The short answer is yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that…

We all know that with Daniel Craig appearing as the new James Bond in the wonderful Casino Royale came along a new James Bond watch as well. This new Bond watch being the new Omega Planet Ocean is of course no surprise to anyone, but this was a little unusual in a Bond movie in that for this film there was not just one Bond watch, but TWO!

From a transitional standpoint it makes perfect sense. Out with the old and in with the new seemed to be their policy for Casino Royale, but instead of shocking the world with an entirely new James Bond watch they stuck with the same company and even the same line of watches for that matter. The watch is still an Omega and the watch is still a Seamaster (of sorts…).

Well to no-one’s surprise, here is/was the new Bond watch from Casino Royale:

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – XL – 2900.50.91 Gents Watch

This Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean can go deeper, it’s bigger with a bigger case and its manly rubber strap can take the knocks indeed. No Bond villain will want to encounter a watch like this, and if you are playing close enough attention you will notice this watch on Bond’s wrist during the first half of Casion Royale.

For the second half of the movie you will see this on Bond’s wrist:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

Does this look familiar? It should as this was Pierce Brosnan’s Bond watch for all 4 of his Bond movies. The particular one used for Casino Royale is a little bit upgraded, but the watch is essentially the same.

I have to be honest and say that both watches are fantastic and I would gladly have either one. My Omega Seamaster Professional was the most reliable and rugged watch I’ve ever owned. The fact that they are both Omegas means that they are both likely to last as long as the sun, and what’s more is that you will have the revolutionary co-axial escapement at your disposal as well.

As said repeatedly, both are fine watches, but throughout the course of the movie I have wondered why this watch never made an appearance:

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – 2201.50.00 Gents Watch

In the opinion of your humble presenter, this watch represented the perfect marriage between the latest old style Omega Seamaster Professional and the legendary “old” Bond watch the Rolex Submariner. On top of that the Bond watches of old have usually been steel bracelet diving watches, not rubber clad super-sized watches.

So where in the world was this Planet Ocean and why have we not seen it?

Well the new Bond movie titled “Quantum of Solace” may have answered this question as this somewhat recent picture of Daniel Craig has him sporting the very watch he should have been sporting in Casino Royale:

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – 2201.50.00 Gents Watch

Was it that Casino Royale was just an introduction to this new Bond watch? Will this be the new watch that Daniel Craig will sport for all of his Bond movies, and thus the watch you will see on the wrists of upper middle-class businessmen at the airport bar? Or did he just happen to wear this watch because he was given it for free?

Who knows for sure, but your humble presenter cannot wait for the newest Bond flick to come out out, and the first thing I’ll be looking for is what is on the wrist of James Bond.

With spring blossoming in large parts of the northern hemisphere many of us Rolex wearing office dwellers may have our minds on taking a little vacation to ease our souls from the tedium of our everyday lives. Whether it be a weekend tryst with your sweetie or a full blown out excursion into areas unknown, the time to get out is here, but I warn you, if you are thinking about wearing your Rolex overseas, think again!

I know that you may think that just because you wear your Rolex everywhere in your cushy suburb without incident that it is just as fine to wear your Rolex everywhere and anywhere else in the world without incident as well. You may even have one of those “discreet” Rolex models, and you may think to yourself that no criminal could possibly distinguish this watch from the ordinary. That, unfortunately, is not the case.

Well to state the obvious for all you golf playing, SUV driving, Polo shirt wearing, big house dwelling Blackberry jockeys out there! While we may think that our affluent suburb may, or should represent the status quo for all the parts in the world, that is very far from the truth. While your high-priced watch may seem like just an expensive trinket to you, to many of the bad elements in other parts of world that watch is their meal ticket, and they will gladly chop off your hand to get at it. If you put things in perspective, a Rolex watch represents more than the annual income of a huge percentage of the worlds’ population so the temptation for evildoers is very high indeed.

So why is it particularly dangerous to wear a Rolex as opposed to another high dollar watch brand?

Well as much as I hate to admit it, Rolex is the most highly regarded watch brand in the world. And it is made particularly valuable by the fact that Rolex is one of few brands that NEVER discount, and also by the fact that Rolex frequently increase their prices. The end result is a watch that retains their value like no other brand can.

On top of that, for all intents and purposes it is very easy to recognize a Rolex, because short of the obscure Rolex Cellini line, the Rolex Oyster line, which consists of the vast majority of Rolex watches bought and sold in the world, have very distinguishing features that even the most blurry-eyed of bandits can recognize.

One dead giveaway is the date magnification bubble, or as we watch enthusiasts like to call it, the “cyclops lens.”

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date Steel Mens Watch 16610

This useless lens used only by Rolex (and imitators) magnifies the date excactly 2.5 times. Honestly I find it more distracting than helpful, but if your Rolex has a date function, than unless your watch is a Rolex Sea-Dweller, your watch has got this very recognizable feature.

On top of that Rolex watches really only use TWO bracelet patterns. They may have leather straps on some models and a “President” bracelet for their really high-end models, but for all intents and purposes you will find the vast majority of Rolex watches sporting a bracelet that looks either like this “Oyster” band:

Or like this Rolex “Jubilee” band:

They may have different polishes and may be made of different metals such as gold or whatever, but the patterns are still easily recognizable to those who are lurking about.

The fact that there are so many imitations and fakes out there may help your chances a little bit if you dare to venture to area unknown with such an expensive watch on your wrist. I heard stories in which a Rolex was used to get tourists out of a tight situation abroad, but the stories of tourists being mugged,hurt, or even killed far outweigh those. It is just not worth the risk.

My friends father, a scientist and world explorer has always advised travelers to look impoverished while traveling abroad, and that’s a policy I think we should all live by. So my advice to the travelers of the world is to save your showing off for the local mall and enjoy your vacation without the worries.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Explorer II Mens Watch 16570-WSO

The looks are just so-so, and like the vastly similar GMT-II, the Explorer II also has a GMT hand to track a second timezone. The looks have not changed much in the past decades and with the GMT-II already being a success one wonders what, if any, point there is to making another GMT watch…

For those who are not familiar with a GMT watch, a GMT watch is basically a watch that is just like any other watch with an hour, minute, and seconds hand, only with an additional hand to track the 24 hour time of any timezone of your choosing.  So if you look at the Rolex pictured above, the red hand is the GMT hand and is indicating that the time is 10:10 a.m. (as opposed to 10:10 p.m.)

So what kind of dingbat needs a watch to tell day from night you might ask?

Well the answer to that question is precisely the reason I love the Explorer II so much.  You see the Explorer II is designed for people of adventure.  People who travel so frequently that they may need to track a second timezone, and people who cannot tell day from night because they are exploring either the darkest of caves or traversing the most polar extremes where the sun never comes down.

The reason why I love the Explorer II is because it fits exactly my clean, simple, and functional tastes in watches AND accommodates the future self I hope to be.  In other words it is who I am AND the adventurer I hope to be.

My adorable fiancee, and soon to be wife of your humble presenter has had a noticeable change in watch tastes of late. Previously garnishing $8 quartz watches purchased from mall kiosks, her collection has grown to a very sizable collection of 2 watches of battery-powered banality. Having met me though her tastes have improved significantly not only in quality, but in design and uniqueness, and too long ago I made a fair deal and got my lady this beautiful Movado watch:

Movado Esperanza Chronograph Watch

Movado watches are quite offensive in the opinion of this humble presenter, but my lady liked the style so who was I to say no, and because it is a mens watch means that it wears a little larger on the wrist.  It’s got the bling factor for sure!

I do not generally care for Movado watches, but I have to concede and say this quartz watch makes sense, and because it’s a Movado, only you know it’s a quartz because there is no seconds hand to suggest otherwise. The quartz watch means that only minimal maintenance is required and that you can just set it and forget it.

Quite frankly I have to say that I’m relieved that my lady is satisfied with quartz watches because the idea of maintaining more mechanical watches frightens me. So with freedom from winding and maintenance I got her yet another worry-free watch  This time, I made it myself:)

The Subject, this old Seiko which started life out like this:

And then the transformation:

Excellent!

So you think a girl who just got an addition of 2 watches would be satisfied right?

WRONG!!!

Shopping around this past weekend she has come to ooh and ahh after yet ANOTHER watch with a BIG price tag.

Oh do I miss the days when $8 clunkers was her norm…

I’VE CREATED A MONSTER!!!

If you have visited the Rolex website in the past few days you have undoubtedly been invited to a screen full of tranquil underwater goodness as jellyfish roam about and bubbles effervesce. The date of April 3rd 2008 flashes on the screen and subtle hints as to the new Rolex model make your eyes strain in a useless pursuit for satisfaction.

Many variations to existing models have also been released, but this mystery “new” model is what everyone has been clamoring about, and for the fanatics out there April 3rd would’ve have seemed like an eternity away if Rolex had not let the details of their new model leak so early.

Well today is April 3rd 2008 and without any further adieu I present to you the brand-new Rolex DeepSea:

Hmm…

Well for starters this is not the entirely new model I had been expecting. Sure it is a new model but anyone who knows Rolex knows that this is mostly just a souped up version of their 50+ year old Submariner/Sea-Dweller icon.

You’d have to be a fool not to notice the similarities to the present-day SeaDweller:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 4000 Mens Watch 16600-BSO

The most notable difference I can see on this watch is that it has a much higher depth rating of 3900 meters. Compared to the 1220 meter depth rating on the present-day Sea Dweller and 300 meter depth rating on the Submariner models that is a vast improvement, and all the new text and thicker case seem to just accommodate that new feature.

That’s all good stuff, but…

WHAT IS THE DAMN POINT?!?

Human beings CANNOT survive dives beyond 300 meters of depth so you could make a watch with a million meter depth rating and it will be completely pointless. Besides that your typical Rolex owner is either too fat or too chicken to go diving in the first place.

Now I have to be honest and say that I don’t like this watch. What annoys me most of all beyond the useless depth capabilities is how much writing there is on the darn thing. Am I wearing a watch or reading a novel here?!?

On the dial:

ROLEX
Oyster Perpetual Date
DEEPSEA

SEA-DWELLER
12800ft = 3900m
Superlative Chronometer
Officially Certified

Swiss Made

On the crystal:

ORIGINAL GAS ESCAPE VALVE

RING LOCK SYSTEM

And that’s not to include all the serial numbers and stuff on the other parts of the watch.

Seriously, what is with all the writing?!? If I walked around with “Original Gas Escape Valve” written on my forehead people will throw eggs at me. It’s as if a car went rolling by with “Original Gas Escape System” written on its windshield or “Original Posterior Cushioning System” written on the hood.

I can’t even begin to understand what this means:

What a “Ring Lock System” is I have yet to figure out. I’m sure that I can find this out easily if I tried but I won’t because I don’t care because it’s something I don’t need or will ever use. This really is stupid, why not just write “Stainless Steel” on the watch while you’re at it.

Now the ONLY thing I like about this new DEEPSEA is the clasp. Now for your watch dummies out there a clasp is basically the device that fastens your bracelet on your wrist. You’ll find this on almost every metal bracelet watch out there and even on some leather and rubber strapped watches.

The problem with many Rolex clasps, however, is that it was noticeably flimsy for such an high-priced watch. Although functional, it always stood out as a weak link an an otherwise fantastic watch.

Here is your typical Rolex clasp which can still be found on a variety of Rolex models:

Just take my word for it, those thin pieces of steel on that clasp ARE as flimsy as they look. You could easily bend them with your hand if you wanted to and what’s more is that all the stamped engravings and logo all look as though they’ve been run through one of those weird penny warping machines you tend to find at national parks.

To my pleasure of late it seems as though Rolex have FINALLY heard the cries of their customers and have introduced new clasps to some of their models in the past few years.

I’m glad to announce that this new DeepSea will also get an all new clasp. I’m not yet privy as to how it works, but the pics of this new clasp shows promise indeed:

Yes that’s more like it. I just hope all of the Rolex models will sport clasps like this and maybe I’ll pick up a Rolex yet again.

You are just awakening from your slumber. The lights are dim as the sun rises and the radiating beads of water soothes your nerve as you shower and get ready for your long day, and then suddenly, as if out of nowhere, your beloved better half comes running into the bathroom to announce that your mother has called and said she is going to pay you a surprise visit and is already ON THE WAY!

Now that wouldn’t bother the many good sons out there, but given my particular distaste toward my mother, that was shocking news indeed. It didn’t really register with me since I hadn’t seen my mother in a month, and it was no longer in her style to pay surprise visits to my humble abode, but because it came from my adorable little piglet I had no reason at all to doubt her.

So I come rushing out of the shower in a towel-soaked panic and attempt to make a call to my mother to inquire as to the puzzling circumstance that might bring her to my dwelling on this most random of Tuesdays.

Then… comes the “April Fool’s!” delivery .

Good one…

I really dread this day. Constantly looking over your shoulder to see who might trick you next tends to make one feel like a hunted animal.

Fortunately enough though, this is also a day where you get to fool people without consequence. You can even wear a fake watch, or an imitation watch, and the chances are that I will not scold you for it. The rest of the 364 days of the year please beware, because if I catch you wearing a fake, Big Poppa is gonna come for YOU!

Well all this April Fool’s stuff has got me thinking about how many watch imitations and counterfeits there are and how brazenly those wearers show off their crass forgeries. And when it comes to watch companies, no company is more notorious for imitations than the Invicta watch company.

You see, Invicta is a watch company that may have some history and a variety of models in all shapes and sizes, but they are notorious in the watch world for imitating the models of other brands, most notably Rolex.

Don’t just take my word for it, here are some of MANY examples.

Here is the iconic Rolex Submariner. You have seen this on the watch in more Bond movies than any other watch. This watch is arguably the most iconic watch of our time, the most imitated, and the most important. I owned one several years ago, and for me, it’s not hard to see why the world loves this watch:

Here’s the real deal, the real McCoy, the legendary Rolex Submariner:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Submariner Date Steel Mens Watch 16610

Now here is the strikingly similar Invicta Pro Diver:

Invicta Men’s Automatic Pro Diver S2 Stainless Steel 8926OB

Not enough convincing, here is yet another model for your viewing pleasure:

Rolex Platinum Yachtmaster:

GENUINE MANS ROLEX STAINLESS YACHTMASTER FULLSIZE 16622

And now the Invicta version of it:

Invicta Men’s Pro Diver Collection Automatic Watch #9210

A non Rolex here with the Bell & Ross BR-01:

Bell & Ross Men’s Watches Instrument BR 01-92 BR01-92-BLK-SL-PVD – WW

And here is the Invicta version:

Invicta Square Corduba 3964 (Men’s)

Ladies and gentlemen, if I listed out all the models Invicta has copied then I will be here all day.

I, however, can see the reason why many of you might be tempted to purchase one of these imitations. From a bargaining standpoint it makes absolute sense. I mean why pay several thousands of dollars on a watch when you can have a watch that looks just like it for no more than a few hundred?

I’ll tell you why…

If you are thinking about buying these watches for the look than you are just kidding yourselves. I’m willing to bet that your frugal butt might buy one of these in the hopes of fooling some poor soul into thinking you actual have the real deal, and that the deception might automatically open up penthouse doors to a world of naked women and various other forms of debauchery. I don’t know what you may be thinking, but you are not fooling anyone.

Rather than let my imagination run wild I will just suggest that you steer clear of Invicta. They may look the same, but THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!!!

Bottom Line: If you want a Rolex Submariner, BUY A ROLEX SUBMARINER!!!