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The Luxury Brands Behind James Bond As Omega Celebrates 25th Anniversary

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Published
03/03/2020

The luxury watch manufacturer Omega has celebrated the 25th anniversary of its ongoing partnership with James Bond on the big screen. He is one of the most recognisable characters in movie history, known for his class, suaveness, and love of luxury. So it’s perhaps no surprise that luxury brands are eager to associate themselves with the gentleman spy, James Bond.

Based on the series of novels from British crime writer Ian Fleming, James Bond has been gracing the big screen for over half a century. Dr No was released way back in 1962 with Sean Connery donning the tuxedo and Walther PPK. He was just about the coolest thing on the big screen and some big-name brands started to form a connection that hasn’t been broken.

In 1964, Bond was first spotted driving an Aston Martin. For the first couple of films, Bond used a wide variety of vehicles to get around. In 1962’s Dr. No, it was a Ford Anglia and Bond drove a 1935 Bentley 3.5 Litre in From Russia with Love a year later. But in ’64, things changed with the most memorable Bond car of all, the Aston Martin DB5. ‘Goldfinger saw sales of the DB5 increase and the profile of the company grow,’ Aston Martin claim and there is certainly some truth to that.

“Though the film Bond has driven other cars, he has always come back to Aston Martins,” claims author Andrew Noakes.

“It’s helped to make a relatively small British sports car company into a global brand, and the regular reappearance of Aston Martin in the films keeps the company and its cars in the public eye.

“Bond is the ideal character to be associated with Aston Martin, because he is the kind of person Aston owners want to be – suave, smart, a man of action but also a connoisseur of fine things.”

And Aston Martin aren’t alone in that regard. In December 2019, the luxury watch manufacturer Omega celebrated its 25th anniversary of sponsoring Bond. To mark the occasion, the company unveiled its latest piece that will be appearing in the upcoming film, No Time to Die which is set to hit screens in April 2020.

The watch in question is the Diver 300M Omega Co‑Axial Master Chronometer 42 MM. It boasts ‘strong yet lightweight Grade 2 Titanium’ with ‘a brown tropical aluminium bezel ring and dial.’ Daniel Craig himself had input on the design of the piece. James Bond himself argued that 007 would require a stronger lightweight piece complete with the Milanese strap favoured by military men.

It marks a 25-year connection between the two brands, a partnership that owes a great deal to Lindy Hemming, the costume designer who worked on 1995’s Goldeneye. It was Pierce Brosnan’s debut in the role and the longest time gap between two Bond movies since the character first hit our screens in 1962.

“There hadn’t been a Bond for a few years and I was given the opportunity to rethink him,” Hemming said and for her, that included the watch. In the books and earlier movies, Bond had always worn a Rolex but Hemming wanted to change that. 

“The Rolex watch had become rather flash. Rolex was part of a city boy culture. It didn’t seem appropriate to Bond at that moment.”

Rolex’s loss was Omega’s gain but they aren’t the only brand with a Bond partnership. Adidas has launched its own line of 007 trainers in time for the upcoming film while Heineken has announced its continued sponsorship. They aren’t the only drinks brand associated with Bond. Belvedere Vodka released a special bottle for 2015’s Spectre and perhaps the best-known of all is Bond’s affiliation with Martini.

There are so many sides to James Bond that are well-known parts of his character. One is his love of casinos and gambling. Betway has described Bond as one of the best examples of casino in popular culture. 007 has even secured sponsorship deals with luxury playing card companies.

James Bond is as synonymous with luxury brands as he is with anything else. 007 is a man of class and cool who only uses the best. So, it’s no surprise to see so many brands associate themselves with the gentleman spy in whatever fashion they can. The staggering thing is just how many there are. When 1962’s Dr. No was released, there were just a couple of official sponsorships but by 2015’s Spectre, there were well over 30 different luxury brands associated with the film and character. It all helps make up one of the most iconic characters in movie history.

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