Watch Education

Famous Watches

Watches aren't just for telling time. They're for making a big impression - especially for the rich and famous. Watches, jewelry, diamonds, gems - it's all about the spotlight for these famous timepiece treasures.

James Bond

Where would James Bond be without his watches? Whether they double as mini-trackers, exploding devices or simply add a touch of sophistication to the secret agent's outfit - a watch is as much a part of any James Bond movie as a martini 'shaken not stirred'. It all began in Ian Fleming's novels of James Bond when he described his character as wearing a 'stainless steel luminous-dial Rolex Oyster Perpetual'. In the movies it was a Rolex Submariner that the spy wore, later to be replaced with a Seiko digital watch.

In 1995 when Pierce Brosnan took over the role he updated not only Bond, but also his watch. The Submariner was replaced by an Omega Seamaster 300 M:

Newman's Own

Paul Newman wore a Rolex Cosmograph "Daytona" when his wife (Joanne Woodward) gave it to him with an inscription on the back: "Drive Slowly, Joanne".

On The Moon

The first watch that took a moonwalk was an Omega Speedmaster. After its debut on the moon, the watch was renamed the "Moon Watch".

Apollo 13

The astronaut Jack Swigert took not only his government-issued Omega Speedmaster with him on the ill-fated Apollo 13 flight, he also wore his personal Rolex GMT Master.

JFK's Watch

During JFK's campaign in 1960 he received an ultrathin Omega watch known as the Stockdale Watch. It was this watch he wore to his inauguration and is now on display at the Omega museum in Biel, Switzerland

Elvis And His Watches

In 1961 Elvis wore a Hamilton Venture in the movie Blue Hawaii. Off-set the King had treasure chest of watches but apparently his favorite was a custom-made Ebel - a 18K gold piece encrusted with 26 diamonds.

From diamond encrusted jewels to gravity defying technological marvels, Jewelry.com takes a look at some of the world's most famous watches. Fact or fiction, on the moon or in the movies, there's always a watch in the picture.

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