Our Editor in Chief saw something interesting while watching the trailer for XXX: Return of Xander Cage starring Vin Diesel and Donnie Yen. Our resident Spotter analysed the trailer for further details and spotted a little scene that appears to be a nod to the watch of a certain Mr James Bond.
The Rolex Submariner is an iconic watch that made a cultural impact via the wrist of James Bond on the silver screen. From the shot of Sean Connery glancing at it during Goldfinger to check when the bomb he planted would go off, to the magnatised version with bezel buzz saw on the wrist of Roger Moore in Live and Let Die, it was immortalized in film history. We thought on first viewing of the trailer, that this was another case of a Rolex Submariner being used in a unique fashion but it turned out not be a Submariner but nonetheless still a nice nod to character created by Ian Fleming.
During the trailer of XXX: Return of Xander Cage, you see one of the main characters played by Hong Kong action star Donnie Yen attacking an office of sorts. One of the people protecting the office goes for a weapon which is the watch on his wrist.
One of the guards goes to press a button on his watch to defend himself in XXX: Return of Xander Cage. Picture (C) Paramount Pictures
On first viewing we thought it was definitely a Submariner. But after upping the resolution and pausing a few times, we came to the conclusion it was not a Rolex but an homage piece to the great dive watch. As you can see in the photo below the agent/guard goes to press one of the lugs on the watch. All the details are present from the graduated black bezel to the Mercedes hour hand and Oyster style bracelet but the name of the watch and its logo show its clearly not a Rolex.
A second look was required to confirm it wasn’t a Submariner with a special function. Picture (C) Paramount Pictures
After pushing the lug two barrels appear on either side of the crown, firing two projectiles.
The wristwatch fires two projectiles after the lug is pressed. Picture (C) Paramount Pictures
Which homage model is it you ask? Its difficult to ascertain which one since there are a cornucopia of models on the market. We thought it may have been a Steinhart, but on closer inspection, it looks to be from another brand.
It is nice to see the producers of the film, insert a little action sequence with a wristwatch that contains a weapon which we think is nod to the dapper and suave British Secret Agent Bond and his iconic Rolex. The main protagonist in XXX, Xander Cage is certainly the polar opposite of 007, opting for street clothes and tattoos instead of finely tailored suits and shoes.
That concludes another movie themed Spot the Watch.
2 Comments
There are so many ways to build a Submariner homage or similar watch that is better and far less expensive. The Rolex brand is becoming a big bore as a result.
Oh? I haven’t seen any replicas that are guaranteed to 2 seconds a day or are made out of actual 901 steel or have a glide-lock bracelet or that you can sell for almost exactly what you paid for it ten years down the road. You must be living in an alternative dimension.