For no apparent reason, an article titled “Quantum’s Solace” in the current EMPIRE magazine diverts from a discussion of filming for the upcoming Quantum of Solace feature to go on for a paragraph about Daniel Craig’s watch — a Rolex Submariner 6358 [sic]. Then, almost as abruptly, the writer (and Executive Editor of EMPIRE) returns to a recitation of facts again specific to Quantum of Solace Production.
Why?
Don’t get me wrong: Daniel Craig is free to own whatever watch brand he chooses and Ian Fleming certainly saw James Bond as wearing Rolex (albeit not a Submariner model). But Omega is the official partner with Eon Productions for the James Bond wristwatch in Quantum of Solace, not Rolex.
Just like Omega was for Casino Royale. And the 007 feature before that. And the one before that.
Perhaps things were a bit tighter between James Bond and Omega when Pierce Brosnan was himself personally an Omega “Ambassador,” above and beyond the “use of his likeness” in-character as James Bond. Daniel Craig is not and has not been; but he’s certainly participated in Omega promotions beyond any mere passive consent associated with his role.
Today, Omega SA lists “James Bond” among its Ambassador list.
Curiously, even in the interval between the final press junkets for Casino Royale and the early pre-production leaks connected to Quantum of Solace (while at the time still known only as “Bond 22″), Daniel Craig was frequently photographed wearing an Omega Planet Ocean model. His own wristwatch, some have said. Now I’m curious and will have to look back to see if I can find any images of him wearing “his watch,” ie, that “Rolex Submariner 6358, an exact replica of the one he remembers Sean Connery wearing in Goldfinger.”
Initial speculation has been that the EMPIRE reference indicates some sort of a rift between Daniel Craig and Omega. Or perhaps something bigger, involving Eon Productions, and that any potential future relationship between Omega and James Bond (which dates back to GoldenEye) may be open to negotiation, if not sitting firmly in question.
Are we seeing a signal that 007 will be returning to Rolex for “Bond 23″? Remember, the multi-picture deal that has associated Omega with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace was inked long before the specifics of either had been set. The franchise direction has changed radically. Ian Fleming is mentioned a lot more often these days; his cache raised higher this year in particular with celebrations of the Ian Fleming Centenary and what would have been his one-hundredth birthday on May 28, 2008.
Read the Fleming novels and you’ll find only one brand of James Bond watch mentioned. First in Live and Let Die (1954). Then multiple times in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, where 007 actually wears two Rolex watches — the second of which is brand new.
On the other hand, we have that train sequence from the most recent Casino Royale film. You know the one. Vesper Lynd, who can expertly size a tuxedo for James Bond by simply eyeballing his physique, but can’t tell the difference at a distance of two feet between an Omega Seamaster with a blue bezel and a Rolex of any sort. An awkward way of making what could have otherwise been a very relevant plot point (and Fleming-esque statement of brand names). In that case, just to be associated with Rolex here was a great value to Omega.
Maybe that’s what we have in this reference as well: An effort to stir a discussion if not debate that puts Omega in the same league as Rolex à la James Bond’s watch. A marketing design that’s less concerned with the ultimate preference, just as long as the distinction between the two alternatives ends up blurred.
Whatever the case, I am confident that any watch Daniel Craig may have been wearing when he interfaced with EMPIRE magazine, any comment he may have actually made on the subject: It was no accident. Someone had it prepared and that was for a reason. Perhaps related to the future of James Bond watches.
Perhaps something we’ll even see in Quantum of Solace.
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