Although it can feel like it, Omega has Not has been closely associated with James Bond since October 5, 1962, when one of cinema’s most iconic characters made his screen debut. That first “Bond watch” was a Rolex – the Submariner Ref. 6538. Others have also provided covert services, including Breitling (Thunder) and Hamilton (Live and die). Until Yellow eyes In 1995, Omega stepped in and took on the long-running mission of equipping the fictional British super-spy with functional timepieces.
Now, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bond series, two new Omegas has been released. While these new products are not linked to a specific film, this time the company has shied away from obvious attempts to incorporate “007” or a rifle effect on the dial into the designs. instead giving each design a subtle bit of cinematic magic on the back. Flip the pieces over and a mechanical animation of the iconic open barrel chain plays on the crystal back.
Photo: OMEGA
The new 42mm Seamaster Diver 42mm 300m 60 Years of James Bond Stainless Steel (£7,100, around $8,500) is inspired by the first Omega worn by Pierce Brosnan in Yellow eyes, though now with a mesh bracelet. The Seamaster Diver 300m 60 Years of James Bond Canopus Gold is by far the more exclusive (£137,300, or $165,200), made in Omega’s white gold alloy with a natural gray silicon dial. and the bezel is set with green and yellow diamonds. all are said to combine to evoke Ian Fleming’s hometown of Jamaica.
The back movement of the 007 opening sequence was obtained on this mechanical watch without a display or with a digital display through the use of moiré where is the animation? interference pattern created when an opaque reticle pattern with transparent gaps is overlaid on top of another similar pattern. In order for the pattern to appear, the two designs must not be identical, but must shift or, in this case, rotate.
Video: Jeremy White
Omega’s patent-pending design shows the rotating aluminum disc of the animation powered by the action of the lollipop-shaped central seconds hand. This allows the sequence of four images to repeat continuously at 15-second intervals as the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Caliber 8806 drives the watch.
Gregory Kissling, Omega’s vice president of product, said the difficulty was achieving the accuracy of the animation. “Initially we started with seven numbers in the sequence. But the problem with seven is that there is a slight difference between the discs, you have a ghosting effect. So we decided to split the sequence into four images.” This need for precision is also why these Seamasters have screw-in casebacks instead of a “twisted in” type. This allows the various layers of the illusion mechanism to be perfectly aligned, which was not possible with the previous Seamaster case. “We also had to manage the distance between the disc and the sapphire crystal,” says Kissling. “It requires a very, very small tolerance—plus/minus 0.05 millimeters.”
