But Triton, you have missed many of the nuances in my post and its follow-on.
I didn't say Bond should have a watch for every occasion. I said he should have two - one for day-to-day wear, and one for the serious business of diving (which doesn't interrupt *so* many formal occasions, even in the world of 007). You yourself have admitted that the watch he does wear isn't the best for doing that - I argued in a post subsequent to the one you've quoted just the same: this kind of watch is generally worn by people who never dive, and Bond would have a specıalıst watch, rather than an expensive fashion hybrid. He'd surely be more likely to have a Doxa, like his poor imitation Mr Pitt.
However, it has been pointed out that in Dr No Bond selects a Rolex because it does the job, and of course there is the scene that I think you referred to in OHMSS, in which the same Rolex is wrapped round his knuckles. Although, as you have pointed out, it's a little out of character for his cover.
Perhaps my problem is that I simply don't like the look of sports watches. Yes, people wear them with dinner wear - it's a horrid thing to do, though, and I suspect James Bond, were he in our world, would deplore the practice. Bond, like his creator, is a snob, and he would take great delight in making the point I keep returning to, much to the chagrin perhaps of those of you who have shelled out for these monstrosities, that there is very little point in owning a watch that weighs three tons and will take you to the bottom of the sea if you can't even swim.
It also seems to have been missed that I said there was scant chance that wearing such a watch would blow Bond's cover nowadays, though, again, I think in Fleming's day it would have been. Even Fleming made mistakes - hence the change of gun. And a real secret agent would never have worn the myriad colognes and soaps Bond is so fond of. Even in a fantasy world, it makes very little sense to be quasi-prepared for a deep-sea dive (sans fins, rubber suit and goggles, but hey, the watch is ready) and yet perfectly willing to sit in a garden blending black into blackness, still as a stone, while the scent of Floris alerts the assassin to your presence and identity. Ahem. My point was that small as the risk might be, there's no real advantage for Bond in wearing such a weighty and ugly thing, as if he is to go diving he will have to change anyway. Sure, Boothroyd can fit some devices in - but that has been done, rather, hasn't it? How refreshing if that weren't to happen for a few films, and the tricks emanated from some other accessory. His handkerchief, for instance.
But yes, it's subjective. Everything is. We're discussing what watch James Bond should wear, and we're discussing his tastes. James Bond isn't here to answer, and neither is his creator. James Bond, the literary creation, lived in another era. I'm trying to think about what that character would do if he were living now - I simply don't accept that the impostor who shaves with a Philips and wears ready-made Italian suits has the same taste as the character Fleming created. I think we all know what dictates Bond's tastes now, and that's cold, hard lucre. I also don't think it's impossible to correct Fleming on his own creation. Times have changed, and there's a surreal symbiosis between James Bond and the brands he favours - his very favouring of them often cheapens them. I contend this to be the case with Brioni, whose reputation has been superceded by its rival Kiton since it took on the Bond contract. Men like James Bond would rather not dress the same way as everyone else. The same could be said for Rolex - Fleming's use of the brand has led to its ubiquity. I think Fleming, were he still alive, would re-evaluate Bond's tastes, and the way that the character's success had changed the reputation and perhaps even quality of some of the brands he espoused; I think it's quite possible he might conclude just as I have.
But it's much more likely that I'm running around trying to find a way of getting 007 out of these monstrous lugs.
Tongue a little in cheek, and hoping to draw forth some more discussion on this extremely interesting issue,
spynovelfan
Edited by spynovelfan, 20 December 2004 - 08:56 PM.
