007 & Omega - The Next Chapter

As Amazon takes the wheel and a new actor steps into the tuxedo, we explore what’s next for James Bond, his timepiece, and why this fictional spy still matters for W.O.E.

James Bond is the elephant in the room when it comes to Watches of Espionage. While there’s a wide gap between the real-world intelligence work of CIA and Hollywood fiction, Ian Fleming’s creation has left a lasting imprint on the culture of watches and espionage. Fleming, a real intelligence officer, wore a Rolex Explorer 1016, and watches have always played a role in the Bond books and later Hollywood adaptations. 

In 2025, Bond is at an impasse, with the fictional secret agent’s legend now firmly in the hands of the media megalith that is Amazon. Change is on the horizon for 007, but there are strong indications that watches, and specifically Omega, will continue to play a role in the story of the world's most famous (fictitious) spy.

PlayStation’s 007 First Light video game trailer shows a younger Bond wearing an as-yet unreleased Seamaster Chronograph. (Photo Credit: PlayStation)

In this Dispatch, we’ll unpack what we know about the future of Bond and his watches, using our experience in intelligence work to formulate a few relatively educated guesses about what could be next for 007.

James Bond, Omega, & Real Intelligence Officers 

If anyone at CIA resembles Bond’s antics, it is likely the Paramilitary Officer community, and they also appreciate James Bond and his watches. 

Despite the gap between real intelligence collection and Hollywood, I know several practitioners who work at the “tip of the spear,” who have bought Rolex Subs and Omega Seamasters because of their association with the world's most famous spy. I distinctly remember a friend telling me many years ago that he wanted a 007 Seamaster to be like Bond, James Bond. This made me laugh as he was a CIA-trained case officer and serving in arguably one of the most sensitive intelligence units in the Department of Defense, a unit that is not officially acknowledged. He was as close to the real James Bond as it gets.

Personally, the commercial relationship between 007 and Omega is not a big source of appeal. While I love the Omega Seamaster and think it is one of the most iconic tool watches in our community, I would never buy a 007 edition. I would not want to look down at my wrist and think about a fictional character. I would much rather wear a “sterile” Seamaster and think about the longstanding and real connection between the Swiss brand and the British Royal Navy and present-day intelligence and SOF units around the globe through Omega’s modern unit watch program. The Bond marketing initiative is no doubt a commercial success, but I’m not the target customer. (I do have a “special” Omega Seamaster on the way.)

I like Bond just as much as the next guy, but when I watch the films, I do not equate them to real-life intelligence work, which is (unfortunately) more about relationships and writing than it is about high-speed chases and martinis. While Bond is sometimes referenced at CIA (happy hours are called “vespers”), we would normally do it in a self-deprecating manner, vice comparing ourselves to the suave and debonair 007. When an operation went wrong, you may hear a colleague in the bullpen joke: “I wasn’t exactly James Bond.”

That said, it is difficult to overstate the commercial success that is the Omega Bond relationship. Since taking over the role of Bond’s watch in 1995’s GoldenEye, Omega has leveraged the franchise to drive global visibility and sales, particularly for the Seamaster line. Each new film is met with coordinated marketing campaigns, limited edition releases, and a noticeable uptick in demand, especially surrounding models worn by Bond on screen. 

Will we see the return of the NTTD Bond Seamaster in the coming films or something completely different? (Photo Credit: James Rupley)

The Seamaster Diver 300M “007 Edition,” released alongside No Time to Die, quickly became a bestseller and continues to command attention on the secondary market. While exact sales figures aren’t public, industry analysts agree: the Bond connection has paid off handsomely for Omega.

The Future Of Bond 

Clues about Bond’s future have trickled out, first and foremost spurring an intense debate about which actor might take up 007’s mantle. Will it be Idris Elba, James Norton, Theo James, Callum Turner, Harris Dickinson, Henry Cavill, or (most likely) Aaron Taylor-Johnson? At W.O.E. and elsewhere, a new Bond’s watch of choice is always going to be the subject of debate, and while it’s clear 007 will stick with Omega, a recent video game trailer has us wondering whether a new Bond might also need a new Seamaster. 

Aaron Taylor-Johnson appears poised to take on the role of 007, with a serious clue coming from his watch-related activities.

It’s difficult to delineate when life is imitating art and vice versa, but Bond’s impact on real-life intelligence officers and watch culture cannot be overstated, meaning a broad discussion of Watches of Espionage must also make room for the martini-shaking former Royal Navy commander and all of his charming bullshit. 

Amazon Purchases Creative Control Of 007 

Amazon’s opening salvo in taking the Bond reins took place in 2022 when the streaming giant purchased Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the film studio responsible for 007’s films. The acquisition earned Amazon the right to produce any future Bond projects, but for complete creative control, Amazon still needed the franchise’s long-serving producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, to cede the role left to them by their father, Cubby Broccoli, who produced the earliest Bond films. Right around $1B later, Amazon was firmly in the driver’s seat, but what will it mean for James Bond? 

The history of James Bond films and the Omega Seamaster appears forever intertwined. (Photo Credit: W.O.E./James Rupley)

Diehard 007 fans were quick to deride the shift, questioning whether Amazon’s role might see the Bond franchise expanded to include television shows, tangential spin-off films, or maybe even children’s programming, as we’ve seen with Star Wars after it was picked up by Disney in 2012. These are legitimate concerns, but at the core of the Bond future discussion is which actor will take over for Daniel Craig after his exit (and, spoiler alert, Bond’s death) in the wake of 2021’s No Time to Die. 

Many names of prominent and lesser-known British actors have circulated, but I have my guess, an opinion motivated by 35-year-old actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s burgeoning relationship with Omega, which is too convenient to be a coincidence. 

Dreamy Aaron Taylor-Johnson pictured at Omega HQS in May 2025. (Photo Credit: Omega)

In May, Omega announced Johnson would be joining the brand as a global ambassador, complete with a highly-publicized visit to Omega’s headquarters. Omega opted to put a Speedmaster on Johnson for its early media push as opposed to a Seamaster, which might have been too on-the-nose, but with likely millions of marketing dollars and potential Seamaster sales on the line, nothing is an accident. In the business, we call that an indicator. 

A New Bond Watch Teased By A Video Game? 

In the video game trailer, a younger Bond reaches into a branded box full of Seamaster Chronos. Should we read into it? (Photo Credit: PlayStation)

A new Bond will most likely also need a new watch. Back in June, a new PlayStation trailer for the upcoming James Bond video game, 007 First Light, was unveiled to massive fanfare among Bond nerds. As you may expect from the title, the video game focuses on a younger, 26-year-old Bond as he transitions from the Royal Navy to British intelligence, MI6. The trailer also prominently showcases an Omega Seamaster Diver 300 Chronograph in an as-yet-unseen color scheme on a striped nylon strap.  

Whether the video game trailer is being used to tease a new Bond Omega or not is unclear, and I am also left to wonder if the new Bond of film may also don the chronograph version of the Seamaster, something 007 has never done in his thirty-year history with the Seamaster. 

W.O.E. Visits Omega

Why would Omega care about a visit from W.O.E.?

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit Omega HQS in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. The staff rolled out the red carpet, including a multi-hour tour of the manufacturing facility, an extended one-on-one conversation with Omega President and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, and a tour of the Omega museum. The museum was particularly notable for the W.O.E. community as it featured trench watches issued during World War I, Speedmasters worn in space, and a large section detailing the Bond relationship. While I would argue that the former examples are more authentic than the latter, in reality, it’s difficult to separate the two.

Bond’s relationship with Omega is showcased throughout the brand’s museum.

More than once during the visit, I wondered to myself why a $2.6B brand like Omega might break off a piece of its CEO’s time to hang out with Watches of Espionage or even let me (and especially Ben) into the building. According to Aeschlimann, Omega deeply values its military projects and customers, with each prospective unit watch crossing his desk for personal approval before moving into production. Add to that the brand’s focus on Bond, which also has significant overlap with the W.O.E. community, and it was apparently just enough to earn our fancy coffee and pastries, a meeting, and a tour. It was a special experience and something I don’t take for granted.

Only time will tell what’s next for James Bond, but whatever the case may be, it’s safe to say Omega will be front and center, and W.O.E. will be there to observe and report. 

If anyone from Omega is reading this, please hurry up on the delivery of my Seamaster. I can’t wait.

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