James Bond Watches Blog

"James Bond Watches Price Guide 2011," by Dell Deaton (Proteus Publishing), now available for immediate delivery from Amazon.com

For the first time ever, this James Bond Watches Price Guide is available to provide readers with exact sales price histories on all James Bond watch models confirmed to have been referenced by Ian Fleming and in the Eon Productions 007 movies.

See listing on Amazon.com for complete details.

We’ve offered dedicated coverage of James Bond watches here since 2005. Broken news with the first definitive identifications for models from several watchmakers. Done the exclusive, original research that’s set our James Bond watch website and blogs apart from every other information resource.

Having piqued the interest of serious collectors, and fans simply wanting to own this piece or that of Bond-related history, there’s always been a key piece missing — how much is this James Bond watch really worth?

So I started sampling actual, legitimately-completed transactions during the first week of January, 2008. Sources included online listings from watch forums and bidding sites, professional auction house catalogues, and person-to-person and brick-and-mortar shop sales that were shared with me through a network of enthusiastic supporters of our work here.

Thus the James Bond Watches Price Guide grew to include data for many wristwatches dating back to the 1990s.

Breitling, Hamilton (Pulsar), Omega, Rolex, Seiko, TAG Heuer: Over 600 individual transactions, spanning almost two dozen different models.

It’s a truly unprecedented reference that will help buyers make more informed decisions as they consider purchases, and help sellers price watches in ways that both respect the Bond pedigree and move toward closing deals in desired time frames.

In addition to our Amazon listing, a dedicated website has been set up for the James Bond Watches Price Guide to provide information on future editions and additional formats in which this content will be be offered.

Several photos of the Guide contents can be seen there as well.

Clear view of Ian Fleming wearing his Rolex 1016 Explorer James Bond watch, on the "Goldfinger" movie set with Sean Connery and Shirley Eaton

This publicity photo recently came into my possession and is perhaps one of the most unique in terms of James Bond watch history.

It gives us a clear view of Ian Fleming, on the set of Goldfinger, wearing the Rolex 1016 Explorer James Bond watch that WatchTime magazine has credited me with discovering based on documentation published in its February 2009 issue (“Found: James Bond’s Rolex“).

Digital scanning can’t do justice to the print made from original negative that’s in my possession. But you can click on the thumbnail above to see it at higher resolution for a better idea of what I mean.

Beyond the sharp view of Ian Fleming’s Rolex watch dial, the larger context is historic as well. The first big-screen James Bond, actor Sean Connery, appears to be in conversation with the Bond-creator. Between, them Bond-girl Shirley Eaton evidences giving her full attention to Mr Fleming.

The photo dates to 1964, on set of the Eon Productions film, Goldfinger.

The literary James Bond watch shown in the picture can now be seen as part of our “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” display at the National Watch & Clock Museum, in Columbia, Pennsylvania. That special exhibit is slated to run through April 30, 2011.

As Guest Curator for the exhibit, one of my responsibilities and great priviledges has been to handle the watch in advance of setup. At the request of Museum insurance underwriters and with consent of Ian Fleming family heirs, I became the first (and so far, only) person to continue reading…

An updated edition of Rolex Submariner Story has recently been released by Guido Mondani Editore

Guido Mondani begins his Editor’s Note by writing that with this publication of his Rolex Submariner Story, “enthusiasts, collectors and traders can really feel satisfied” by the “history and an ‘encyclopedic’ knowledge of all modern and vintage Submariner models.”

That’s quite a tall order.

Stop to think about the number of in-depth texts that have already been written on this subject, in whole or part.

Unauthorized histories. Approaches that narrowly focus on sports models. Magazine features based on unprecedented access to Rolex facilities. Auction catalogs. And all that before we start talking about other Guido Mondani Editore imprints.

Yet Rolex Submariner Story delivers. In fact, it exceeds Mr Mondani’s opening promise.

The first edition, published in 2009 and limited to a 2,000-book printing, is a cornerstone and regularly referenced part of my personal research library. I cited it for my piece on James Bond and Rolex in the current Revolution magazine, as well my post-BaselWorld observations that ran on the CommanderBond.net James Bond fan site.

Guido Mondani is also our personal source for identification of the Rolex 6538 Submariner on display (courtesy of Bob Ridley, Watchmakers International) as part of our “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit at the National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

So it is with a great deal of hands-on, practical-use experience that I come to this review of Rolex Submariner Story — and happily announce that a new edition has just been released, featuring continue reading…