James Bond Watches Blog

Rolex 6538 Submariner to be shown at National Watch & Clock Museum “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit, June 18, 2010 – April 30, 2011

Thanks to the efforts of Bob Ridley and his Watchmakers International, the “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit will feature on display a restored Rolex Submariner 6538 model throughout its run at the National Watch & Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

Although publications such as WatchTime and researchers including James Dowling have discussed a range of possibilities, no credentialed expert has ever officially gone on record to identify an exact reference number for the Dr. No Rolex Submariner worn by actor Sean Connery as James Bond in that film.

Until now.

At the specific request of JamesBondWatches.com, the world renowned Rolex trader and author Franca E. Guido Mondani studied the wristwatch images that appeared on screen in Dr. No and personally identified this for our publication as continue reading…

Adding important credibility to the often debated subject of Rolex Submariner appearances on the wrist of Sean Connery as James Bond in the early EON Productions films, WatchTime weighed in back in 2004 with publication of this analysis by Robert Sprague, Member of the American Society of Master Projectionists.

Several years ago I examined all of the James Bond movies by way of blowups directly from 35-mm film.

It appears that the exact same Rolex Submariner was worn by Sean Connery in no less than three James Bond films: Dr. No (1962), Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965).

The watch in question is from the heavy case series that used an 8-mm crown (without crown-protecting “shoulders”). It has a 38-mm flush-to-case rotating bezel, radium indices and a plastic Tropic 17 or Tropic 19 crystal. This particular series of Submariners was created between 1953 and 1958 and was actually available in five variants (Ref 6200, Ref 6538, Ref 6538A, Ref 6540, Ref 5510).

It’s impossible to tell which of the five it is.

Mr. Sprague then went on to continue reading…