James Bond Officially Has a New Watch. It Breaks with 40 Years of Tradition

The next James Bond movie is still a ways away, with the search for the next 007 actor officially kicking off just this past week. But despite that, the superspy officially has his next watch from Omega.

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That’s because, for the first time ever, Omega has created a watch for a video game. The first James Bond console game since 2012, 007 First Light, is set to drop on May 27, and Omega has launched a new Seamaster as part of the lead-up to the game’s highly anticipated debut.

But the fact that Bond’s new watch comes from a video game isn’t the only thing about this Seamaster that’s surprising. It also breaks precedent with the last four decades of Bond watches.

Omega

A Bond Chronograph?

The release of Omega’s new watch, the Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph 007 First Light, is not entirely unexpected. We had already seen plenty of shots of the watch in various previews of the game, and since it was recognizably not a current member of the Omega family, the smart money was on the brand bringing the timepiece into the real world at some point.

Now it’s here, and the watch itself is surprising. Not because it’s a Seamaster, as Bond has exclusively worn watches from Omega’s aquatic sports watch family since 1995’s Goldeneye, but rather because it’s a chronograph.

The last time 007 strapped a chronograph to his wrist was in 1985’s A View to a Kill. In those days, Bond was a Seiko man, and Roger Moore wore a Seiko ref. 7A28-7020 or 7A38-7060 in the film. The stainless steel, white-dialed chronograph is a significant watch even without the Bond connection, as it was powered by the world’s first analog quartz chronograph movement.

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That wasn’t Bond’s only chronograph, however. Some of Moore’s previously worn digital Seikos had chronograph functions, but more significantly, 007 wore two mechanical chronographs in the 1960s.

The more famous of the two is the Breitling Top Time, equipped with a Geiger counter, worn by Sean Connery in 1964’s Thunderball. Lesser known is the Rolex pre-Daytona Chronograph ref. 6238 that George Lazenby wears as part of his disguise as genealogist Sir Hilary Bray in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

First Light

As for Bond’s latest chronograph, it’s mostly your standard Seamaster Diver 300m Chronograph, but with a few extra bits here and there.

Omega

Its bezel, laser-engraved wave dial and chronograph pushers are all in black ceramic, just like on the standard black Seamaster Diver 300m Chronograph, and the stainless steel case remains a beefy 44mm across and 17.2mm thick.

There are sapphire crystals front and back, with the rear one giving a view of the Omega Cal. 9900 Co-Axial Master Chronometer movement. It’s an automatic featuring an amagnetic silicon balance spring, two mainspring barrels supplying 60 hours of power, an independently adjustable hour hand for quick time zone adjustments while traveling, and a column wheel chronograph capable of tracking 12 hours.

So, why a chronograph? Because in the game, which features a 26-year-old Bond cutting his teeth as an agent, the watch’s subdials are used in gameplay for certain features, and Omega wanted the real watch to be as authentic to the game as possible. The game’s watch also features an electric hacking device and a laser strap, both of which are sadly absent here, so I guess Omega wasn’t too concerned with accuracy.

Omega

There’s little special branding on the watch itself, with just the First Light logo appearing as metallized text on the underside of the sapphire caseback. The NATO strap is also special, as it introduces a new pattern seen in the game and has engravings of “007” and “First Light” on its stainless steel keepers.

The watch features unique styling that matches its appearance in the game. The 3:00 chronograph register, which tracks both minutes and hours on separate hands, has a Bronze Gold PVD ring, and the chronograph seconds hand is given the same treatment with Omega’s proprietary alloy.

The watch’s box is quite special, as it’s a Pelican-style case modeled after the Omega-carrying suitcase from the game. It features 007 First Light branding on the interior and Omega branding on the exterior. Lastly, there are six additional new NATO straps available to purchase separately, each inspired by straps you can get in the game.

Omega

Availability and pricing

While Swatch Group sibling Hamilton has shown itself to be more than willing to collaborate with video games, the First Light watch marks new territory for Omega. While some traditionalists will poo-poo the brand making a video game watch, I think it makes perfect sense.

James Bond is one of Omega’s core pillars, along with space travel and the Olympics. To prop up this pillar, Omega needs to produce Bond watches. It’s now been five years since No Time to Die, and we don’t even know who the next Bond will be yet, so Omega can’t really afford to sit around for another few years while Amazon MGM figures out what it’s doing with the franchise.

007 First Light is slated to be one of the biggest video games of the year, and AAA games such as this can compete with Hollywood today in terms of both revenue and storytelling. It’s the biggest piece of Bond content in years and will need to tide fans over until the next film, whenever that may be. So it’d almost be stranger if Omega didn’t make a tie-in watch for the game.

Regardless of how you feel about the Seamaster Diver 300m Chronograph 007 First Light — I love the classic tool watch styling, but find the watch too big for me to wear personally — it is now real and is available to purchase from Omega for $9,400.

Omega

Omega Seamaster Diver 300M Chronograph 007 First Light

Specs

Case Size	44mm
Movement	Omega Cal. 9900 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	300m

• $9,400 at Omega