James Bond Watches Blog

Swatch James Bond watches leather briefcase, 2002 Fall/Winter collection

This week, we’re taking a look at a very nice range of licensed James Bond watches currently available on eBay.

As before, an opening disclaimer:

These references are presented as-is, where-is.

I am not authenticating anything that’s being offered, not vouching for sellers, and not suggesting current or ultimate sales prices reflect future value.

Fossil Deluxe Limited Edition 007 watch

Although all packaging and pieces are included with this auction, several aspects of it are in a bit rougher shape than we’d like to see for a Fossil-Bond collectible. See item number 230649488987 on eBay.

Gilbert James Bond Spy Watch

Item number 120824485534 is the wristwatch version offered by Gilbert that was without embossed logo.

MGM “shutter” watch

These don’t continue reading…

"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.

This article actually came about as the result of discussions involving several leading experts in the field of watchmaking as we were finalizing preparations for the then-upcoming “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit opening.

Rolex had announced the first major change to its Submariner Date since Timothy Dalton had worn that model as Agent 007 in Licence to Kill (Eon Productions, 1989). And it was occuring to many of us that collectors and researchers were not only missing a larger appreciation of the connection between this manufacturer and Ian Fleming’s fictional agent by referring to “the James Bond Rolex” — as if there was only, obviously, one — but also a more mainstream trend that was emerging.

“Vintage” seemed (and seems) to be establishing itself as its own brand. Folks like my friend Bob Ridley, whose livelihood is dedicated to Rolex restorations, is perhaps seeing this most keenly. And he’s services through Watchmakers International are in high-demand as a result of it.

The Agent’s Secret

Is it the ultimate conversation-stopper to invoke Ian Fleming’s name when talking about what the ‘real’ James Bond watch is?

James Bond's Rolex watches: A historical perspective and thoughts on "vintage" as its own brand, Revolution magazine (2010), by Dell Deaton

by Dell Deaton

‘Rolex is the only brand ever specified by the author who originally created Agent 007. End of discussion!’

Okay— but which model? Submariner? Explorer? Sub Date?

Licence to Kill in 1989 was the last time Bond wore Rolex for the movies. This timekeeper was most likely a Submariner Date Ref 16610, and, to be exact, as when it accompanied Timothy Dalton on-screen, the case lugs still had holes. Ironically, that Rolex connection didn’t end until just this year, when the 16610 was replaced by the 116610LN at BaselWorld 2010.

Controversy erupted among both Rolex enthusiasts and James Bond fans. For some, a two-decade run just wasn’t long enough. For others, it simply provided another chance to begin the latest round of insistance that the ‘real’ James Bond Rolex must be the one worn by Sean Connery in 1962′s Dr No: A 6538 Submariner. (For a definitive identification, based on his own personal examination of the film, I’m deeply indebted to historian and editor of Rolex Submariner Story, Franca E Guido Mondani.)

Present-day Bond, Daniel Craig, has been spied doing film interviews with his own 6538 on a NATO strap. But, unlike Connery’s watch, it has individual minute-markers on the bezel, up to 15. Is that allowed for his personal choice because he’s played James Bond most recently, or should he be held up to criticism because Sean Connery enjoys a kind of wristwatch legacy-standing in perpetuity?

There’ve been quite a few developments with the Sub since those watches ceased production in 1959, of course. Some claim that continue reading…