This just shows that trying to prove which watch was intended by Fleming based on an illustration in a comic strip is weak at best.
In terms of what Fleming intended for Bond to wear in the novel, well one thing is certain he never called it an "Explorer". I think it was a Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an expanding metal bracelet. That does not discount that Fleming wore a 1016 Explorer, however. When I was a relative noob, I often made the mistake of believing that Fleming was Bond, but over the years I've come to realize that Fleming was just a good writer and used fact and fiction woven together to create a compelling character. Fleming liked the sounds of things as any good writer should. That's why you have Bond using a Berns Martin triple draw holster for an automatic when it was only available for a revolver or the "Red Grant" Girard Perregaux triple date moonphase that did not exist as written until recently. It was not uncommon for Fleming to change things around or concoct things because he liked the way they sounded.
As far as the early Bond movies are concerned, Fleming certainly did not reject the use by the producers of the Submariner because he was on the set of both DN and FRWL. If he had, you might have seen Connery wearing a 1016 Explorer. Thank goodness that never happened.
Actually I think the Explorer would be a more natural choice for Bond than the various Submariners. It's certainly less obtrusive and garish than the diver model and while it's still rugged and reliable it doesn't have an overly sporty or athletic feel about it. For a Rolex it's really most inconspicious. I daresay that would have appealed to Bond and I can see him wearing such a model. Of course, the actual make and model may never really have bothered Fleming as he may just have made the decision when he came to the scene in OHMSS and perhaps didn't much think about further consequences. He'd most likely have been startled to learn people discuss such matters for years and in volumes in the decades after his death.
Precisely my point. As written, Fleming's description allows one to decide which Rolex Bond wore for themselves without someone foisting their view of it on you. You see it as en Explorer. When I was young, when reading Fleming, I often saw Bond as Sean Connery. Let's not forget that writing is an art form, it's not science. Interesting that the producers without benefit of the description chose the Submariner. It's also extremely interesting that Fleming was around for both DN and FRWL. The fact that he was in on the ground floor, as it were, has certain implications, at least for the cinematic Bond and what he wore, does it not?
Edited by Donovan Grant, 08 January 2010 - 01:39 PM.
