And you can buy one for well under $1,000.

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You probably know at least the basics of James Bond watches.

For much of the character’s history, Bond was a Rolex man. On the page, Creator of Bond Ian Fleming put an unnamed Rolex on the character’s wrist – probably inspired by the author’s Explorer 1016. On screen, all the Bonds, from Sean Connery to Timothy Dalton put on a Submariner in their films.

SO, from 1995 GoldeneyeOmega took over as the official Bond watch through a licensing deal. Over the past three decades, the only watches worn by Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig’s versions of the super-spy have been Sea Masters.

But there was a time, before product placement was king, when much less thought was given to the type of watch a heroic movie character wore. Throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s, 007 wore a number of lesser-known watches in his films that have, over the years, been identified by eagle-eyed fans.

These include a Breitling Top Time worn by Connery in ThunderclapDalton TAG Heuer Night Diver In Living daylightsand more than half a dozen quartz Seiko accompanying Roger Moore in several of his films from the late 70s to the 80s.

One of the lesser known Bond watches is a watch that probably wasn’t supposed to be in a Bond film. It was a dive watch from the 1970s Tissotand the Le Locle brand has just recreated it discreetly.

Bond wore a Tissot?

1973 Live and let die was considered a major turning point for the Bond franchise. Connery’s character’s defining run in the 1960s had finally ended after George Lazenby’s brief intermission in 1969, punctuated by the actor’s phone-in performance in the terrible 1971 film. Diamonds are forever. The spy craze of the ’60s was officially over and Bond had to adapt to the times of a new decade.

The result was a new actor in the suave Roger Moore, a new vibe with the film’s blaxploitation-inspired plot, and a new hip attitude exemplified by the franchise character. first rock and roll theme songperformed by an ex-Beatle Paul McCartney (who was looking to reinvent himself) and his new group Wings.

Bond’s choice of the wristwatch was also novel. The first watch he wears in the film is a Pulsar. Manufactured by Hamilton, the Pulsar was a revolutionary showcase of new quartz technology and the world first digital watch. Far from being considered cheap like most digital watches today, the Pulsar was considered fashion-forward and was worn by famous fashion designers of the time like Elton John and Keith Richards.

Bond didn’t keep his Pulsar for long, however. In the film, the digital watch is only worn by the spy in his personal life. He soon reissued his Rolex Submariner for mission use after receiving new modifications from Q: an ultra-powerful magnet and a buzzsaw bezel, which Bond uses in the film.

For most of the film, 007 wears his Sub, but there are two chase scenes – one at the airport, another in a boat – where he is seen wearing a different dive watch. The watch doesn’t spend much time on screen, just enough to identify it as something other than a Rolex.

Behind-the-scenes photographs from the film allowed fans to positively identify the watch as a Tissot Visodate Automatic PR-516and Moore appeared to have worn it frequently during the filming of the film.

This sparked speculation that the Tissot dive watch was Moore’s personal watch and that he had either forgotten to switch to the Rolex during certain scenes or had worn it when the Rolex prop watch was not yet ready – although no one has ever been able to confirm where the Tissot was. came or how it ended in the final film.

A secret Bond watch returns

Even if the Tissot PR-516 will never have as strong a link with James Bond as a Omega Seamaster Or Rolex Submarinerthe affordable diving watch was still worn by 007 in a movie, making it a Bond watch in my book.

Recently, without fanfare, Tissot actually remade the PR-516 from Live and let die. The new model, the Tissot PR516 Powermatic 80, closely resembles the original diver with its fully marked bezel, identical handset, old-fashioned case shape, lack of crown guard, and bright red seconds hand .

There are also differences, of course. The finish is a little more refined, with a polished chamfer added along the case flanks and sides brushed instead of polished. The case is also slightly larger, going from 36mm to 38mm. The watch retains the date window at 3 o’clock, but its color now matches that of the dial.

The glass has been changed from acrylic to sapphire and the case back now has a sapphire display window. The bezel insert has changed from bakelite to mineral glass and is no longer illuminated. Additionally, the new bezel is fixed – the original had a bi-directional, friction-fit bezel. This statistic, combined with a 100m water resistance rating, prevents the new PR516 from being technically classified as a dive watch.

The bracelet has been updated from Bond’s three-link pseudo-Oyster bracelet to a dressier five-link bracelet. Jubilee style with quick release spring bars. Finally, the movement has obviously been improved, with the high-tech Powermatic 80 and its 80 hours of power reserve replacing the old Tissot Cal. 784-2 automatic.

Like the Bond original, Tissot’s new PR516 is also very affordable. The new watch is available from Tissot for $725 on a bracelet or just $650 with one blue dial on leather strapmaking it one of the cheapest Bond watches on the market. And if you want something more screen accurate, you can always find vintage examples of the Live and let die watch circulating the internet for well under $1,000.

Tissot PR516 Powermatic 80

Specifications