James Bond’s next watch has been revealed and it is not an Omega.
In King Zero, the new 007 novel from Charlie Higson, Bond will wear a vintage Vertex Cal. 59, one of the original Dirty Dozen watches manufactured during the Second World War at the behest of the British military.
In the book, Bond inherits the watch from an uncle who saw action on D-Day with Higson describing the watch as a “solid reminder of the real world” for Bond.
Not one of the best known brands or even one of the best known Dirty Dozen watches, Vertex was founded in 1912 and was the only British company to supply pieces to the military during the war alongside the likes of Omega, IWC and Jaeger-LeCoultre.
In 1944, Vertex began large-scale production of the Cal. 59 with more than four thousand models distributed to troops in advance of D-Day.
The Ministry of Defence had strict criteria for the Dirty Dozen watches with every piece having to have a black dial, clear Arabic numerals and luminous hour hands as well as a minutetrack, a subdial and be made out of shatterproof crystal. On top of all that, the watch also had to be waterproof. Any Dirty Dozen watch is easily identified by all these attributes as well as a “W.W.W.” stamp on the caseback which appropriately stands for “Watch. Wrist. Waterproof.”
The Cal. 59 was also manufactured for the war and can be found on the secondary market, usually for less than £2,000, which is around half of what the JLC equivalent costs.
While we do not yet know who will next play James Bond on the big screen and what watch he will wear, each of the main candidates has an impressive watch game.
The hot favourite with the bookies (and his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman) is Jack Lowden. Appropriately, Lowden has displayed a fondness for Omega, though the De Ville Trésor in 18K Sedna Gold he has been spotted wearing on the red carpet is much more of a dress watch than Bond’s Seamaster.
Theo James, too, is already on the Omega bandwagon but unlike Lowden he does love a Seamaster and has been spotted various watches from the iconic brand over the years.
Likewise, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, already an ambassador for the brand, has fronted a campaign Speedmaster Planet Ocean, the same watch worn by Daniel Craig at the beginning of Casino Royale. Taylor-Johnson is also known to put a lot of thought into his watches, admitting he wears customised straps, switching the metal bracelet for rubber, especially if doing sports or outdoor pursuits such as swimming.
Like this? Pierce Brosnan’s best watches: From James Bond’s Omega to his own vintage Cartier
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