James Bond before he was Bond

Johndobbs

No time for the wrong watch…

We take a look at who the real world James Bond is, his background and what he really wears on his wrist!

www.wristworthy.uk

This is a great read about the watches James Bond would have worn before he was the man - very cool !

#cwcwatch #bondwatches #omega #rolexsubmariner
Reply
Oldmanwatches
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Very good article ,tells the history of watch suppliers to the UK forces 

DeeperBlue
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Very interesting and cool watches! Thank you for posting 👍

I know @Porthole thinks highly of his CWC.

Not sure a spy would be wearing a watch specifically given to members of the ministry of defence though... doesn't sound like the best bet when you're undercover.

Rocketfan
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Thanks for the cool article. Bumps the CWC up the list (plus I want to add another quartz/ affordable diver to the collection).

Porthole
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DeeperBlue

Very interesting and cool watches! Thank you for posting 👍

I know @Porthole thinks highly of his CWC.

Not sure a spy would be wearing a watch specifically given to members of the ministry of defence though... doesn't sound like the best bet when you're undercover.

I did sort of speculate about this a little while back:

Yes, but the majority of the MOD contract Omegas were 6B/159s and the Dirty Dozen, not as many divers. In terms of divers, then it was Rolex for military as the Submariner was adopted by the MOD in 1957. Early Panerai Radiomirs were effectively re-cased 47mm Rolex pocket watches. Omega MOD divers would be late 60s, but Bond in the books was a Rolex fan.

If Bond wasn’t special forces he probably would have had an ATP, 6B/159, or a “Weems” (also denominated 6B/159) if he served in WWII or likely a Dirty Dozen or 6B/346 just after.

It’s not particularly obvious. The Rolex love was sort of fuelled by Fleming himself. In Bond’s own words:

“Another Rolex? Probably. They were on the heavy side, but they worked. And at least you could see the time in the dark with those big phosphorous numerals”.

After the war Smiths had a military contract, and CWC as well towards the end 60s / early 70s. Mechanical 70s W10s are lovely watches. I rave about my beloved CWC G10, they were in service from 80s - 2006 before Pulsar picked up the contract. CWC divers are great, my colleague picked up a homage recently, but an actual service one is serious coin, so it’s not an easy recommendation.

CWC of now are not the CWC of old, as is common, but they do keep the classic watches alive.