By jason on 2002-10-30
The obvious place to start is from the beginning, so here we go… James Bond, possibly the most immaculately dressed, and sophisticated man in history, the fact that he isn’t a real person means nothing, on the big screen he’s still dressed to kill. Today we see him kitted out in his Church’s Oxford shoes, tailor made Brioni suits, one design ties normally reserved for politicians and royalty, this list goes on and on. But what finishes the “Bond Look”, 99% of the time its his watch, whether it be the Rolex of the Connery years, the Seiko of the Moore era, or today’s latest incarnation of 007’s time telling equipment; The Omega Seamaster.
With a new Bond, came a new watch for 007, 1995’s GoldenEye saw Pierce Brosnan step into the Oxfords’ and on his wrist was an Omega Seamaster, to celebrate the new marriage between the James Bond franchise and the Swiss watchmaker, Omega produced a limited number of special edition Seamaster’s with the phrase “James Bond’s Choice” located on the bottom side. They were all snapped up immediately, and meanwhile the standard Seamaster sold equally as well.
Three films later and it was time for the 40th anniversary of the cinematic hero that James Bond has become. Spanning 20 films, the 007 series has gone from strength to strength, and Omega found themselves ready to commemorate 007 once more. London, England, and Omega call a press conference, the photographers snap up pictures of Pierce Brosnan as he unveils to an eager audience the new 40th anniversary Omega Seamaster Professional Chronometer.
At home, I was still saving my pennies for the standard Seamaster, but with the news of the soon to be released special edition, I had to rethink my ways. Raising the extra cash I needed i managed to come up with the full £1300 required to purchase the watch. By this time it was September, the watch had been on sale for over a month, and I was worried that the 10,007 pieces produced might have already sold out, in a similar fashion to 1995’s special edition. I was wrong.
I found myself sitting in Goldsmiths Jewellers’, the sales assistant; Claire, produced a white cube-like cardboard box, from which she revealed a beautifully crafted blue leather gift box with a design located on the top reading; “40 Years Of James Bond, Limited Series”, surrounding this text was the familiar image of the gun-barrel sequence from the start of each film, i knew then that this was to be a very special piece of jewellery.
Passing me the box, I opened it up, and discovered inside the stainless steel watch, complete with its many 007 logos’ and additions. First off, and the most easy to spot is, on the dial is a steel “007” logo, cut and then placed neatly below the hands of the watch. Underneath this, on the dial itself are more 007 logos about 60 in all, etched into the dark blue background. These only appear when the watch is shimmered into the light, revealing its true purpose – to celebrate 40 years of the world’s greatest secret agent. On the bottom side of the watch, is the same design which is found on the gift box, this replaces the normal Seamaster image that is found engraved into the back. Along with this is what reads; “04,519 / 10,007” signifying the limited number of pieces produced, and how mine in particular corresponds into the batch.
Moving down again, on the bracelets safety catch, which reads “Omega Seamaster Professional”, is the welcome addition of yet another 007 logo. Although there are many of these logos the designers have successfully incorporated them without making the watch appear to be cheap or tacky.
Other than those changes, they have chosen to stay very much in-touch with the model Bond has been wearing on-screen. I’ve been wearing the watch for about two months now, and I have to say that I have no regrets about spending such a large about of money on a watch. If kept in “pristine condition”, it is likely that in time (lets’ say about 214 years) the watch will start to gain a higher value, and become even more collectable that it already is.
I’d like to congratulate Omega, in creating a truly stunning piece of jewellery, keeping James look good, and for accepting my cash. A beautiful piece, truly magnificent!
