Craig Wears Connery Rolex

Donald Grant

Over at The Rolex Forums there is a thread that says Daniel Craig in the new Empire Magazine claims to wear the Connery/Bond Rolex 6538 Submariner as his personal time piece. I can't comment on the veracity of this comment since the October issue is not available on this side of the pond yet. Perhaps our resident Britons can report. Anyway, here is the link:

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=50757&highlight=james+bond

DG

bondaholic007

Sounds intresting, The EMPIRE magazine is about 1 month ahead in the UK for some reason, So it should be hear in about 15 days. If not their website has a interactive magazine.

Prehaps GF in DC's fav bond film ?

8420

I am getting this months empire well next months its ahead in the UK like bondaholic said

bondaholic007

- It is news on MI6

Donald Grant

Well it's interesting to me because, depending on how it's is worded, it may conclusively identify the Connery Submariner as the 6538 only. All we know conclusively is that the Connery Submariner is one of the "Big Crown" no crown guard Submariners which include the 6200, 6538A, 6538 and the 5510. So, if Craig has the story directly from the Brocolli family, well then there you go. In the linked thread he re-counts the story of the original watch coming off Cubby's wrist and ultimately being given to Connery, but I need to see the exact article.

DG

Donald Grant

bondaholic007 wrote:

- It is news on MI6

That's about Omega, not Rolex.

DG

eyehateusernames

With respect to product placement spending, it's hard to imagine Bond wearing the steel-banded planet ocean through most of QoS and switching to a submariner for part of the film, unless there's some sort of joke made about the old rolex (similar to the train comment in CR). Perhaps Craig wears the watch personally when off-screen (though most of the time he wears omegas). Another thought would be a mis-quote based on the fact that the rumoured but yet to be seen black-faced seamaster would look more like the connery black-faced submariners...who knows?

I enjoy my blue-faced seamaster a lot, but need a black watch too, and am not crazy about the planet ocean, so I'd be happy to buy a black-faced seamaster or submariner if bond switches to it in QoS.

Asp9mm

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Sir Miles

Asp9mm wrote:

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Now THAT sounds like a great story

Donald Grant

Asp9mm wrote:

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Precisely, the 6538 Submariner is his own watch. Thanks ASP!

DG

Asp9mm

Sir Miles wrote:

Asp9mm wrote:

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Now THAT sounds like a great story

Oh it is, but give it six months before the whole story is to be told It'll be worth it.

Donald Grant

Asp9mm wrote:

Sir Miles wrote:

Asp9mm wrote:

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Now THAT sounds like a great story

Oh it is, but give it six months before the whole story is to be told It'll be worth it.

Now that is definitely cool. Can't wait for the "whole story" to be divulged.

DG

7289

SIX MONTHS!!!!

This forum must have a group of aspiring monks at it's core!

I can't wait to hear more about Craig's Rolex, this is almost as bad as having to wait an extra two weeks for QOS!!!

Donald Grant

7289 wrote:

SIX MONTHS!!!!

This forum must have a group of aspiring monks at it's core!

I can't wait to hear more about Craig's Rolex, this is almost as bad as having to wait an extra two weeks for QOS!!!

Actually we're all "half hitman and half monk". I could not resist.

DG

Sir Miles

Asp9mm wrote:

Sir Miles wrote:

Asp9mm wrote:

He won't be wearing the Rolex in QOS, the Sub 6538 is his own watch. And it is thanks to DG that he actually has it

Now THAT sounds like a great story

Oh it is, but give it six months before the whole story is to be told It'll be worth it.

It will bloody have to be if I have to wait six months )

superado

Yes, this would be a cool story once confirmed, money well spent and a situation in which DC obtains the mother of all Rolexes without jumping through the product placement hoops.

With that tabloid rumor about DC shopping for a 1st edition Cape CR and "putting it back on the shelf" after getting sticker shock (it cost a few grand if I remember it correctly), I thought, how cheap considering he was getting a mint for CR though it would have been apt to have a 1st edition of the book, the mother of all Fleming 1st editions, as a memento for his debut role; but who knows, maybe he ended up splurging on it.

Sharpe

Well, I don't think it's cheap to not want to spend that much on a book. He's not a book or bond collector is he? I guess even someone who makes a lot of money understands priorities and the value of money?

superado

Sharpe wrote:

Well, I don't think it's cheap to not want to spend that much on a book. He's not a book or bond collector is he? I guess even someone who makes a lot of money understands priorities and the value of money?

I guess it depends on the facts. If the book rumors are true, then DC did seek out a James Bond book not just at any large commercial bookseller, but sought and was shown a very expensive 1st edition that he turned down. Potential fact #2, if DC did acquire the Rolex that Connery wore in GF, was it given to him or did he buy it? That particular Rolex would be worth in the tens of thousand US Dollars/UK Pounds and cost many times over a brand new Submariner comparible in style, which is around $US 5,000 more or less today.

Let's say for argument's sake that the 1st ed. CR story is false, but if it's true that Craig somehow sought out the Connery Rolex for himself, whether it was given or sold to him, I would say that he is a seeker of at least one very expensive item having a significant Bond connection. Conversely, if both accounts are true, then I guess it boils down to DC's personal preference and value he places on mementos; but were I in his shoes, if I splurged on a rare timepiece such as this, why not splurge on a rare book that costs less than the watch (which we can assume to be his maximum spending tolerance for a Bond collectible), and on top of all the inherent significance of the CR novel (the very 1st Fleming Bond novel, most rare Fleming 1st edition, the story finally acquired by EON after many decades, etc.) it also happens to be the one I've given a ground-breaking, non-repeatable interpretation on the screen in my debut as Bond.

Asp9mm

Craig didn't acquire the actual Goldfinger screen used Rolex. He actually bought a 6538 based on his interest in watches and the link that the model has with Bond. It wasn't given to him but he bought it himself from a London dealer. He's a bit of a watch nut.

7289

Maybe it's not too much to hope that DC uses his clout to return the Rolex to James Bond's wrist, we already have the PPK back!

superado

Asp9mm wrote:

Craig didn't acquire the actual Goldfinger screen used Rolex. He actually bought a 6538 based on his interest in watches and the link that the model has with Bond. It wasn't given to him but he bought it himself from a London dealer. He's a bit of a watch nut.

Thanks, I haven't read the actual article and that detail does lend greater plausibility to the story. I envy DC a lot as a Bond fan and collector, since I don't know if I'll ever afford a 6538 or 5510, or a genuine 1st ed./1st printing of CR by Jonathan Cape with an intact and original dust cover.

Donald Grant

Superado,

At one time on here our paths used to cross quite regularly. Not so much anymore. Glad that you chimed in here. I've always valued your opinions and your perspective on the Bond charachter.

I personally find it fascinating that Mr. Craig would buy the Connery 6538 Submariner. Also, if he did buy a first edition Casino Royale, that's even more fascinating to me. Both purchases say to me, apart from being a watch nut, that he respects Bond charachter in both his literary form and his earliest incarnation in the cinema. To me it adds another level of appreciation to his portrayal as Bond.

DG

Lexi

From what I know of DC (and I like to think I'm honoured fan-girl status ) he always reads the books, or original novels before he takes on any role. I know he was a great fan of the Phillip Pullman novels, before he was even offered the Golden Compass, and he was also a fan of Ted Hughes, before he played him in Sylvia. So for him to want to own a first edition of CR does not surprise me at all. After all Bond is his most famous "iconic" role yet...and I know his commitment to get a 'real' feel for the Fleming Bond, would easily see him being drawn into collector's status. (It's not like he doesn't have the finances to help him) I think this just gives him more Kudos in his portrayal of Bond. :007)
As for the watch...well I've learned something. I didn't know he was a watch nut.

Apocrypha23

Lexi wrote:

As for the watch...well I've learned something. I didn't know he was a watch nut.

I think most men are watch nuts. A man with only one watch is like a woman with only one pair of shoes... and they both have a lot in common with Santa and the Easter Bunny.

thespyboys11

This is the copy, from the newest EMPIRE magazine, concerning the Rolex Submariner:

Daniel Craig likes to tell a story about his watch. It’s a Rolex Submariner 6358, An exact replica of the one he remembers Sean Connery wearing in Goldfinger.
The story goes that the budget on Dr.No didn’t run to a Rolex, and Cubby Broccoli, aghast at Connery’s naked wrist, simply slipped off his own and handed it over. That watch stayed there for five films. The point, for both Broccoli and now Craig, is that it was Ian Fleming who first put a Rolex on Bond’s wrist. “He could not just wear a watch, it had to be a Rolex,” is the line in Casino Royale (the novel), that hymn to fetishism. Fleming, above all, remains the lynchpin.

Ed-209
TheSpyBoys.com

Donald Grant

thespyboys11 wrote:

This is the copy, from the newest EMPIRE magazine, concerning the Rolex Submariner:

Daniel Craig likes to tell a story about his watch. It’s a Rolex Submariner 6358, An exact replica of the one he remembers Sean Connery wearing in Goldfinger.
The story goes that the budget on Dr.No didn’t run to a Rolex, and Cubby Broccoli, aghast at Connery’s naked wrist, simply slipped off his own and handed it over. That watch stayed there for five films. The point, for both Broccoli and now Craig, is that it was Ian Fleming who first put a Rolex on Bond’s wrist. “He could not just wear a watch, it had to be a Rolex,” is the line in Casino Royale (the novel), that hymn to fetishism. Fleming, above all, remains the lynchpin.

Ed-209
TheSpyBoys.com

Nice job Ed, it's why you're my favorite "Bond Detective". Thanks for the scan too. I'll try again today to find the October issue of Empire Magazine. You lucky dog.

DG

JB1962

The October Empire Magazine is now out here in the States. I just picked up my copy today.

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