James Bond Rolex Submariner

The Rolex was chosen for James Bond by Ian Fleming himself. Nobody is certain why he chose a Rolex, but some believe it may because he owned one himself.

It has been assumed that James Bond wore a Rolex Submariner, although this is never explicitly revealed in any of the novels, and the Submariner model 6204 wasn't released until 1954, a year after the first Bond novel.

Of course, when James Bond the character was introduced to us for the first time on the big screen in the film Dr. No (1962) played by Sean Connery, his choice of watch could no longer remain ambiguous.

It was decided that James Bond would wear a Rolex Submariner, but when the production crew approached Rolex, they declined to offer a watch for the film.

This prompted Cubby Broccoli to use his own, a Rolex Submariner with a black crocodile strap.

The Rolex Submariner was a perfect match for the suave and sophisticated character we all now know so well, and the partnership lasted for years, with its next appearance in From Russia with Love, followed by Goldfinger, Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.

George Lazenby, the Bond time forgot, briefly took the helm in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, only for Connery to return as Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. All of these films starred the Rolex Submariner.

In a bid to update the appearance of the Bond character, Q Branch decided to issue the new Bond played by Roger Moore with a Seiko digital watch.

These digital watches had numerous gadgets worthy of a spy's 1980s digital watch, but after 5 films, it felt like time for Bond to return to the classic Rolex Submariner, for two more films, The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill.

Soon though, it was to be the end of the affair between Rolex and Bond. The production crew felt the Rolex a bit old fashioned, and preferred the more minimalistic Omega Seamaster.