I know. The topic of ‘James Bond watches’ has been covered ad nauseam. From Sean Connery’s Rolex Submariner ref. 6535, to Timothy Dalton’s black-PVD TAG Heuer Night Diver and Daniel Craig’s bevy of Omega Seamasters, countless articles, podcasts and Instagram posts can already be found covering the subject. But despite all this, there are still one or two timekeepers in the Bond oeuvre which have, until fairly recently, been largely overlooked.
Chief amongst these is the Tissot PR516 ref. 44622 worn by Roger Moore in Live And Let Die (1973). A great outing in the filmography for watch lovers, the main watches seen on Bond in LALD are a Submariner ref. 5513, replete with bezel-edge circular saw and “hyper intensified magnetic field” ‘complications’. Two of these prop Submariners modified by production designer, Syd Cain and used during filming have actually made their way to the open market. The first used a compressed-air driven rotating dial and custom ‘saw’ bezel arrangement, and sold via Christie’s in 2001, Phillips in 2015 and via dealer Tom Bolt (@watchguru_). The second with ‘sandwich’ cut-out white/red hour markers to indicate the ‘magnet’s’ activation, went in 1998, also via Christie’s.
It’s not just Submariners either as the film also included the then-state-of-the-art Pulsar P2. One of the first consumer products to use a ‘microchip’ and the first electronic digital-display watch, the Pulsar P2 was produced by Hamilton Watch Company offshoot Time Computer Inc.. And, at the time of its release in 1972, had an accompanying retail price greater than that of the Submariner. Using a button-activated LED system to display the time and a joyously eccentric standalone magnet system for time-setting, it fast became ‘the’ watch to have, found on the wrists of actors Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson, musicians Mick Jagger and Elton John, industrialist Gianni Agnelli, and boxing heavyweight champ’ “Smokin’” Joe Frazier.
However, alongside these leading-role watches, the Tissot PR516 makes notable cameo appearances midway through the film in the Louisiana ‘aerodrome escape’ and bayou ‘boat chase’ scenes. It looks to have actually been Moore’s personal watch, given its presence on his wrist throughout the movie’s press tour as well. Perhaps an on-location logistics issue with the scripted Submariner or an absent-minded prop master gave rise to Moore wearing his own watch on-screen. But regardless of the reason, it makes for a welcome addition to the merry band of Bond watches.
An acronym, the ‘PR’ in the PR516’s title stands for “Pretty Robust” (although on occasion Tissot would bend the acronym to fit marketing catchwords “Precision” and “Resistance” as well) whilst the ‘516’ designation refers to its status as the 16th watch in the brand’s 5th/water-resistant series. Whilst Moore’s watch could, arguably, be described as a ‘skindiver’, the PR516 collection at large was designed primarily with motorsport in mind. Housed in a 36mm stainless-steel case, Moore’s watch is powered using a self-winding calibre and has a rotating 60-minute graduated bakelite-material bezel, conventional three-from-the-centre handset, 3 o’clock date window and a handsome aquamarine-colour dial and contrasting orange seconds hand.
Given the watch’s apparent charms, Tissot saw fit to reissue the PR516 in the shape of the PR516 Powermatic 80. Driven using the namesake Powermatic automatic movement with Nivachron hairspring, the size has been upscaled to 38mm and the bezel has been fixed in place. Granted, some collectors may have an issue with the fixed 60-minute scale bezel, but given the PR516 collection’s motorsport heritage, I suppose it makes sense. Not to mention that any original, extremely brittle Bakelite rotating bezels are essentially left fixed in place for fear of damage anyway.
Available on a host of bracelet/strap/dial-colour options, the new PR516 is priced from £610 (www.tissotwatches.com) and represents an excellent and accessibly priced entry point to the canon of ‘Bond watches’.