James Bond and Omega
The relationship between Omega watches and James Bond has been one of the most successful brand associations in history. The charming British spy with an appreciation for the finer things in life is beautifully reflected in the amazing Omega watches he wears in his exciting adventures.
While the original novel by Ian Fleming described a Bond who wore a Rolex, the movies told a completely different story. Going through a Submariner and a number of Seiko watches in the ‘60s, ‘70’s and ‘80’s, the new generation Bond chose the classic Omega Seamaster Professional in the 1995 movie Goldeneye and never looked back.
All movies that starred Pierce Brosnan since Goldeneye like Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day have had Bond wear an automatic chronometer Seamaster Professional 300M. The beautiful watch is out of production, however, it has become virtually synonymous with the Bond franchise and is often referred to as the “Bond watch”.
To celebrate a new era for the James Bond franchise that dawned with the casting of Daniel Craig, Omega chose to equip the charming spy with their new Seamaster Planet Ocean collection of watches.
In Casino Royale, Craig wore a Seamaster 300M almost identical to the one worn by his predecessor Brosnan with the exception that the new watch has a George Daniels coaxial escapement invention. It is during Casino Royale that Craig makes the change to the sporty 45.5 mm Seamaster Planet Ocean with a rubber strap. During the sequel called Quantum of Solace, Bond wears the same model Planet Ocean, however, this model is a 42 mm that comes with a leather strap.
During Skyfall, the latest Bond movie, the lovable spy will wear a special edition Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean to commemorate 50 years from the first bond movie. Only 5007 pieces of the amazing watch will be produced, cleverly showing the 50th anniversary and the 007 theme. The watch will come with a “Skyfall 007” engraving on the rotor as well as the latest developments like a silicone balance spring and a specially developed coaxial movement.
The amazing Omega Planet Ocean 600M is perfectly fitted for underwater use, being able to withstand pressures up to 60 bars, or go to depths of 600 meters. The 42 mm size of the watch will make it a perfect fit for just about any wrist however, it might look better on a bigger wrist. The case of the watch is a beautifully polished stainless steel case with a patented Omega screw-and-pin bracelet. The clasp of the bracelet is inscribed with the 007 emblem.
The dial is matt black with the Omega logo as well as a 007 logo at 7 o’clock. The sapphire crystal is scratch proof and can resist a lot of wear and tear. The indexes on the dial have a special Super-LumiNova coating that emits a blue light, including the rhodium coated hands. The minute hand and the driving bezel dot emit a green light thus creating a pleasant contrast that is very easy to spot by deep sea divers, allowing them to tell time with a simple glance even in the darkest of environments.