Over the years, James Bond has worn a couple of watch brands, but today, none is more closely associated with the storied franchise than Omega. The year 1995 marked two firsts for the famous agent: GoldenEye featured a new James Bond, played by Pierce Brosnan, and the Omega Seamaster debuted on his wrist. Since then, 007 has worn Omega in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and Skyfall. Bond will also don an Omega Seamaster 300 in the upcoming new film, SPECTRE.
When it comes to James Bond wristwatch auction results, Omega Seamaster Planet Oceans hold the top two places. The top watch, used in the filming of Casino Royale, sold at the 2007 Antiquorum OmegaMania auction for CHF 250,250. A Seamaster Planet Ocean used in the filming of Skyfall sold at Christies’ “50 Years of James Bond” sale in 2012 for CHF 236,473.
Omega timepieces have appeared in many other films, including Up in the Air, Salt, War of the Worlds, The Bounty Hunter, The Right Stuff, Event Horizon, Millennium, Jack Reacher, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ronin, Seven Years in Tibet, The Omega Man, and My Fellow Americans.
Of course, one of Omega’s most famous starring roles came in Apollo 13. The film documented the mission with the unlucky number that was cut short by an explosion that deprived the spacecraft of most of its oxygen supply and electric power. The film accurately portrays the astronauts wearing Omega Speedmasters, and the key role the Speedmaster played in getting the crew safely back to Earth. Due to the failure of an onboard electric timer, the astronauts relied on their Speedmasters to time critical burns (powering engines on and off). These burns had to be precisely the right duration to get the spacecraft pointed in exactly the right direction so that it could enter the atmosphere without bouncing off or burning up. The Speedmasters performed flawlessly, and the astronauts made it home safely.
