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James Bond Watches

Two major facts weigh against any likelihood of Rolex appearance as a James Bond watch in The Living Daylights. The first and strongest centers on Rolex itself.

Prior to this film, the last Rolex appearance was in The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974, and that watch was a then-relatively-current Rolex Submariner. Subsequently, throughout the next five Eon Productions films that followed, the Bond character wore only new watches; in fact, arguably the latest technology in horology. So a Rolex for James Bond’s choice in The Living Daylights would have meant a conscious decision to acquire a current Rolex for Dalton to wear.

A focus on Rolex is always argued either to bring the character closer to Fleming’s books, or as an homage to previous Bond actors who wore it. But both of these thoughts then fail immediately upon presentation due to the very existence of the TAG Heuer 980.031 wristwatch. It simply makes no sense that a Rolex would have been selected for any reason, only to then be overshadowed by another brand by such a wide margin. If Rolex (any Rolex) was the Tangier Rooftop Watch, there would have been no Gibraltar Watch: Instead, we’d have only one James Bond watch in The Living Daylights — just as is the situation with Licence to Kill, where Timothy Dalton exclusively wore a Rolex Submariner throughout, regardless action, wardrobe, or place.

The Sub Date is heavier and over one-third thicker than either of the aforementioned TAG Heuers. Moreover, the distribution of that thickness says something about how the watch wears on the wrist: The Rolex caseback protrudes below the lugs almost three times as much as the one on the 980.031 and 980.013 TAG Heuers. This makes the Submariner Date a more dominant wrist presence.

That’s why the Rolex is ubiquitous in Licence to Kill. In scene after scene, the Sub Date slides out from under Dalton’s sleeve at seemingly the slightest arm-stretch. In formal wedding attire at 2 minutes, 6 seconds, and at 4 minutes, 57 seconds. In casual clothing, escaping from the Hemingway House, at 36 minutes, 7 seconds. During the bar fight at 53 minutes, 42 seconds and following. When Agent 007 gets out of a car in the Kenworth garage, at 1 hour, 44 minutes, 48 seconds. Jumping off of a plane, at 1 hour, 57 minutes, 6 seconds. And the Rolex Submariner Date can be seen coming out from under his sleeve as James Bond engages the cruise control on a Kenworth truck that he has commandeered, at 2 hours, 3 minutes, 46 seconds.

Now compare that to similar activities by Bond throughout The Living Daylights. In the four running-time references I’ve provided for this article where the Tangier Rooftop Watch can be seen, that watch remains largely concealed by the sleeves of various shirts worn by Timothy Dalton in those scenes.

Add to this even more opportunities for the Tangier Rooftop Watch to be revealed, but where it is not. When Bond raises Moneypenny’s glasses on her face and his left sleeve draws back, there is no evidence of any watch at 23 minutes, 50 seconds, let alone a Rolex. Again, when he puts away his cigarette case at 27 minutes, 56 seconds: No watch. Repeatedly in the Afghanistan sequences, no watch is visible; particularly see 1 hour, 27 minutes, 25 seconds; 1 hour, 30 minutes, 24 seconds; and 1 hour, 36 minutes, 20 seconds.

Of course, JamesBondWatches.com is no more capable of “proving a negative” than any other researcher. But the numerous examples above, across a diversity of wardrobe and contexts in The Living Daylights are strongly inconsistent with parallel sightings involving the Rolex Submariner Date in Licence to Kill.

That is why we don’t similarly Bond’s watch in The Living Daylights.

Again, subject to the 20-40% certainty caveat, the most likely candidate for the Tangier Rooftop Watch is the TAG Heuer (or Heuer) 980.013 Professional Diver, with a black dial.

Go to "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," Part II (c)

Part I (a) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches
Part I (b) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches
Part I (c) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches
Part I (d) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches

Part II (a) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches
Part II (c) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches
Part II (d) of "James Bond wore a TAG Heuer wristwatch," on James Bond Watches

Posted by Dell Deaton, April 2, 2010 at 8:26 PM

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08/05/2010 03:52 PM