I don’t often make bold statements, but the Rolex Submariner is the most famous watch of all time. Okay, maybe it’s tied with the Omega Speedmaster, fame-wise. Maybe. But the Sub? It’s the Helen of Troy of the watch world—the timepiece that launched a thousand homages, I often say.
Is it because chronographs are difficult to build cheaply? Perhaps divers are more versatile because of their simple dial. My theory? James Bond.
Arguably, the most famous reference of the most famous watch in the world is Ref. 6538. Though the Seamaster has taken up the mantle in recent decades, 6538 blazed the trail. James Bond’s Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 provides 007, the character and the franchise, with undeniable lore on top of style.
How Bond Ended Up with a Submariner
A neat thing about how the 6538 ended up on Connery’s impossibly tan wrist is that there are in-universe and out-of-universe explanations. Rolex was a sponsor of the first Bond film, 1962’s Dr. No.
Still, I imagine that wardrobe master John Brady was pleased with this partnership because Bond wore a Rolex in the books that preceded the films. I don’t know the chicken-or-the-egg of it all. Did Brady work with the advertising department to nab Rolex, or did Rolex seek out Eon Studios?
We do know that Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond, wore a 1016 Explorer I. Many then assumed that the unidentified Rolex in Casino Royale, Bond’s origin story, was an Explorer I as well. It wasn’t until the second novel, Live and Let Die, that Fleming specifies 007’s Oyster Perpetual.
In the Dr. No film, Brady instead chose the Submariner. One thing that’s stayed consistent between the novels and the movies is that Bond served in the Royal Navy, so it makes sense that he would wear a diver.
Possibly related is the fact that Fleming originally thought Sean Connery was “too refined” to play Bond. He wanted someone like David Niven or Richard Burton. Perhaps a bulky sport watch would balance out what he perceived to be too much of a pretty boy quality in Connery. An Oyster Perpetual couldn’t do that.
Of course, Fleming would go on to praise Connery’s performance, even writing Bond as being half Scottish in tribute. Also, according to legend, the Sub Connery wears in Dr. No came directly from the actor’s personal collection.
Connery’s Bond would then wear the Rolex Submariner Ref. 6538 in From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball.
6538: Big Crown, Big Style
The Submariner 6538 is kind of a sum-of-all-Submariners of its time.
The 6205, released in 1954, featured a thicker case than its predecessor. The 6200, produced from 1955 to 1956, had an even beefier case and an eight-millimeter crown, the first Big Crown Sub. The 6536-1 was released after the Bond Sub but continued to be produced a year after the Bond Sub retired. The 6536-1’s claim to fame was that it was available as an extra-accurate Chronometer.
Bond’s 6538 is an athletically-sized Big Crown Sub, also available as a Chronometer. However, when we see James hold his lighter to his watch in From Russia With Love, right before he blows up a heroin laboratory, his 6538 displays only two lines of text under the hands.
This may mean his wasn’t a Chronometer. Non-Chronometers brandish two lines: 200m = 660ft, then Submariner beneath it. If it was COSC-certified, it would have featured two extra lines reading Officially Certified Chronometer.
Overall though, the standard-bearing design is present, from the Mercedes hands to the mixed-shaped indices to the black, gilt dial. Its lack of crown guards provides an instantly recognizable silhouette, while the aluminum bezel’s lack of minute markers between 0 and 15 is now a coveted collector characteristic.
The 6538: A Perfect Cinematic Bond Watch
As mentioned, 007 continues to wear the 6538 throughout several movies. It’s pertinent to his character and the franchise’s cinematic atmosphere.
Some say the Submariner represents Bond diving into danger and going into uncharted territory, so to speak. Even more, I believe the 6538 provides that balance of ruggedness and elegance Fleming and company wanted for the character, as well as the film’s overall aesthetic.
Viewers tend to forget that the watch 007 wears in his very first scene isn’t even the legendary 6538 Sub. He’s actually clad in a Gruen Precision 510 dress watch. And, I think comparing the context of this timepiece to the more often-worn 6538 brings to light the Sub’s importance as the true 007 watch.
There’s a dangerousness to Bond’s characterization leading up to and during The Immortal Introduction, as it’s been dubbed.
You see his hands before you see his face, gambling, throwing cards in a game of Chemin de Fer. Then, after Sylvia Trench introduces herself to him, he full-on negs her, lighting his cigarette before telling her his name (surname first, as we all know), all without eye contact.
This slightly dodgy behavior brings the needed ruggedness to contrast Bond’s Anthony Sinclair tailoring and the glitzy context in general. His dangerousness is heavily communicated, so his wardrobe needs to lean harder into his gentlemanly qualities, dress watch and all.
In fact, this gold-cased Gruen is often referred to as the Sylvia Trench watch. It has so much more to do with bringing balance to the overall scene, rather than saying anything about Bond’s character, that it isn’t even attributed to him. And this is despite the fact he’s the one wearing it.
After this, 007 will go on to break dress codes, pairing his brawny, sporty 6538 with several formal suits and tuxedos.
Remember in From Russia with Love when he wears his Sub with an ivory dinner jacket? Many sartorial traditionalists saw this as an affront. He even had it on a NATO strap instead of a leather one. However, and sorry to use a trending phrase, the old money set saw it as a wink and a nod.
Among old society families, there are several sartorial secret languages. One of them is the fact you can wear a sport watch with formal tailoring, as long as it’s a family heirloom or demonstrates past service to the community—being a navy commander, for example. It’s why the Prince of Wales, even when he’s in white-tie or black-tie attire, always wears his Omega Seamaster 2541.8 (another Bond watch, by the way).
In the Casino Royale novel, Bond’s full title is Commander Bond CMG RNVR. While the RNVR references his Navy association, the CMG refers to the Order of St. Michael and St. George, a chivalrous British order founded in 1818. Moreover, Bond attended Eton boarding school, which enjoys contemporary fame because many modern-day, non-fictional royals are alumni.
Bond’s gentlemanliness doesn’t just come from his Turnbull shirts and penchant for hyper-specific champagne temperatures. He’s a literal gentleman, from a class perspective.
Dr. No takes place in 1962. The 6538 was produced from 1954 to 1959, so it’s likely Bond acquired his watch while he was still in service.
More than any other timepiece he wears, the 6538 represents the reconciliation between Bond’s different, contrasting characteristics. It also visually and practically contributes to the classy but fun and dangerously seductive worlds the franchise explores. Basically, it’s The Bond Watch due to more than just because it came first.
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