6328.
George Lazenby with Diana Rigg wearing his Rolex Chronograph
Diamonds are Forever (1971)
After paying a world record salary (at the time) to get Sean Connery back to play the role of James Bond, in doing so, it seems they must have been short of money to include a watch for the famous spy! Fear not in 2002 Swatch produced special limited edition watches for each and every movie that was released at that time. A ladies watch was made for the movie Diamonds are Forever.
The 007 Swatch collection is highly collectible
The Roger Moore Years
Roger Moore from a promotional image from Live & Let Die.
Roger Moore seemed perfect for the role of James Bond with his success of playing Simon Templar in The Saint but nearly didn't get to play James Bond as the producers at that time wanted Burt Reynolds to play the spy. He played Bond from 1973-1985.
Live & Let Die (1973)
The 8th James Bond film in the series this time starring Roger Moore. Seen in most of the movie wearing a Rolex Submariner but at the beginning of the movie, he wears for the first time in James Bond's history a Pulsar watch, a Hamilton Pulsar ‘P2 2900′ LED which is now very collectible.
Roger Moore pictured here with the 'futuristic' Hamilton Pulsar ‘P2 2900′ LED
The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
Roger Moore goes in for the kill wearing a Rolex Submariner while the bad but excellent assassin, Scaramanga wears a Rolex Cellini King Midas (in gold of course)
Scaramanga played by Christopher Lee wearing a Rolex Cellini
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Roger Moore's favourite (and 3rd) outing as James Bond. Seiko watches take a huge interest in the franchise and James Bond takes on a new direction in watches. Here he is receiving a message courtesy of his LCD Seiko LC Chronograph with built in kitchen labeller!
The days before mobiles, messages were received via Seiko LCD watches!
Moonraker (1979)
The 11th James Bond movie and with the Star Wars phenomenon in full swing, Bond wants a piece of the action too and becomes the highest grossing Bond movie of all time until 1995. Mr Bond saves the day again thanks to his LCD Seiko, the watch is fitted with all the latest gadgets.
The LCD Seiko becomes a life saver in the hit 1979 film Moonraker
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
The 12th Spy movie and after Moonraker the franchise went back to a more realistic approach. Bond has now become a big fan of Seiko watches and wears his Seiko Quartz Analog/Digital Alarm Chronograph throughout the movie. In one scene though he wears a Seiko 7549 divers watch.
Scene from For Your Eyes Only in the Neptune Submarine wearing the Seiko 7549
Octopussy (1983)
The films title is taken from an Ian Fleming 1966 short story 'Octopussy and The Living Daylights' The watch again is provided by Seiko UK and was the LCD G757 model with its distinctive resin horseshoe shaped bezel. Used in the movie as a tracking device and a TV screen its real functions include hourly chime, countdown timer, 2 time zones, alarm, stopwatch and even a back light.
Roger Moore and the Seiko G757
Never Say Never Again (1983)
It's worth mentioning that during the Roger Moore era, Sean Connery returned in the unofficial remake of Thunderball and after previously saying he would 'never again' return as Bond it was the perfect movie title. He returned 12 years after his last movie Diamonds are Forever. It also is the only film which is clouded in mystery in what watch he actually wore for the role. Do you have an idea on what watch it could be? An Oris? maybe a Seiko? Please comment if you know or would like to guess.
A scene from the film with the mystery watch. What could it be?
A View To A Kill (1983)
The 7th and last Bond film to star Roger Moore and his least favourite. Look out for a very young Dolph Lundgren as one of General Gogol's henchmen. Roger Moore wears a Seiko quartz Chronograph model number is of course the SPR007.
Roger Moore's last outing seen here wearing a Seiko SPR007
The Timothy Dalton Years
Timothy Dalton with his Walther PPK
Timothy Dalton played James Bond 1987-1989. But the role was originally offered at the time to Pierce Brosnan, but unfortunately for Pierce he was still contracted to the Remington Steele television show and at the very last minute had to make a further season to the show meaning the role was withdrawn and Timothy Dalton was chosen instead.
The Living Daylights (1987)
The 15th film in the series and Timothy Dalton's first. This was the last movie to use an Ian Fleming story title (until Casino Royale 2006) In one scene Timothy Dalton wears a TAG Heuer Professional Night-Dive PVD watch, a first for Bond.
Timothy Dalton in action in 1987 The Living Daylights
Licence To Kill (1989)
Licence To Kill is Timothy Dalton's last Bond outing but he goes out in style by being the only Bond to wear a Rolex Submariner with a rare black, matt finish dial. S.T Hopper sold this model of watch only last year!
Timothy Dalton as a darker, more violent Bond with his rare Rolex matt dial Submariner
The Pierce Brosnan Years
Pierce Brosnan finally gets the role of Bond
After previously missing out playing the role of Bond because of contract issues with TV show Remington Steele, Pierce finally gets the role he has been after for many years and plays Bond 1995-2004.
Goldeneye (1995)
Goldeneye becomes the biggest grossing movie of all Bond films at this point since Moonraker and see's a new watch company to take an interest in the James Bond franchise and is a fantastic move for the Omega watch brand. Shown here is Pierce Brosnan and his new Omega Seamaster, quartz version.
James Bond starts a new and long relationship with the Omega watch company shown here with the Omega Seamaster
It's not just the good guys having a piece of the Omega action, bad guy Alec Trevelyan from Goldeneye also wears the same model of watch, an Omega Seamaster this time on a black custom strap.
Bad guy Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) with Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco) and the Omega Seamaster
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The 18th Bond film in the series and the only Pierce Brosnan movie not to go to number one at the box office but this was due to Titanic being released at the same time. The watch is the same model as in Goldeneye, an Omega Seamaster but this time the automatic Chronometer version.
Pierce Brosnan in his second outing as Bond and with his Omega Seamaster watch
The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Having the longest pre-title sequence of any Bond movie, this was Pierce Brosnan's 3rd outing. Bond relies once again on his longest running friend, the Omega Seamaster Automatic Chronometer watch. Seen here in action!
The Omega Seamaster Automatic Chronometer in action in The World Is Not Enough
Die Another Day (2002)
The 20th movie in the franchise and last Bond movie starring Pierce Brosnan which became the highest grossing Bond movie up to this point. To celebrate the release of Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day and to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the whole Bond phenomenon, Omega released a Special Edition Seamaster watch. The Die Another Day limited edition timepiece was presented in special packaging and underneath the usual inscription of ‘Seamaster Professional Chronograph’ on the blue dial was the classic and much-loved 007 logo-with-gun, the one where a pistol barrel sprouts out of the number seven, which doubles as the grip of the weapon. If that was a subtle addition, the rear of the case spelled out exactly what this was with the inscription: ‘40 Years of James Bond – Limited Series’ and the number in that series engraved at the 6 o’clock position. It also featured a unique bracelet design, another sly signifier that this was no ordinary Seamaster. The model was produced in a limited edition of 10,007 pieces and was hugely successful, appealing to OMEGA and Bond aficionados in equal measure. S.T Hopper had number 7656 for sale but sadly has now been sold!
One of many quality Pre-Owned watches you will find at S.T Hopper
Daniel Craig Years to present
Daniel Craig is the first actor to play Bond who was born after the franchise started. Many protested at Daniel Craig being Bond as he had blonde hair, blue eyes and for being quite short, completely different to the other actors who played Bond. Hate campaigns started in the newspapers and on websites telling people to boycott watching the first movie. However, he continued and what later turned out to be a brilliant move, he played the role as if he had done for many years and is now considered by many to be the best James Bond.
Casino Royale (2006)
The first James Bond film to star Daniel Craig and was a huge success making around $600,000,000 at the box office. Omega continue their partnership with the James Bond franchise. Daniel Craig uses 2 models in this movie, the first is the Omega Seamaster with its updated Automatic movement, the Co-Axial escapement. He also wears for the first time, the Omega Planet Ocean, also fitted with the automatic Co-Axial movement. The actual Planet Ocean watch worn on set went to auction and sold to a UK buyer for a staggering £170,000
The original Omega Planet Ocean watch worn in Casino Royale sold at auction complete with dirt from the film set!
The bad guy from Casino Royale, Le Chiffre played by Mads Mikkelsen also has a taste for quality and can be seen wearing a Longines Evidenza automatic Chronograph.
Le Chiffre played by Mads Mikkelsen with his Longines Evidenza
Quantum Of Solace (2008)
The 22nd Bond movie, Daniel Craig's second and is a direct sequel to Casino Royale. James Bond for the whole movie wears a Planet Ocean Omega Co-Axial.
Promotional shot for Quantum Of Solace with the Omega Planet Ocean Co-Axial
Felix Leiter played by Jeffrey Wright (Westworld) makes a return to the franchise and he tries to show Bond a thing or two in quality watches. Here he is wearing a Hamilton Khaki X-Wind.
Felix Leiter played by Jeffrey Wright. The only actor to play the character twice in a row
Skyfall (2012)
Skyfall is the 23rd movie in the franchise and the only Bond movie to make over $1 billion at the box office. The film sees the return of two famous characters, Q and Miss Moneypenny. The movie release coincided with the James Bond 50th Anniversary, which all began with Dr. No (1962) James Bond seen here wearing his Omega Planet Ocean Co-Axial.
Daniel Craig on set of Skyfall (2012)
With Miss Moneypenny making a return, she obviously knows a thing or two about watches. Here she is wearing a ladies Omega Aqua Terra.
Eve Moneypenny played by Naomie Harris and her Omega Aqua Terra
Spectre (2015)
This could be Daniel Craig's last outing as James Bond which is very sad to hear, he has made quite a name for himself in the Bond universe but I guess he believes in retiring on a high and I can't say I blame him, he's done an amazing job in breathing new life into the franchise. In his last? outing we see James Bond up against the criminal organisation SPECTRE with bad guy leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld played by Christoph Waltz. Mr Bond has an upgrade in the Omega watch range with the Seamaster 300 on a rather trendy NATO strap as seen below.
Daniel Craig with his Omega Seamaster 300 on a NATO strap
Mr. Hinx, played by wrestler Bautista, is the main henchman/assassin in the movie who is apparently loosely based on the character 'Donald Grant' the assassin from the 1963 movie From Russia With Love. He can be seen in the movie wearing a Swiss high-tech ceramic Rado D-Star automatic chronograph wristwatch, another quality watch brand from the Swatch group. The actual watch he wore during filming will be auctioned off on the 18th Febuary 2016 at Christie's auction house in London and is expected to fetch £4,000-£6,000
Mr Hinx with his Rado D Star Automatic watch
You will also find at the same Christie's auction a fine watch worn by M played by Ralph Fiennes. His choice is the rather classic Longines automatic Conquest Heritage watch as shown here in 18ct gold. Fine choice M and the watch is expected to fetch £5,000-£7,000
So there we have it, all the Bond watches in one place up to this point! Next time you watch a Bond movie have a look out for the watches worn by the characters, you never know you may even own one of these rare, sought after timepieces!
The Limited Edition Omega Seamaster 50th Anniversary James Bond Co-Axial watch SKU: 57682 £3,995 (August 2020)
