Over Thanksgiving, Phil Nobile Jr., editor in chief of Fangoria magazine, had an interesting thread of tweets (which begins with this tweet) about the James Bond watch culture.
Usually, the watches worn by Bond are on screen only briefly. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t enthusiasm for the subject.
“The @007 wristwatch collector scene is an often obsessive corner of fandom,” Nobile wrote in the first tweet. “A subculture that trades in detail, screencaps and ref. numbers.”
Indeed. While Nobile provided many examples, there’s a lot more detail to be had.
Do a Google search for “websites about James Bond watches,” and various websites and articles will pop up.
One example is an article from Esquire earlier this year titled “The Definitive Ranking of James Bond’s watches.”
Another is from Watch Time magazine titled “James Bond Watches: The Complete Movie Timeline.”
In 2017, the Timepiece Chronicle weighed in with “In Depth: All the Watches of James Bond: Dr. No to Spectre.”
Meanwhile, take a spin around YouTube and you’ll find a number of videos on the subjects. Here are just a couple. This one is from “Armand The Watch Guy.”
Here’s another one from The Bond Experience.
Filed under: James Bond Films | Tagged: Esquire, Omega, Phil Nobile Jr., The Bond Experience, Timepiece Chronicle, Watch Time, watches |
With all due respect to the specialized fandom of James Bond, I never realized jewelry worn by the character (actor) was particularly noticed by viewers. But have always wondered how many of the pieces are the actor’s preference (owned by them) or just part of distinguished costuming. Being a classic TV fan of the 60’s, well dressed male actors often wore pinky rings and notable watches, such as Burr and Hopper in Perry Mason. A few female actors (starring in TV series) also wore beautiful jewelry. Sometimes you can see the evolution of quality, the longer a series continued. Regardless of whether or worn onscreen, I’ve read that (at the time) jewelry was often given to the Star as a sign of appreciation (and prestige). So I guess no details go unnoticed by the obsessive fan who is fascinated by a show! Interesting topic!
Apparently, during filming of LIve And Let Die, Roger Moore alternated between a Rolex (prop for the film) and his own personal watch. But sometimes he was wearing his own watch while posing for publicity photos.