My James Bond watch collection all started by accident. It was all the action of Ian Fleming who wore a sophisticated Rolex Explorer wristwatch and stated that his Bond character would probably wear a Rolex.
My wife asked me if I wanted a watch for my birthday and many times, previous she asked me the same question. Like many other men I kept reasonably up to date with a moderately priced fashionable watch of the times. “But this time why don’t you have something special,” she said. So, having always wanted an Omega, not even contemplating the extravagance of a Rolex, I decided on the Omega Seamaster, knowing that it was famous for being a Bond watch. I studied the situation and decided to go for the 2541 Quartz model with a black dial and the blue bezel because that was the first Omega used by Bond in the films.
This watch, being a style icon of the 90s, probably remains just as fashionable three decades later. I loved this watch and was always proud to wear it. Consequently, on my next birthday I asked for the automatic version: the Omega Seamaster 2531.
In my opinion, a lot of men feel an affinity with the suave smartly dressed action man of the British Secret Service because they share a taste in luxury watches.
Gadgets are particularly prevalent in the cinematic watches masterminded by the character Q. By using the somewhat imaginary technical devices such as a laser beam, grappling hook, spinning bezel saw, Geiger counter, strong magnet, digital transmission, location sensor, video screen communication and numerous detonators and explosive devices, the watches gained continuing prominence throughout many assignments.
My interest grew with a few modestly priced watches and my research, mainly through the internet, became intense and eventually became an obsession to acquire the complete collection. Then during lockdown, I occupied my time in retirement by writing a report about each film in turn, with my interest in the particular appearance and involvement of all the watches.
This was a marathon task of about half a million words and thousands of pictures which became my reference point. Along with the completion of my collection, I could see no one else had apparently written a book about Bond watches. Therefore, although I had written many brief reports, articles in brochures and booklets through my interest in motorsport, work activities and academic study, I had never actually written a book. This book was literally waiting to be written. So, I set myself the challenge of writing this comprehensive book with intense detail about the watches of James Bond. Not only did I reproduce the dialogue from many sources but I took all my own pictures of my own watches and added associated interesting facts. I finally put this unique self-published book on sale in December 2024. I hope everyone who picks up a copy enjoys it!
This book features 250 colour pictures and is printed on 140 pages of silk 135 gsm paper. The book is available to 007GB fans at £25 including p&p within the UK, of which £2 per book will be donated to UNICEF. Contact Peter at jbwatchcollection@gmail.com
Last modified: 13 January 2026
