perry563 Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 I was looking through some old posts and I came up with this.... http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?showto...&hl=vintage THIS appears to be the watch worn by Sean Connery in Dr. No and not the version recently offered. Note the big crown which I have read only came with a thicker case...read this article.... http://www.ajb007.co.uk/articles/007/rolex-submariner/ SO...if the watch worn by Connery had a big crown..and it did then the watch offered recently really is not the BOND Sub. The recent offering as the BOND Sub has a small crown and thin case which in actuality (if you read the above articles) is an earlier 1950's Sub type. The bottom line for me is...Although I bought the latest BOND offering and it is nice I find the one in the first link above to be a WILD looking sub and more true to the Sub worn by Connery as James Bond. Why cant we all get together and see if we can ask Silix or one of the other trusted dealers if they could come up with a great rep that matches? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 Why cant we all get together and see if we can ask Silix or one of the other trusted dealers if they could come up with a great rep that matches? What do you think? I think you're over-simplifying on several levels. 1: dealers don't make watches - see the dream watch sub forum for more info. 2: The Bond Submariner is a debate, not a watch. What you think is the Bond Sub will be disputed by other fans. Which one of the many variants should you lobby for? 3: Is this one really that bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted September 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 I understand all that HOWEVER...........If you look at the actual watch Connery wore it had a big crown. The big crown Rolex's only came with a thick case. The watch recently offered has a very small crown and thin case. If one wants THE watch worn by Connery its NOT this watch! I KNOW the debate can be complicated by throwing in the idea of how the authur of the James Bond books described the watch. In my mind however the bottom line is what did Connery wear? The watch he wore had a big crown and reading about Rolex history big crown Rolex's did not come in a thin case (which makes sense). I realize the dealers do not make watches but they are our avenue to make it known what we want as a rep. The recent offering as a BOND Sub is nice, I have one, but it is not what Connery wore as James Bond back in the 1960's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 The recent offering as a BOND Sub is nice, I have one, but it is not what Connery wore as James Bond back in the 1960's. My apologies, I wasn't aware the experts had reached a consensus as to which one Connery actually wore in the movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted September 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 As one example if you look at the short video of Connery in his white tux looking at his watch (not sure what poster has this in every post) you can clearly see the huge crown. From what I have read the large crown only came with the thicker case not the thin one Silix offered. (which has the very small crown) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 Seadweller4000 has the shot of Bond looking at his watch. It may have a big crown, it's really hard to tell, but the dial is not an Explorer dial, it's the standard old style Sub dial. And the bezel insert does not have the red triangle at the top- it's more like a later bezel insert. Not to take anything away from XRT's watch, it's one fine piece of work. But as I recall, Joe custom built the 8mm Brevet crown, the dial and bezel came from CWP over in Hong Kong and I bet XRT's got over $1000, maybe more in the watch- it's a totally custom deal. I'm w/ Pug on this one, I don't think the question of which watch Connery wore in the Bond films has been answered. So we're just left w/ the group of pre-crown guard watches- 6536, 6538, 5508 and 5510- to choose from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted September 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 If you look at that video a few times there is no debate...its a BIG crown. The dial is very similar to the Silex Sub Bond watches with a bezel insert that has no seconds "dots" that I can see and no red triangle at "12". Unless the article I posted is wrong (it could be) it says that big crown Rolex Subs came with the thicker case. The small crown types had the thin case which is what Silix produced. This does make sense since I highly doubt the very skinny case Silix produced would look right with that huge crown sticking out from it. From the pictures I have seen the Silix BOND watch is in actuality a very early Rolex design predating the Bond films by a decade or so. The thinner cases with small crown gave way to the thicker cases with the larger crown later on. Bottom line the Bond watch does indeed have a big crown and as such the case must be thicker than the Silix case. Just the fact that the Silix Bond offering comes with a "datejust" size crown shows it is not the Bond Sub as per that video clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 Perry, I think you're making some assumptions which are incorrect. First of all, the Silix case is not a thin case. It's as thick as the current cases, all of which are thicker than the very early cases- you've never seen a thin case, so you don't know what your looking at. If you put an 8mm Brevet crown on a Silix watch, and had a decent dial and the correct bezel insert, you'd be there- as close as anyone can get to the Bond watch as shown in Seadweller4000's signature. Oh and don't forget the 18mm Nato strap. And the crown on Silix's watch is 7mm- it's not a 6mm Datejust crown. The problem is, you just can't find an 8mm Brevet crown. If you really want to study Submariners in great detail, I recommend Skeet and Urul's book "Vintage Rolex Sport Models'. It's got a lot of good information which would be helpful to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted September 7, 2007 Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 The problem we've got is we don't know which model Sub it is and we don't know what mods had been done to it. Back then, when Rolex serviced a watch, they took whatever dial, whatever hands, whatever crystal, whatever bezel and whatever crown were lying around to replace whatever you started with. To paraphrase a Rolex engineer, "we never realised people 40 years on would be looking at them in such detail. We used what was available, regardless of the model". (come on, someone must have the original quote somewhere) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted September 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2007 Well....I have a MBW sub and The silix Bond Sub right here in front of me and yes indeed the Bond case is visually thinner. I also have a real Rolex DJ. The Silix case is similar in thickness (and shape actually just longer) as compared with the DJ and BOTH are thinner than the Sub case. I also did not say that the crown on the Bond sub was the SAME as the DJ....it is certainly DJ "like" in size and that was my point. Once again..the crown on the true BOND sub as per the video clip is huge. You would also need to add to the list a "coin edge" bezel. I have seen coin edge bezel/insert for sale but NOT cheap ..look here..... http://www.classicwatchparts.com/catpart/c...4jmc35hv72643q5 Would any of these fit the Silix Bond Sub? What is the correct crystal for the Silix Bond sub? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carl Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 "My apologies, I wasn't aware the experts had reached a consensus as to which one Connery actually wore in the movies. " I agree completely. The "Bond Sub" has always been a moving target. If one wants a "Bond Sub" from a particular movie, it will have to be a project watch that is a one-off. I think that some of our "collectors" have gone out of their way to get us something close, something that we can work with. Until there is a MUCH LARGER market for these old sub models this is as close as we are going to get. But for 45 euros or 58 dollars I don't think you can get any type of sub as good as what Jay (Silix) is sourcing. And apparently he is doing this from requests from us. Let's show some support for this and not sit on our hands. I've already placed my order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
predfan2001 Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 A 5513 is the real Bond watch. It's simple why, Roger Moore was the best Bond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 You would also need to add to the list a "coin edge" bezel. I have seen coin edge bezel/insert for sale but NOT cheap ..look here..... http://www.classicwatchparts.com/catpart/c...4jmc35hv72643q5 Would any of these fit the Silix Bond Sub? What is the correct crystal for the Silix Bond sub? You are absolutely right about the coin edge bezel. Would it fit the Silix Bond sub? Why don't you buy one and let us know. There is no correct crystal for the Silix Bond sub. The Silix Bond sub is a Chinese watch and therefore bears no resemblance to an early Rolex sub sizewise. If an early Rolex Tropic (pre T-19) were to fit, it would just be a coincidence. Heck, a T-19 might even fit, all you can do is try it out. What you have to realize is that these watches are REPLICAS. Sizes vary and more often than not, genuine parts don't fit. Rereading XRT's post, I now realize he probably spent over $2K building that watch. Start w/ the WM case at $400, coin edge bezel at $330, custom dial..., custom made 8mm Brevet crown..., custom white seconds hand..., and add in RBJ's time. Oh, and the crystal was just something Joe had that happened to fit! And finding a real 8mm Brevet crown and making it fit a replica- probably impossible. Perry, you obviously know a little bit about watches. Stick around here for a year or two and I guarantee you'll learn a whole lot more. Welcome to RWG! Oh and BTW, enjoy your Silix Bond sub for what it is- a great little $85 replica. I know I enjoy mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted September 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 They are selling the correct crown on that web site I just posted for $1350! I was a collector of modern/vintage watches...I have over 20 of these ranging from a rare 1925 14k waltham to a circa 2001 TT datejust. I found this web site 2 years ago and now have amassed 13 reps, 10 of which are Rolex...mostly Subs. I have just bought the three top MBW Rolex watches...1680, GW 1655 and a modern sub. Such great quality. I THINK I am done with Subs now although I am toying with the idea of modding them to almost perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 Certainly the three MBW's are excellent reps and definitely quite a few steps above the Silix Bond sub. XRT's 6538 was a Watchmaster case, which is the same as an MBW case. And a while ago TTK had a no crown guard early sub (MBW)for sale. This would be the way to go if you are serious about modding to get closer to a Bond sub. At least w/ MBW/WM cases, you have a better chance of gen parts fitting. BTW, the crown on my Silix Bond sub is 6mm/Datejust with the dash below the crown symbol, so I was wrong about it being 7mm. Now if you were install a 7mm rep crown, it would help the appearances in that respect with the bigger crown. Don't know if you'd have to change out the case tube at the same time or not. And of course, the three dots on the 7mm crown date it from the 70's on. But only a WIS is gonna know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmo Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 (edited) I know why nobody bothers to make the replica James Bond Rolex.... I have a genuine with a gilt dial and when worn it seldom gets a glance and never any comments. It just looks like a cheap small watch regardless of its outrageous $15,000 to $20,000 appraised value. My Seiko Monster Blue, Black, or Orange look better and get more complements that any Rolex I own. Bottom-line the James Bond is NOT a looker. Edited September 9, 2007 by elmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docblackrock Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 I know why nobody bothers to make the replica James Bond Rolex.... I have a genuine with a gilt dial and when worn it seldom gets a glance and never any comments. It just looks like a cheap small watch regardless of its outrageous $15,000 to $20,000 appraised value. My Seiko Monster Blue, Black, or Orange look better and get more complements that any Rolex I own. Bottom-line the James Bond is NOT a looker. I completely agree, which is why if I were fortunate enough to own one, it'd be up for sale fast than I could say "Sotheby's Hong Kong" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Here's a crown that I ran across on ebay. I don't know what you'd do about a case tube to fit though. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...s_promot_widget And you can't beat the price, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 You would also need to add to the list a "coin edge" bezel. I have seen coin edge bezel/insert for sale but NOT cheap ..look here..... http://www.classicwatchparts.com/catpart/c...4jmc35hv72643q5 Would any of these fit the Silix Bond Sub? What is the correct crystal for the Silix Bond sub? Don't waste your time guys, the CWP bezel assembly doens't fit the Silix case , the case is wider than the bezel all around. I tried a Tropic 18 in the case (some say it takes a T17??? I'm not sure) but it's too small and falls right out, the crystal would have to be glued. I purchased an 8mm Brevet crown & tube from DSN for this purpose and I'm pretty sure it could be fitted (may take some work), the tube is considerably thicker and a new hole will have to be drilled and tapped. The one thing I'm not sure how about is how flush it would sit against the case, I haven't meausured the case to know how much room there is to countersink a hole for the tube to sit flush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmg Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 Here's a crown that I ran across on ebay. I don't know what you'd do about a case tube to fit though. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...s_promot_widget And you can't beat the price, so far. Alli, I agree, the tube is the key here. It might be worth finding out if a new 6mm tube fits if the price is right on this crown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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