Pre-Owned Spotlight: Vintage And Modern James Bond Watches Starting At Under €1K

Watches from Rolex, Omega, and Tissot

November 19, 2022

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It’s the 60th anniversary of the James Bond movies this year. Last September, the Omega Seamaster 300M No Time To Die that Daniel Craig wore in the movie fetched a whopping £226,800 at Christie’s.

Thankfully, though, you don’t need to bring £226,800 to call yourself the owner of a watch identical to the one worn in a Bond movie. For this special installment of Pre-Owned Spotlight, I selected several watches featured in James Bond films. In a previous Pre-Owned Spotlight article, Nacho already included a Seamaster 2531.80, so I will refrain from using that specific watch that Pierce Brosnan wore in some of the 1990s James Bond movies.

Live and Let Die — Tissot PR 516

In the film Live and Let Die with Roger Moore in the role of 007, you will see Bond wearing a Tissot PR 516 watch on a steel bracelet. In earlier movies, Bond had worn Rolex watches (Submariner and a 6238 chronograph), but in this 1973 film, it’s a 36mm Tissot PR 516 with a date. I have found a similar one for sale on a rubber strap for €891 at a watch dealer in Germany. It’s a chunky-looking watch, despite its 36mm diameter, and has a 60-minute scale diving bezel. On the dial, you can clearly see the PR 516 logo, just like you can see on some stills from the Live and Let Die movie. There are more variations of the PR 516 out there, but the version here shows the same design elements as the one worn by Roger Moore. You can find it on offer here.

Live and Let Die — Rolex Submariner 5513

Let’s stay with James Bond’s Live and Let Die movie from 1973 for another moment. Besides the Tissot PSR 516 and Hamilton Pulsar LED watch featured in that movie, there’s also a Submariner 5513 on the wrist of Roger Moore. It’s a bit of a mystery why he’s wearing the Rolex and the Tissot in different scenes, but we expect that our friends from James Bond Lifestyle will find out at some point. The Rolex Submariner 5513 is one of the most classic dive watches around, and it’s a later generation than the Submariner worn in the first Bond movie 60 years ago. In 1962, Bond wore the Submariner 6538, and later on, he could be seen wearing the successors of that reference. The first time Bond strapped on a Submariner 5513 was in 1969 in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I’ve found a Submariner 5513 for sale for €15,299. James Bond wore the 5513 again in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974. You can find the Rolex Submariner 5513 on offer here.

Omega Seamaster 300M “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” 50th-anniversary edition

In 2019, Omega introduced a special series for the 50th anniversary of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We covered the stainless steel version in-depth here. Jorg wrote, “The most important [element] that catches the eye is the dial that refers to the opening credit sequence of all Bond films. The black ceramic dial is laser-engraved, depicts the view down the barrel of a gun, and the diameter of its center is exactly 9mm.” This watch was a limited edition of 7,007 pieces for obvious reasons. However, I don’t think that it means the market is flooded with them. There are more Bond fans than you might think. The last known retail price was €7,100, but this discontinued piece fetches higher prices today. I’ve found this Seamaster 300M “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” 50th-anniversary watch offered for €11,650 here.

Quantum of Solace — Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 2201.50

In 2008, Daniel Craig appeared in his second James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace. In Casino Royale (2006), the Planet Ocean appeared briefly. This 2201.50 is a 42mm diameter Seamaster Planet Ocean, dating back to 2006. Inside is Omega’s caliber 2500, an ETA-based movement but with a Co-Axial escapement. You can find these fairly easily on the pre-owned market, but this particular one, with clear signs of wear, is priced nicely at €3,550. You can find it here.

Seiko M354 Memory Bank Calendar

I didn’t show in this article the large number of vintage Seiko watches worn by Bond in various 007 movies. In The Spy Who Loved Me, there’s a beautiful Seiko 0674-5009, for example, but it’s not easy to find one in good condition. For a long time, people have been wearing the heck of out these relatively cheap digital watches. Often, parts are missing or replaced with non-original ones. Other good examples are the Seiko M354 (Moonraker), and Seiko G757 Sports 100 (Octopussy) watches. They’re tough to find in collectible condition, I would say, but they are still more affordable than most other watches listed in this article.

What’s your favorite James Bond watch? Is it the first Bond watch (Submariner 6538), the 1990s Seamaster 300M, or one of the digital Seikos? Or, perhaps, is it the modified Breitling Top Time worn in Thunderball? Please let us know in the comments below.

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Pre-Owned Spotlight: Vintage And Modern James Bond Watches Starting At Under €1K

Just scored the (admittedly midsize version) GoldenEye Seamaster 300 for 850$… amazing watch.

Robert-Jan says:

Nov 19, 2022 at 12:21

Congrats on your purchase! Solid pick!

The Tissot bezel is totally impractical. Not a fan of the Seamaster 300 dials and hands which in my opinion makes it a kind of a diver in tux. Makes sense in the Bond universe though. Early or should i say 2nd-ish generation Seiko quarts were amongst the best of it’s time, and I believe the pictured one is a very good representative of these.

For a collector, the Rolex is probably most interesting, but my pick would be the Planet Ocean. A watch for the wrist, not for the drawer.

Robert-Jan says:

Nov 19, 2022 at 12:21

True, but I have yet to see someone putting the bezel to use anyway 😉

1. Enuona says:
  
  Nov 19, 2022 at 12:30
  
  I’m an avid eggboiling enthusiast 😉
  
  Actually, I like to use the bezel all the time. And if I don’t need it, I fiddle with it.

Can’t resist a crack at this chestnut! I’m a fan of most Bond watches placed in the films, both for the watches themselves and for the culture/time they’re part of and representing. So, Connery’s Sub is perfect, likewise Moore’s Seikos and Craig’s Omegas – the perfect brands for each decade. I still don’t think the perfect Bond watch has made it to screen (and is never specified in the books). As he’s a gentleman/businessman/playboy spy who needs reliability and legibility, but upscale, understated smarts I’d put him in a black dial, smooth bezel Date-Just 36 on Oyster. Possibly and Explorer. A bit dull, but y’know… Ideally, I’d like him to wear a mid-size, waterproof, lumed dial, titanium Reverso Duoface, with a lumed/silver dial for night/day, but as JLC refuse to make this obvious uber spy watch, DJ it is. Probably in a DJ, ahem. But… fave film watch: Three. Sorry. 1) Rolex ‘buzzsaw’ Sub, Live and Let Die – was there ever better mis-en-scene than Moore and Seymour tied to the winch of doom? No. 2) More Moore. Tuna. JIM suit. Carole Bouquet. Fact. For Your Eyes Only – the best ‘fun’ Bond (apart from the dreadful/weird ice dancer sub plot to crank up the American relevance). 3) Left field. Dalton, TAG Night-Diver, The Living Daylights. Actually a good Bond watch for the field and it suits Dalton. Poor old Dalton – a class actor, physically ideal for the role, in three pretty dreadful films; but pity Brosnan likewise. It was a long wait from For Your Eyes Only to Casino Royale with the Night-Diver and SMP being the only high points.

mattmcd_gmt says:

Nov 19, 2022 at 16:14

There’s a lot to unpack here, so I’ll go straight to the best bit:

“FYEO” *is* the best Bond film, overall. Great location scenes, kitschy but not corny or dumb, an amazing underwater sequence with a Seiko Tuna as co-star, and the best finale- Gogol laughing and shrugging atop the Meteora when the ATAC is destroyed. Fantastic.

Have to admit that I like the Tissot PR 516 vera much. But my favourite Bond Watch is the Omega Spectre Aqua Terra >15’007 Gauss with the blue dial with the coat of arms symbol of the Bond-family also on the yellow seconds hand.

The history of that Tissot is curious. That watch is Roger Moore’s own, who wore it in various scenes due to its (far) resemblance to the Submariner, since the Rolex Submariner he was supposed to wear in the film, had not yet reached the crew production in time to shoot those scenes.

My favourite Bond watch is the Rolex worn in Goldfinger . My second favourite is the Omega Planet Ocean of Quantum of Solace. It is a very beautiful watch with style elements of the Omegas of WWII.
Then come the Brosnan era of Seamsters ( as I was so happy to see Bond returning in 1995!)