Ian Flemming's James bond 007

[Lew Archer]

Originally Posted by Brisman

What a great post Lew, thanks, I really enjoyed it.

My pleasure. Thank you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lew Archer]

Originally Posted by cornerstore

Wow what a great posting

Thank you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Busyboy]

Cheers Lew

More than I expected as a reply.

[Lew Archer]

Originally Posted by Busyboy

Cheers Lew

More than I expected as a reply.

Cheers!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[locutus49]

But the 5711 did not exist when Ian Fleming lived and it was a Rolex that the actor wore when diving in Jamaica, where he lived for a while and wrote some of his books.

Yes, Ian Fleming himself wore a Rolex and he came from an upper class family; his mother was personal friends with Winston Churchill.

The novels were lightly disguised versions of his own life, with the characters exaggerated, but he really supervised or participated in important secret missions for Naval intelligence during WW2.

Originally Posted by Tomas Eriksson

If I would to choose for him, Patek Nautlius 5711.

[Griswald]

Lew,
Thank you for a fantastic reply. Wow! One of the best I have read on here regarding Flemming and his writings.

[Lew Archer]

Originally Posted by Griswald

Lew,
Thank you for a fantastic reply. Wow! One of the best I have read on here regarding Flemming and his writings.

Thank you!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Old Expat Beast]

I've read very little Ian Fleming, but almost everything by his brother Peter, all of it non fiction. He was also a significant model for Bond, I believe.

[Mick P]

Chaps

I live just a couple of miles from where Fleming lived and is now buried.

I know a few people who dealt with him and by all accounts he was a miserable bugger.

I have a friend who owned a shop that sold him a Dualit toaster and he was forever complaining in vituperative tones that the toast came out the wrong shade of brown.

I know nothing about his taste in watches but I just thought some of you would like to know that he started the day moaning about his toast.

Regards

Mick

[locutus49]

Andrew Lycett's biography of Fleming is the one I recommend.

[Chrislec]

Absolutely amazing post from Lew, many thanks for sharing this dive into the novels. A pleasure to read your review!


Indeed Fleming owned an Explorer1, which is even painted on his portrait at the National Portrait Gallery.

I shall add here that Bond - like many gentlemen of its time - had 2 watches in the early films. The Sub 6538 of course - given by producer Cubby Broccoli - and another elegant dressed watch he wears under his tuxedo or suits in Dr No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, You Only Live twice, and Diamonds are Forever. This elegant watch has been identified as a Gruen Precision ref.510 in yellow gold. Sometimes on leather strap, sometimes on a simple RAF fabric strap (ancestor of the Nato). Gruen was indeed a popular brand in the 50s and 60s.



What would be the equivalent today, given the Bond personality we know, and his novel character perfectly described by Lew above?

The Gruen brand doesn't exist anymore today but the style is still the same as many dressed watches. Even if his personal budget is limited, I don't see Bond daring to wear an affordable Longines or Omega with the same minimal look of the Gruen, even in a gold look. He would have found a way to wear something upper-class, otherwise he would loose face at the baccarat table in front of that beautiful jet-set women he tries to seduce to penetrate the high-class secret world of whatever vilain...
- Yes, because vilains don't just make just a couple of bucks in their evil plans, otherwise what's the point of being a vilain? They make billions, and this gives them the entry ticket to the highly wealthy community, where Bond needs to find a way to get in for his mission -

For that goal, I don't think anything less than a Patek or a Cellini will make it.
I'll vote for a Cellini, since we are on TRF.



Regarding the daily mission wearer, I'm not sure Bond will go for the Explorer1, otherwise Fleming himself would have already put an Explorer1 on Bond's wrist, as it existed by the time.

Given Bond's personality described by Lew, his superb outlook covering a solid cold ego, his name which sounds like a gun shot, it needs to be a brand that has enough strength to persuade himself of the hard earned money of his special job, while at the same time having a strong impact on people around, without being complex.
A Rolex, a professional one, fits perfectly. I've seen nice non-Rolex proposals above, but I'm not sure they would blend as easily in a multicultural jet-set world as a Rolex.

GMT or Sub? I don't see Bond going for a GMT function, which is still an additional complexity. He often dives, therefore needs the timer bezel of the Sub. Even the date could be seen for him as a complexity. I vote again for the Submariner, nowadays the SubC no date.



(photo is not mine. from internet)

[Ar_Mi]

Since he's always traveling, GMT..

[capote]

Originally Posted by Mick P

I know nothing about his taste in watches but I just thought some of you would like to know that he started the day moaning about his toast.

Regards

Mick

This is by far the most interesting thing I have read about him