James Bond Watches Blog

In case there’s any doubt—

Ian Fleming created James Bond.

On January 15, 1952, at his home, Goldeneye, in Jamaica. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, it all began with these words.

The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino combine together and hit the taste-buds with an acid shock at three in the morning.

Feel free to confirm this history for yourself. You’ll find Ian Fleming’s first-draft manuscript for Casino Royale in the Lilly Library archives, Indiana University at Bloomington. That’s where I took the time to do my own original research into into this aspect of the James Bond legacy.

Elsewhere in the world, from what I’ve been seeing on the ‘net and print, tomorrow’s gonna be a big day as anniversaries of the Eon Productions 007 movies go. I’m looking forward to it.

But today, I’m remembering that it all began with Ian Fleming. Six decades ago.

With his wife-to-be, Ann.

To be honest, this video was never intended to be more than an experimental effort.

A great deal of attention came to focus on the vintage Rolex reference 1016 Explorer models after WatchTime published a feature article on my discovery that this was, in fact, that original literary James Bond watch.

I went on to note how consistent the then-current Rolex 114270 Explorer I was to the look and feel of the 1016. More appropriate to the wrist of a present-day Agent 007 (who isn’t known to wear vintage, and never in the novels could be found to have worn a decade-old watch), I opined that the 114270 “would symbolize a more discreet operative, more subtly able to transition from casino to combat — every bit as tough, but without advertising his Navy service with a watch that sticks out from his shirt cuff.”

So, what, exactly, were the key differences between the Rolex 1016 of 1960 and the 114270 Explorer of  2009? I put ‘em side-by-side for a quick look, and discussion.

From what I’ve been able to tell, it’s rather uncommon for James Bond lifestyle videos to command this sort of attention.

This video includes a lot of new footage from inside our “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit at the National Watch & Clock Museum — views that have never before been released.

This is the “director’s cut” version of our promotion for my Exhibitor Show 2011 session, titled, “Exhibiting James Bond Watches: Hooking a Story, Compelling an Experience, March 31, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., in Las Vegas.

I also figured it would likely be of interest to folks who aren’t going to this premier marketing industry conference, but might be looking to make plans to see the actual James Bond Watches exhibit in Pennsylvania. Perhaps over the holidays?

And, again, for those planning to attend Exhibitor Show 2011, special reservation packages are available for our host venue, the Mandalay Bay Resort Hotel and Casino.

Speaker biographies for Mrs James Bond Watches and me are now online there as well.