TIME COMMANDER. The limited edition Commander’s Watch is a horological salute to Great Britain’s Royal Navy and the world’s foremost secret agent
Secret agent extraordinaire, lady-charmer and globetrotting man of action, James Bond is the quintessential spy of our age. Not many, however, know that Bond is also a proper officer and gentleman in the Royal Navy. A Commander, to be precise, in Royal Naval Reserve.
This year, coincidentally, marks the 50th anniversary of “You Only Live Twice,” the 40th of “The Spy Who Loved Me” as well as the 20th of “Tomorrow Never Dies”—the three movies where Bond can be seen in his naval dress uniform. Inspired by what is arguably James Bond’s most regal look, Omega has created the Seamaster Diver 300M “Commander’s Watch” Limited Edition.
Now, James Bond started wearing Omega watches on 1995’s “GoldenEye.” This choice was first proposed by costume designer Lindy Hemming who picked the Seamaster. “I was convinced that Commander Bond, a naval man, a diver and a discreet gentleman of the world would wear this watch as opposed to the one everyone expected me to use,” she explained.
There is, in fact, a precedent for this. During World War II, Omega eventually delivered more than 110,000 watches to Great Britain’s Ministry of Defense. Then, in 1967, the Seamaster—a batch of second-generation Seamaster 300s, to be exact—was commissioned by the MoD and distributed to certain military units. It’s not too much a stretch to imagine that some would end up in the hands of top operatives like Agent 007, right?
But, we digress. This year’s “Commander’s Watch” is a limited edition timepiece which pays tribute to the ensigns of the Royal Navy. Red, blue and white form the main palette of the watch. First to catch your eye would probably be the blue ceramic bezel, which comes equipped with a Liquidmetal diving scale and a red rubber covering over the first 15 minutes. The dial is also ceramic, albeit in white. Of course, this only helps highlight the red and blue skeleton hands and the red “Seamaster” inscription. The blue-red-white combination also extends to the NATO strap, although you can replace it with a more traditional stainless steel bracelet.
“If James Bond was real, he would have more than likely been issued a Seamaster”
Much like Omega’s other James Bond-inspired timepieces, the real hallmarks of the Commander’s Watch are the small details alluding to the myth of the super spy: There’s the red 007 gun logo as the counterweight of the central seconds hand, the red number seven in the date window and finally the rank insignia of a Royal Navy’s commander on the rotor which is visible through the caseback. Here you can also catch a glimpse of Omega’s Calibre 2507 movement powering the watch.
As we mentioned before, this is a limited edition timepiece. Interestingly, there are actually three editions: 7,007 pieces in stainless steel, seven specimens in 18K yellow gold and one (yes, only one) in 18K white gold. The white gold variant, along with one stainless steel and one 18K yellow gold limited edition model numbered 007 will be auctioned in a special event later this year. Finally, each watch—along with the optional steel bracelet, a changing tool and a naval pin—are presented in a special box reminiscent of the cases used to hold military decorations.
For sure, Commander Bond would have approved.
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