If you are in any way familiar with the automotive TV show Top Gear you will know it essentially involves three normal guys goofing around in the most expensive cars in the world, all over world, and getting paid huge sums of money to do so.  The great thing about it is that the three hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, are just ordinary guyslike you and me who don’t really seem to care that they are on TV and do what most of us could only dream of doing as a living.

When it comes to their own cars though, I couldn’t help but notice that their taste in watches seems to mirror their taste in cars.  Richard Hammond, for example, a small man mind you, tends to have a taste for large and flashy cars and watches.  The lovable weirdo and my personal favorite host James May, furthermore, seems to have a taste for watches and cars that he seems to find “interesting.”  What goes on in his mind I’ll never be able to figure out, but when it comes to tastes in watches and cars, I always leaned toward the big guy, Jeremy Clarkson.

You see Jeremy Clarkson may have money and fame, but underneath it all, he is a ape-like simpleton who wants a car to be a car, and a watch to be a watch.  He’s not a fan of excess and the more noise it makes, and the more it breaks down, the better.  He goes on these huge rants about the watches he’s going to buy, and in one of his latest posts he writes about his newest purchase, the Omega Railmaster, and here it is!

Omega Watches – RAILMASTER

Seen on last night’s episode of Top Gear I keep looking at it and think to myself, hmm…

You see if you know anything about this guy’s watch history you will know that he used to have James Bond’s Seamaster, he used to have a Planet Ocean (and still does I reckon), and now he has this.  He moans about how passionless Omega is yet he seems to be a fanboy at heart.

Nice choice Jeremy!

I just (of questionable legality) watched the very first of episode of season (or series as they call it in the UK) 13 of my favorite show Top Gear and it looks as though presenter Richard Hammond has got himself a 16610 Rolex Submariner, the same type that James Bond used to wear of of which has seen the light of day on television and movies for decades.  My God, what an episode!

Good choice Richard!

The former President of Russia wore a watch that cost as much as a luxury car.

The President of Italy wears watches that cost as much as a house.

And even the the modest President Clinton rolls around in a Panerai.

Now when I first mused about this a few weeks ago, the possibility that the President of the greatest nation in the world would roll around the greatest residence in the world with a gift shop trinket on his wrist was only a possibility, but now it is a definite reality, and I am pleased with the outcome.

Now I am not one to generalize especially with my sparse knowledge of anything remotely political, but it seems to be the trend of Presidents of late to try to relate to the common people more by wearing a cheap watch.  George W. Bush did it with his cheap Timex, and I heard that when President Clinton was in the White House he skimped on expensive watches for more basic ones.  Forget the hordes of Secret Service goons, private airplane, helicopters, and instant access to the hottest nightclubs, a President seems to think that if wears the same kind of watch as us ordinary people, then he can somehow relate to us.  Gimme a break!

Speaking of Secret Service goons, if you ever seen watch now President Barack Obama wears on his wrist and ever wondered, “what kind of watch is that?”  Well wonder no longer.

As a recent birthday present for President Obama, his Secret Service goons thought of the laziest present known to man.  They went to the Secret Service shop, bought a watch, gave it to him, and now it’s his daily wearer.

It was produced by the no name company of Jorg Gray, who basically sells cheap Chinese watches of which you can put a logo on and there you have it!

The End!

If you have ever been to a museum you will know that it is largely a big tourist trap for a bunch of people to go to and pretend as though they’re interested in stuff.  From all the world over parents they take their obnoxious kids to marvel at the pretty colors of fish, the size of the bones from long deceased creatures, take some pictures, and then leave.  But before they make their exit, they are inevitably going to notice the shop that sells goods related to their museum visit.

And in this conveniently placed “gift shop” they can buy tacky postcards to send to their relatives, so they know you are cool, in addition you can also purchase books which will never be read, and if you are lucky, you can even buy some freeze-dried ice cream which has the ability to instantly melt three dollars right out of your pocket.

At the upper echelons of these gifts though, you may notice there may be a small selection of watches.  Usually tucked away under the pristine protection of clear plastic, the logoed watches may look appealing as they sell for more than the usual junk they have there.

Now what can be cooler than having a watch with the logo of the National Air and Space Museum on your wrist? Well quite a lot of things quite honestly.

Back on topic though, I have literally been asked one question by a colleague of mine asking me what watch Barack Obama wears, and while I have known some time now, the answer has never really seemed to spark any kind of interest in me to discuss it, but here goes…

As a present for Mr. Obama on a recent birthday, his Secret Service goons went down to the Secret Service gift shop and thought of the laziest birthday present known to man.  They went down to the gift shop and got him a Secret Service logoed watch.  What’s most surprising though is that Barack Obama seems to wear it everyday!

Here it is with Joe Biden’s Omega Seamaster Professional in the distance:

And a close up:

Now the funny thing is that he traded a fairly respectable Tag Heuer for this.  Why?  Well I suppose it’s the same reason that he traded his massive gas guzzling Chrysler 300C for an economical Ford Escape Hybrid, he wants to practice what he preaches and so traded his Swiss timepiece for a American one, or so he thought.

Well I have done a little bit of digging on this one, but the watch is actually made in China like quite a lot of things in this country, and it actually starts off life as a Jorg Gray JGC6500 Chronograph like this one:

You may not have heard of Jorg Gray as a company, and there’s a good reason.  You see all they do is makes generic watches without logos on them so you can put your organization’s logos on them and thus disappoint your friends, family, etc. with your mail order junk.

So to conclude, like George Bush’s Timex, Barack Obama’s watch can be classified in a similar vein a being a piece of mail order junk.
The End!

This was the “limited” edition Omega Planet Ocean that came out when the latest James Bond movie “Casino Royale” was released:

… And while I must confess that I thought the engraving on the back was absolutely ghastly, the fact was that the only visible part of the watch that was changed was the “007″ on the seconds hand.

That was fine, because it just told the whole world that you were only dorky enough to buy a “general” James Bond limited edition watch as opposed to being so dorky as to buy a watch made specifically for a single movie.

With the latest Omega incarnation, however, all will be lost:

As I have already established before, all Omega owners are a bunch of pocket protector wearing nerds, but outside of the stupid writing on the crystal (or the dial, I can’t tell…) I think it actually looks quite good.  The dial is suppose to emulate the checkered pattern on the grip of Bond’s gun, and to be honest I think it looks really good, kind of like a dial Audemars Piguet would make.

That red writing of “Seamaster” is a nice touch too.  An apparent influence from the old Rolex SeaDweller/Submariners of old, but quite nice nonetheless.

I don’t know what it is with Omega and their stupid “limited” edition watches.  It’s gotten so out of hand that I suspect there are more limited edition watches than regular ones!  That was a bit of an exaggeration, but if you get rid of that stupid writing of the movie title, I’m sold.

I doubt that James Bond himself would wear such a watch, but I’m aching to see if he will be wearing the standard metal bracelet Omega Planet Ocean as I had long been suspecting:

Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean – 2201.50.00 Gents Watch

I don’t have much of an interest in politics.  In fact, one could say it is quite similar to a stoner’s feelings toward employment.  You want to be interested because you feel it’ll be better for you, but you’re doing just fine without it so you don’t bother…

That is why when I heard that Barack Obama chose Senator Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate, I immediately went for a nap.

But later on in the week I actually read up a little on him, and would you look at the watch he’s wearing:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

Here’s a closeup if you’re having trouble telling what it is:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

To confirm your initial suspicions, yes that IS an Omega Seamaster Professional,  the current James Bond watch!

I’m not sure of the exact model, but based on a picture I saw, I think it’s likely the GMT version as seen here with a few windows outlining its different features:

Omega Seamaster GMT Mens Blue Dial Stainless Steel Automatic Watch 2535.80

It could, however, just as easily be the more true to form “official” James Bond watch as seen here:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

The truth of the matter is that I don’t know what verson it is, but I also don’t really care.  You see it doesn’t matter what version of the watch you have, the automatic version, the quartz version, the GMT version, or even the chronograph version, the goal of the Bond watch has always been the same.

And that is to transform the most dimwitted idiot, the fattest husband, and the most unattractive college grad, to HIM:

Omega Seamaster Automatic – 2220.80.00 Gents Watch

People will lie to you all the time and claim that they got the Bond watch because of the looks, because they couldn’t pass up a great deal, but they can only lie to themselves for so long before finally admitting to themselves that the only reason they got this watch is because the kid inside of them wants nothing more than to be James Bond.

They may be responsible adults these days, but a part of them, and myself I suppose a part of myself, since I used to have one, find an appeal to the kind of charming, brave, and dashing persona of the legendary fictional spy and the lifestyle he leads.

And who can blame them?  It is quite a nice departure from everyday life I must admit…

I thought that it might be the case that Senator Joe Biden might just happen to have several watches, or may be a collector, and he may very well be, but every time I see him with a watch, and I do mean EVERY time I see him with a watch, it’s always the James Bond Omega.

And that’s saying something!

While Kazunori Yamauchi may not exactly be a household name, but he is behind the most successful video game racing series in the world; and if you have ever played any one of the games in his iconic Gran Turismo series, you owe all of that brilliance to Mr. Yamauchi:

Seeing himself strut around in various interviews and videos you’ll notice that while he is an avid racer who has driven pretty much every kind of car in the world, he only really wears one kind of watch, and to me, it’s an odd choice.

You see, Mr. Yamauchi wears this:

Breguet Type XXI Fly-Back Chronograph – 3810ST/92/SZ9 Gents Watch

Why is this an odd choice?  Well it’s not really, it’s just that I would’ve expected him to wear a more racing themed watch like a Chopard Mille Miglia or a Rolex Daytona instead of this large luxury diving chronograph.  I guess he’s not much of a watch person, but as long as he continues to make outstanding additions to the Gran Turismo series, I’m not complaining.

I don’t really follow basketball, and the watches of ballers generally seem to tread on diamond-encrusted monostrosities that most watch enthusiasts steer very clear from, but in the case of Kobe Bryant that is a very different case .

So what gave the L.A. Lakers a taste of class?

Well it seems as though on May 20, 2008 Kobe had a moment of generosity when he surprised each one of his teammates with one of these:

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Chronograph – 1758470 Gents Watch

Yes it seems as though Kobe had the realization that without his teammates he would not be in the position he was in and surprised each and every one of his teammates with a personally engraved Jaeger LeCoultre watch.

As a watch brand Jaeger LeCoultre are rooted deep in the watchmaking tradition and have a history that goes well into the 19th century. They are most famed for their Reverso series of watches and gets a ton of respect from your humble presenter.

My being a fan of durable watches able to withstand the next nuclear holocaust makes me pass on considering this brand as a purchase, but for now the L.A. Lakers have just ascended to a higher class. That’s for sure!

This is very old news indeed, but is still one of my favorite tales of a watch in pop culture.

For a little background for those too young or forgetful to remember, in 1994 the world over watched as a seemingly guilty former football star named O.J. Simpson was found not guilty for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.

It was an upsetting loss for the families of the victims, but in 1997 some solace came in the way of a wrongful death civil trial victory. This basically ordered O.J. Simpson to pay the victims’ families over $30 million in damages. The fact that O.J. didn’t have that much money, however, landed him in the situation that he would have to pretty much give over all of his worldly possessions and future earnings to the Goldman and Brown family.

Years of loopholes and convenient relocations, however, have meant that the Goldman and Brown families couldn’t exactly net every single dollar they had coming to them. So naturally when they saw this on O.J.’s wrist, they sprung into action:

To the untrained eyes this looks like an everyday solid gold Rolex Submariner that can be had for around $18,000 – $22,000 depending on where you shop. To the Goldman and Brown families this represented a whole lot more. To them it was not only $10,000+ in uncollected debt, but a sign of disrespect.

How can a man who supposeably murder their kids and owes them millions of dollars, after all, still be rolling around with a bling Rolex on his wrist?

Your ordinary Rolex Submariner is made largely of stainless steel and can be had for about $5,000. O.J.’s Rolex, however, is a SOLID GOLD model that costs at least 3 times as much. Not only is O.J. ballin’ with a Rolex, but with one of the most bling Rolex watches that can be had. In my mind, this is an unacceptable situation.

Well luckily a judge felt the same way that I did and ordered that the watch be turned over to Fred Goldman, the father of the murdered Ron Goldman, so that Fred can now spend his days ballin’ just like O.J.

But wait…

Naturally when you think of NFL football players retired or otherwise, you think that a Rolex and the high life comes as an industry standard. Even when celebrities are down it seems as though they still manage to live their lives on a higher plane than you.

When I heard of O.J.’s Rolex tale I thought it an amusing little tidbit at first, but it seems that it took an even more interesting turn when it was found that the Rolex O.J. handed over was a Chinese fake barely worth a hundred bucks.

I guess he wasn’t doing so well after all…

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.