Every Rolex James Bond Has Worn

Featured image: Eternalsleeper, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

James Bond’s Rolex was the Submariner ref. 6538 “Big Crown” that Sean Connery wore in Dr. No (1962), and the Rolex story runs through four actors: Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. Each wore a different reference, from the 6538 to a Pre-Daytona chronograph, a Submariner 5513 and, most likely, a Submariner Date 16610.

The Rolex James Bond wore first: Submariner 6538

The Submariner ref. 6538 is a 1950s dive watch with an oversized 8mm crown, which gives it the “Big Crown” nickname. It has a case of roughly 38mm and an automatic chronometer-rated Rolex caliber 1030, and it is the watch most closely tied to the early Bond films. Today’s equivalent is the 41mm no-date Submariner ref. 124060.

Spec	Submariner 6538 “Big Crown” (vintage)	Submariner 124060 (current)
Case size	About 38mm	41mm
Case material	Stainless steel	Oystersteel
Movement	Automatic, caliber 1030	Automatic, caliber 3230
Water resistance	200 m (660 ft)	300 m (1,000 ft)
Approx. price	Six figures; one four-line example sold for $492,500 at Christie’s in 2017	About $10,050 retail in the US (2026)

Ian Fleming’s novels only say that Bond wore a Rolex Oyster, without naming a model. The Submariner association is a film creation, and it was not planned as a marketing deal. Several accounts say the Dr. No watch was lent by producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, while others suggest it was Connery’s own, and neither version is firmly documented.

Sean Connery: Dr. No to Thunderball

Connery’s Bond wears the Submariner 6538 in Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964). In Dr. No it sits on a leather strap, and in Goldfinger it moves to a striped nylon strap, a look now sold everywhere as the “Bond strap.” It is not a true NATO strap, because that military standard came later, so the film strap is closer to an RAF-style ribbon.

In Thunderball (1965) the watch is shown on a fabric strap again, and the film adds a Breitling Top Time chronograph fitted with a Geiger counter. The watch for You Only Live Twice is not clearly documented in the sources we could check, so we do not name it.

Why the 6538 is so valuable

The Bond link is a big part of why the 6538 is one of the most sought-after vintage Rolex models. The Wind Vintage dealer estimates that two-line, non-chronometer dials outnumber the “four-line” chronometer dials by ten or twenty to one, and the rarer dials fetch the top prices. A real 6538 is a collector purchase, not a casual buy.

George Lazenby: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Lazenby played Bond only once, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), and his main watch is a stainless steel Rolex chronograph ref. 6238, often called a “Pre-Daytona” because it lacks the tachymeter bezel of the later Daytona. Fan-run records say the production bought it at Bucherer in Interlaken in October 1968. Bond wears it while posing as the genealogist Sir Hilary Bray at Blofeld’s mountain clinic, and the watch is said to have been adapted with a red seconds hand so it could serve as a compass.

The 6238 shows how different Lazenby’s Bond was from Connery’s. Where the Submariner is a diver, the 6238 is a chronograph with a stopwatch function, and the film gave it a story purpose as an improvised compass. It is a good example of how the producers used Rolex watches as props with a job to do, and not just as costume.

A Rolex Submariner also appears in the safe-cracking scene. Fan sources say it is “probably” a 5513, but WKOW treats that reference as reported and not confirmed. The 6238 is the one that is well documented.

Roger Moore: Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun

Moore wears a Submariner ref. 5513 in Live and Let Die (1973), after starting the film in a Hamilton Pulsar. Q Branch’s version of the Rolex has a powerful magnet and a rotating bezel that works as a circular saw. Sources also list a 5513 for The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), where the watch picks up gadget functions again.

The 5513 is a no-date Submariner made for decades, so vintage examples are far more affordable than a 6538. Later in his run Moore moved to digital Seiko watches, which we cover in what Bond wore in Octopussy.

Timothy Dalton: Licence to Kill

Dalton’s second Bond film, Licence to Kill (1989), is the last Rolex Bond film. One Bond-watch specialist concluded it was most likely a Submariner Date ref. 16610, but noted that a Submariner Date ref. 16800 or 168000 was also available and that the film alone cannot settle it. For The Living Daylights (1987), sources disagree on whether Dalton wore a Rolex or a TAG Heuer, so we do not assign a reference.

Every Rolex in the Bond films at a glance

Film	Actor	Rolex	Status
Dr. No (1962)	Sean Connery	Submariner 6538	Well documented
Goldfinger (1964)	Sean Connery	Submariner 6538, nylon strap	Well documented
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)	George Lazenby	Chronograph 6238 (Submariner probably 5513)	6238 documented; 5513 reported
Live and Let Die (1973)	Roger Moore	Submariner 5513, modified	Well documented
Licence to Kill (1989)	Timothy Dalton	Submariner Date, most likely 16610	Inferred

After Dalton, Bond changed brands. Omega became the Bond watch with GoldenEye in 1995, and we trace that in what Bond wore in GoldenEye and in our film-by-film guide to Omega.

Affordable alternatives to the Bond Rolex

If you want the Bond lineage in a current Rolex, the no-date Submariner 124060 is the closest in spirit to the 6538 and 5513, because those early watches had no date window. The Submariner Date 126610LN adds a date and is the nearest match to the Dalton-era 16610, and both are 41mm with a 300 meter rating.

A current Submariner costs about $10,000 at retail, so most fans look elsewhere. The Tudor Black Bay 54 is a 37mm steel diver at about $3,950 on a strap and $4,175 on a bracelet, and its size is close to the old 6538. The Seiko Prospex SPB143 is a 40.5mm, 200 meter automatic diver at roughly $1,000, depending on seller.

For a no-brand-name budget, our Submariner homage guide explains the legal and honest ways to get the look, and the Rolex hub lists our other Rolex pages.

FAQ

What Rolex did James Bond wear?

Connery wore the Submariner 6538, Lazenby wore a Rolex 6238 chronograph, Moore wore a Submariner 5513, and Dalton most likely wore a Submariner Date 16610 in Licence to Kill.

What is the James Bond Rolex Submariner reference?

The reference most tied to Bond is the Submariner 6538, the “Big Crown” worn by Sean Connery in Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball.

Did Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan wear a Rolex as Bond?

No. Rolex ended with Dalton, and Brosnan and Craig wore Omega, starting with GoldenEye in 1995.

Was the Dr. No Rolex Connery’s own watch?

It is disputed. Some accounts say producer Cubby Broccoli lent it, others say it was Connery’s own, and we could not find a documented answer.

What is a Bond NATO strap?

It is the striped nylon strap Connery wore with the 6538 in Goldfinger. It is not technically a NATO strap, but the name stuck.

Sources

• Chronos: James Bond’s Watches and Their Film Evolution
• 007 Travelers: A look back at six decades of Bond watches
• Wind Vintage: Rolex “James Bond” Big Crown Submariner Reference 6538
• Gear Patrol: Sean Connery Put the Rolex Submariner on the Map
• CommanderBond.net: Era ends for James Bond Rolex Submariner Date wristwatch
• The Watchology: Rolex Submariner buying guide 2026