James Bond - Carte Blanche

[The Joker]

Just an extract from the new book - Bond getting ready in the morning, looks like it's set modern day.

"Onto his wrist he slipped his steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual, the 34mm model, the date window its only complication; Bond did not need to know the phases of the moon or the exact moment of high tide at Southampton. And he suspected very few people did."

Just glad he ain't got a seamaster on!

[rolexertion]

Who is the author of this book? Did he/she actually use an apostrophe in the possessive of 'it'?

I sure hope not.

Not to even mention the wordy claptrap about the fricken watch, fer Pete's sake. 'Onto his wrist he slipped...'? Wtf is that?

[The Joker]

Was in shortlist magazine, just found it on the web aswell

http://www.shortlist.com/entertainme...new-bond-novel

Author Jeffery Deaver

Sorry that "it's" might been me typing it. Edit with a cut and paste now

[rolexertion]

I read a few paragraphs on-line. It occurs to one to wonder whether the name Jeffery Deaver is a nom de plume for Bret Easton Ellis. The part I read smacks strongly of the novel 'American Psycho', with its obsessive concentration on the details and provenance of every item of attire, vehicle, accessory, etc. And what's with a modern-day Bond wearing what amounts to a woman's watch? 34mm?? give me a break. What use is that going to be in a fistfight?

[Beau93]

Seems to me that, if you are trying to infiltrate some supervillain's lair at night, it would be quite helpful to know whether there was a full moon that evening...

[Puffy]

got sh*te reviews so i won't be reading it but please do provide a quick summary of all the rolex references!!

[ArcticMoose]

Originally Posted by rolexertion

It occurs to one to wonder whether the name Jeffery Deaver is a nom de plume for Bret Easton Ellis.

Exactly what I was thinking, you beat me to it.

[Ed Rooney]

They must be talking about Mrs Bond and her 34mm Rolex.

We all know Bond prefers Seiko digitals.

[The Joker]

How the hell is Q gonna fit a 'frickin laser beam' into a 34mm case

[Dr. Robert]

A Canali suit!!!!! WTF.......he should support English bespoke tailoring.....Saville Row,
bah humbug.........this new book isn't too hot, "Devil May Care" by Faulke stunk.....where's Gardner????? At least his books were readable.
Where's the face palm guy?????

[Grumpy Badger]

Originally Posted by rolexertion

34mm?? give me a break. What use is that going to be in a fistfight?

Smaller surface area equals greater pressure... Nails!!!

[yessir69]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

A Canali suit!!!!! WTF.......he should support English bespoke tailoring.....Saville Row,
bah humbug.........this new book isn't too hot, "Devil May Care" by Faulke stunk.....where's Gardner????? At least his books were readable.
Where's the face palm guy?????

And if it was an Italian suit it would be Kiton or maybe Brioni.

Oh yea. And a SubC!

[delldeaton]

Originally Posted by Bananas

Just an extract from the new book - Bond getting ready in the morning, looks like it's set modern day.

"Onto his wrist he slipped his steel Rolex Oyster Perpetual, the 34mm model, the date window its only complication; Bond did not need to know the phases of the moon or the exact moment of high tide at Southampton. And he suspected very few people did."

Just glad he ain't got a seamaster on!

Reading this reminds me of the opening paragraphs of From Russia with Love, which Ian Fleming wrote in 1956. To wit:

There was also a bulky gold wristwatch on a well-used brown crocodile strap. It was a Girard-Perregaux model designed for people who like gadgets, and it had a sweep second-hand and two little windows in the face to tell the day of the month, and the month, and the phase of the moon.

We know that Mr Deaver did extensive research into Fleming and re-read all of those original 007 stories before starting on Carte Blanche. Leads one to wonder if this isn't another bit of a nod to those original books.

Originally Posted by Ed Rooney

They must be talking about Mrs Bond and her 34mm Rolex....

Well, yeah: It is 2mm smaller than the Rolex 1016 Explorer (the fictional) James Bond wore in 1962 for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the novel, published a year later). Personal preference expressed here by Jeffery Deaver? Or perhaps a concerted effort to differentiate his 007 from the watch choices of present-day movie-Bond?

As I wrote on my James Bond Watches Blog earlier today, no reason (looking only at the quote we're talking about here, of course) that it couldn't be a Rolex reference 115200 Oyster Perpetual Date. And closer to Fleming's model, now that they've super-sized the Explorer.

Originally Posted by rolexertion

I read a few paragraphs on-line ... with its obsessive concentration on the details and provenance of every item of attire, vehicle, accessory, etc. And what's with a modern-day Bond wearing what amounts to a woman's watch? 34mm?? give me a break. What use is that going to be in a fistfight?

Again: Fleming-esque. There's actually a great article that he wrote, titled something like, "How to Write a Thriller," in which he discussed the strategic intent of branding in his prose. Anchoring to real-world products, he felt, allowed him to get away with outrageous villains and plot lines, because the product references suggested credibility.

As to your 34mm case comment, I'm looking forward to seeing some watch images posted to this thread by TRF'ers who're proudly wearing 'em, irrespective of confessed utilization as knuckledusters where needs arise.

[Ed Rooney]

My brother has a 34mm Oyster Date and it seems to work on him. I tried it on and I could very easily wear it. I'm 6' with a 7" wrist, and he is a few inches taller.

[Widows Son]

34 MM is a perfect size for a man's watch (unless he's trying to make up for a lack of size somewhere else). Dinner plate sized watches are only required since people have become too fond of chicken fingers, cheese burgers, and mac and cheese. Stay off the computer, Ipod, cell, and laptop and go for a bike ride or hit the stairmaster. Then the 34 MM watch will look just fine

[conrail]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

A Canali suit!!!!! WTF.......he should support English bespoke tailoring.....Saville Row,
bah humbug.........this new book isn't too hot, "Devil May Care" by Faulke stunk.....where's Gardner????? At least his books were readable.
Where's the face palm guy?????

You're kidding me. They have him wearing a Canali suit!? Ewww.

[delldeaton]

Originally Posted by Widows Son

34 MM is a perfect size for a man's watch (unless he's trying to make up for a lack of size somewhere else). Dinner plate sized watches are only required since people have become too fond of chicken fingers, cheese burgers, and mac and cheese. Stay off the computer, Ipod, cell, and laptop and go for a bike ride or hit the stairmaster. Then the 34 MM watch will look just fine

Knew the good folks here would step up to validate a good watch on its own merits.

Personally, I've always preferred wearing my Rolex 1016 Explorer to the 16610 Submariner Date that's on my wrist as I enter this post. But vintage doesn't work for me as an everyday wear, and I depend on the date complication more than I care to admit.

As I'm inferring here, size is not simply an issue to the eye of the beholder, but, in fact, sometimes the difference between wearing something inappropriate to the wrist of the person who's put it on. That's one of the things I like best about James Bond watch collecting: There are enough sizes, brands, and, yes, style variations that there's no reason for someone to be wearing something other than a watch ideally suited for them.

And we've got a nice range of "larger" Rolex watches already, plenty of divers in particular. I think it's kinda nice to have something at this end of the spectrum. Once I'm able to narrow down with Jeffery Deaver exactly what we're talking about here, this is definitely something that I'll be adding to my portfolio.

[dsio]

It makes more sense when you think about it, given its modern setting.

Submariner-C is now pretty pricey, especially with 20% VAT. The UK Government is struggling to bring the budget back into the black.

MI6 probably has to make cuts too, downgrading from Subs to OPs sounds about right.

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by delldeaton

....Rolex 1016 Explorer (the fictional) James Bond wore in 1962 for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (the novel, published a year later)....

which is infact nothing more than pure speculation.

I thought, that you should point this out ;)

[Justjosh]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

A Canali suit!!!!! WTF.......he should support English bespoke tailoring.....Saville Row,
bah humbug.........this new book isn't too hot, "Devil May Care" by Faulke stunk.....where's Gardner????? At least his books were readable.
Where's the face palm guy?????

I thought when it came to Italian Bond wore Brioni, and the "new" Bond is clothed by Tom Ford.

[bscepter]

Originally Posted by Justjosh

I thought when it came to Italian Bond wore Brioni.

brosnan wore brioni as bond. the seamaster, too.

but i agree - bond should be outfitted by poole or gieves & hawkes or some other bespoke savile row tailor. harumph!

[poppydog]

What a strange coincidence: I began reading it this morning and have just got beyond that bit. I read all the originals a few years back and it occurred to me as I began this one that Deaver is maintaining Fleming's style.

[delldeaton]

Originally Posted by poppydog

What a strange coincidence: I began reading it this morning and have just got beyond that bit. I read all the originals a few years back and it occurred to me as I began this one that Deaer is maintaining Fleming's style.

That's my first impression as well.

Now imagine you're someone who's only aware of watches from the periphery* and you're a true fan of the Ian Fleming stories, familiar with the "Rolex Oyster Perpetual" reference in Chapter 15 of On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Curious, you surf on over to Rolex.com and its "Rolex Watches" drop-down menu.

Here in 2011, you'd see that there is a category labeled "Oyster Perpetual" to the lower right, and with that, a great explanation of its legacy.

Scan the models therein, with the Carte Blanche criteria that James Bond wants (needs?) a date complication, and there you have it.

I think the folks here on TRF will also be pleased to see that James Bond's Rolex watch rates mention as one of what Jeffery Deaver thinks are the 7 most significant brands associated with the James Bond lifestyle, per his article in GQ magazine.


__________
*A place where no one will stay for long, once they come to see what they've been missing!

[The Joker]

Thanks Dell Deaton, I have enjoyed reading your posts. Haven’t read the books myself, but you have whetted my appetite for them.

I’d say the author has put a lot of thought into the choice of watch for Bond in this book and, and I for one think his choice for a 34mm OP is a cracking one.

A super suave British agent needs a classic understated elegant and stylish timepiece for his daily attire, and the OP fits the bill perfectly.

I just can’t understand how all of a sudden this is too small or girly. The author has shown great judgment. IMHO.

[horseco]

I always figured proper British spy types wore 50mm wall clocks on their wrists... hahahaha!!!!

[Ed Rooney]

Originally Posted by conrail

You're kidding me. They have him wearing a Canali suit!? Ewww.

Originally Posted by Justjosh

I thought when it came to Italian Bond wore Brioni, and the "new" Bond is clothed by Tom Ford.

Originally Posted by bscepter

brosnan wore brioni as bond. the seamaster, too.

but i agree - bond should be outfitted by poole or gieves & hawkes or some other bespoke savile row tailor. harumph!

Deaver is not even British. No wonder he is dressing Bond like a Tuscan real estate agent.

[delldeaton]

Now that we're just over a week out from first publication of Carte Blanche, I was curious to see how brand references were playing out as they related to that James Bond novel.

Bentley and Rolex both enjoy a history dating back to the early Ian Fleming books. But only Bentley pulled out all the stops as the story unfolded about Jeffery Deaver doing the continuation writing; Bentley also financed a special edition of Carte Blanche, intimately emphasizing that they are the 007 automobile choice.

Conversely, the public didn't learn that Rolex was returning to Bond's wrist until May 28, 2011.

Still-- I've noted with great interest that "Rolex" is mentioned in connection with Carte Blanche over 18% as often as "Bentley" is. Given Mr Deaver's public statements that Rolex was his choice, not a paid endorsement, that strikes me as quite incredible; a very powerful statement about the Rolex brand.

[escudoturbo]

This 'new' Bond is a 30 year old veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan; he's likely to be a wirey chap so a 34mm would probaly go well.

[Deacon211]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Badger

Smaller surface area equals greater pressure... Nails!!!

Bah! There's only one Rolex to wear if you're going to give a guy "pair of fives"



200+ grams of face tenderizing goodness!

Deacon

[dsio]

Originally Posted by Deacon211

Bah! There's only one Rolex to wear if you're going to give a guy "pair of fives"



200+ grams of face tenderizing goodness!

Deacon

All fun and games until Blofeld buys a 18k Omega Flightmaster



Over 1lbs would leave Bond's DS somewhat at a disadvantage.