Watch Education
Famous Watches
Watches aren't just for telling time. They're for making a big impression - especially for the rich and famous. Watches, jewelry, diamonds, gems - it's all about the spotlight for these famous timepiece treasures.
From diamond encrusted jewels to gravity defying technological marvels, Jewelry.com takes a look at some of the world's most famous watches. Fact or fiction, on the moon or in the movies, there's always a watch in the picture.
James Bond
Where would James Bond be without his watches? Whether they double as
mini-trackers, exploding devices or simply add a touch of sophistication to the
secret agent's outfit - a watch is as much a part of any James Bond movie as a
martini 'shaken not stirred'. It all began in Ian Fleming's novels of James Bond
when he described his character as wearing a 'stainless steel luminous-dial
Rolex Oyster Perpetual'. In the movies it was a Rolex Submariner that the spy
wore, later to be replaced with a Seiko digital watch.
In 1995 when Pierce Brosnan took over the role he updated not only Bond, but also his watch. The Submariner was replaced by an Omega Seamaster 300 M:
Newman's Own
Paul Newman wore a Rolex Cosmograph "Daytona" when his wife (Joanne Woodward)
gave it to him with an inscription on the back: "Drive Slowly, Joanne".
On The Moon
The first watch that took a moonwalk was an Omega Speedmaster. After its debut
on the moon, the watch was renamed the "Moon Watch".
Apollo 13
The astronaut Jack Swigert took not only his government-issued Omega Speedmaster
with him on the ill-fated Apollo 13 flight, he also wore his personal Rolex GMT
Master.
JFK's Watch
During JFK's campaign in 1960 he received an ultrathin Omega watch known as the
Stockdale Watch. It was this watch he wore to his inauguration and is now on
display at the Omega museum in Biel, Switzerland
Elvis And His Watches
In 1961 Elvis wore a Hamilton Venture in the movie Blue Hawaii. Off-set the King
had treasure chest of watches but apparently his favorite was a custom-made Ebel
- a 18ct gold piece encrusted with 26 diamonds.