CommanderBond.net

Indulging in my favorite guilty pleasure last night (no, not THAT one) by watching NSNA and obsessing on every watch I can see. Anyway, I always wondered what that black watch was that Connery wore. I haven't seen an answer yet, so I did the ol' freeze and rewind on the DVD.

I have come to the tentative conclusion that he wore a Porsche Design chronograph (or a similar model, as the same type was sold by several companies), nearly identical to the watch worn by Tom Cruise in Top Gun. You can see the Bond example pretty clearly in the dungeon escape scene. From what I can tell, the watchband was not the standard one that came with the watch, but seems like a cheap third-party example, presumably to incorporate the prop light embedded in the clasp. In fact, you can see the wire that powers the light snaking down from the watchband into Connery's sleeve.

You can see Connery pressing the chronograph pushers to activate the laser. The dial, unique case shape, and PVD black finish all indicate to me that the Porsche Design is what we're seeing.

I'm not up-to-date on period of manufacture, so I can't confirm this is the piece. From what I know, these watches were designed by Porsche, to be sold in their car dealerships. They were manufactured by Orfina, and was powered by the famous Lemania 5100 automatic chronograph movement.

If anyone has further info on this mystery, I'd be very interested to learn about it.

These guys don't know either.

http://home.xnet.com/~cmaddox/moviewatch1.html

And of course, nothing tied in at a marketing level, as per the UK Campaign Book.

Actually, for a Bond film starring Sean, the Campaign Book shows that there was very little Corporate acceptance of this Bond film in terms of the experience of tie ins, both immediately before and after Sean's re-entry to the Bond world. Makes you wonder if in fact Sean or the Broccoli's had the power and acceptance afterall.

I used to have a black Seiko that looked quite similar to the watch in NSNA. I doubt, though that his was a Seiko. I must admit, I kind of like his watch in this film, and always felt letdown that the GoldenEye Omega had the laser beam. I would've hoped for a more original idea.

Sounds like a question for Deaton... Dell Deaton...

You know, I saw this Thread and meant to Reply earlier because I admire the search; sorry I missed it before, and I'm glad it's been bumped up again.

I'm currently working on some leads related to the original Ian Fleming novels, along w/ some side stuff on the first Timothy Dalton wristwatch in The Living Daylights pretitle sequence (possibly a Heuer?), that I quite literally just Posted today. So Never Say Never Again isn't yet on my radar.

Next step I'd recommend is to start Posting some screen captures, followed by some reference images. As Simon may have been suggesting in his Reply, there are a lot of Sites out there that cover James Bond watches sorta as a side line, w/out any real depth (or concern?) to the rich range I'm finding that we have here. Short lived are the days, I'm hoping, when folks could simply cut and paste others' guesses and call that research!

Great analysis so far, guys. I'm glad to be a part of CBn, which has emerged as the best of the broad 007 sites when it comes to this important subject.

Dell, I run into you all over the place. It's not just exclusive to watch shops but the internet too!

In regards to the watch worn in Never Say Never Again, I too have been fascinated with almost every aspect of this film. Not only for the return of Connery, but of the unique set design and overall interputation of the "Bond formula". From my own research this film had little cross-promotional tie-ins when compared to the "offical" purveyors via; Renault with A View to a Kill, and Seiko with Moonraker or even Saab with License Renewed.

Needless to say promotional ties weren't as prominent in 1983 as they are in 2008, however they did exist and especially with Bond films. For whatever reason NSNA didn't have many obvious tie-ins, unless you count the commercial-worthy shot of Absolute brand vodka. One can only speculate why; perhaps there was market loyalty to EON(though unlikely)? or perhaps the production itself didn't feel it nessescary to capitalize on "branding" matters? Almost everything in NSNA has a "made-for-production" feel to it...which is rather odd when one considers Ian Fleming himself was not opposed to sharing what type of shirt or brand of lighter (Dunhill) Bond perfers.

This approach in NSNA is neither good or bad, but definitley frustrating for some fan(atics?) who simply must "get it right" with purchasing Bond-related items....where does one get that motorbike toy?? The watch worn is quite elusive as very few brands are spotted in the end credits. That said I belive it to be a modified Pulsar quartz model. Difficult to see Sean sporting anything but a Rolex, but Japanese quartz movement were the dominant force during the 1980's and their reputation for accuracy would fit Bond! After viewing NSNA I must ask, were these filmakers that clever? Logically speaking of course, the EON James Bond was sporting a Seiko model (Pulsar's umbrella company.) In addition, this Pulsar (I will post photos soon) was only produced in the UK in 1982. That fits the time of production.

All that said, please don't take my word for it because it's not definitve. Dell Deaton is as close as you'll get to the Horse's mouth! When I met Dell he was sporting a nato straped Rolex! So until this can be verified, please treat this as a educated guess.

This post has been edited by BlackFelix: 6 June 2008 - 19:42

Post those images and make your argument(s), my friend!

My current efforts are consumed in researching James Bond Watches of the Ian Fleming novels (w/ some exciting news to come later this year). There's also a lull in Quantum of Solace watch discussion, perhaps due to the Omega focus on the Olympics. So this is a good watch w/ which to press forward in "getting it absolutely right," to paraphrase our shared interest here.

Hmmm...it won't upload the pics. Any Suggestions?

Sorry you're having "technical difficulties." Check for a PM from me.

Below are a few links that Dell Deaton provided, and should display pics of the Pulsar watch I belive was worn in Never Say Never Again. Unfortunatley the resolution isn't the greatest, as my camera doesn't take great up-close pics.


http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn217/d...001_800x600.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn217/d...006_800x600.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn217/d...010_800x600.jpg

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn217/d...011_800x600.jpg

Let's try it like this--.

Okay, now, BlackFelix, what would you have us see here, and how does it relate to identification for the Never Say Never Again watch(es)?