Ah, GoldenEye. The Bond film that gave us one of the best shooter games ever. Truly, I credit my grouse hunting marksmanship to the N64. In the wider 007 fandom however, this movie would become The Great Seamaster Shift of 1995 (trademark: Me). James Bond had long been associated with the Rolex Submariner. Timothy Dalton wore one in the preceding film, as did the inaugural Bond, Sir Connery himself.
In GoldenEye, newly-minted James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, wears a Seamaster Professional 300M, the full size, Ref. 2541.80. It was quartz. It had waves on its dial. It was different.
Without a molecule, nay an atom, of exaggeration, these quartz Seamasters are my all-time favorites. I love them so much, I wear the mid size (2561) as my everyday timepiece, and the 28-millimeter as a dress watch—it’s the version with shiny applications, after all.
As we look back at this Omega SMP, let me convince you as to why it’s such a special watch.
The design
Classics are usually standards, but once in a while, a non-standard becomes a classic, and therefore, changes the game. That’s what this Omega Seamaster did.
It’s safe to say it’s on the Mount Rushmore of great dive watches, along with the Submariner and the Fifty Fathoms. After all, visual descendants are still being made today.
The Seamaster Ref. 2541.80 is different looking though, breaking from the straight-forward, minimally-embellished mold set by Rolex. The wave dial, scalloped bezel, and skeletonized hands aren’t gaudy per se, but they add a lot of character, as does the muscular embossing of the Seamaster seahorse on the caseback. Still, the combo on the dial provides beautiful dimensionality.
Equipped with a diver’s extension, even its bracelet is a departure from the go-to oyster style. It’s outfitted with two longer-linked middle tracks giving it a strapped-in aesthetic.
The specs of the GoldenEye Watch still hold up today. The lume looks exquisite on the blue wave dial, the unidirectional bezel is crisp, and the helium escape valve is, well, there.
The actual watch Bond wore is the 41-millimeter variant referred to as the full size, though there’s also a 36-millimeter that’s essentially the same watch but smaller, as well as a 28-millimeter ladies version which is adorned with applied indices instead of raised ones.
Bond’s watch runs on the Omega 1538, a rhodium-plate-finished quartz. In the decades I’ve worn my SMP, this movement has never failed me, and I’ve heard similar reports throughout the watchdom.
The history
For decades leading up to the debut of the Seamaster Professional 300M in 1993, Omega experimented desperately, perhaps blindly, with the Seamaster subline. Many refer to these years as a downright identity crisis, a long-term hangover from the quartz revolution, which other Swiss powerhouses instead used as a springboard to rebrand mechanical watches as more artisanal.
So in addition to being the GoldenEye Watch, the Seamaster Professional is a genuine return to form for Omega. It represents the grown-up, tempered result of their experimental phase, not least of which is because of its quartz movement.
Two years after the SMP’s debut, the costume designer for GoldenEye, Lindy Hemming made a controversial decision. Omega had real-life connections with the British Royal Navy, even having manufactured a Navy-specific Seamaster for them in 1970. Hemming decided that Commander Bond would then have to ditch his Submariner for a Seamaster.
The GoldenEye status
The Omega Seamaster is actually one of the best parts about GoldenEye, along with Alan Cummings’ heavily-trilled Russian accent. In the movie, the watch is souped up by Q, flaunting some cool gadget moments. Moreover, it serves symbolic purposes, as both Bond and antagonist Alec Trevelyan each wear a Seamaster, creating parallels between the two. Basically, it’s really good product placement.
Here’s a fun fact. Or in this case, a fun maybe, depending on if you’re more eagle-eyed than most and can prove it wrong. In the opening sequence of GoldenEye, Bond seems to be wearing an Omega Seamaster Pro. This is despite the fact that the scene is supposed to take place nine years prior to the rest of the movie, otherwise known as seven years before this watch came out.
The first clear shot we get of the Seamaster on Brosnan’s wrist is immediately after the title sequence. He’s in an Aston Martin DB5, as Bond should be, but he’s not wearing a Rolex, as Bond shouldn’t be. At least, not at the time.
In a way, the lively, less standard look of this timepiece suits the vibe of Brosnan’s tenure. He was a funner Bond, more akin to Roger Moore, leaning hard into the self-awareness all Bonds exhibit to some extent, and the wild gadgets. Invisible Aston Martin V12, anyone?
Relatedly, the scenes in which the Seamaster takes center stage are the ones when Bond is using its fictional functions.
At one point, 007 narrowly escapes a train explosion by using a laser beam from the lume pip on the watch’s bezel. He lasers up the floor of the train, and runs off to safety with Bond girl, Natalya Simonova.
By the way, it’s worth noting that you, as Bond, get to actually do this in one of the levels of the N64 GoldenEye 007. So, the Seamaster even gets interactively spotlit in the game, in all its blocky ‘90s graphics glory.
Another excellent Seamaster moment in the film is when he uses the helium valve crown as a remote detonator button. Of course, in real life, the helium valve isn’t a button, but an actual working helium valve.
Finally, when Alec Trevelyan, former 006, compares his Seamaster to Bond’s, you get a good three-second close-up of them side by side. When the camera pulls away, you can even see the activated lume, which is a testament to its brilliance.
The legacy
My favorite watch moment in a 007 movie, and in any movie really, happens in 2006’s Casino Royale. Vesper Lynd looks at Bond’s timepiece, looks up at him, and asks with a smile if it’s a Rolex.
“Omega,” James corrects her.
On Daniel Craig’s wrist is the very same wave-dial Seamaster Professional 300M design from GoldenEye, only this time with a co-axial escapement. Though Bond had been wearing the Seamaster for over a decade at this point, this moment is a self-aware torch pass. There were, and are, officially two Bond watches: The Sub and the Seamaster. Yes, it’s also really good product placement, again.
You can find the wave-dial look on several modern designs today, but the actual 2541.80 quartz version ceased in 2006. Fortunately, they aren’t hard to find on the Jomashops and eBays of the world.
Perhaps it’s the funner look and the quartz movement that’s made the GoldenEye Watch so legendary. Those of us who were kids when we first saw Bond sporting it were drawn in by the primary blue and gadget-like aesthetic. Maybe the kid in each of us considers it a win that this watch is in the classics club, and we get to wear it as adults. The Prince of Wales even wore one at his Westminster Abbey wedding.
I’m a grown man and I still have my N64. I also still revisit GoldenEye 007, clad in my mid size SMP naturally. That Aztec bonus level is still impossible though.
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