Is Omega’s James Bond Watch About to Gain a Spy-Worthy New Feature?

A great many watch enthusiasts, myself included, first got into the hobby because of James Bond.

The world’s most famous fictional spy has always had the coolest gadgets, the most stylish clothes and the most beautiful cars, but outshining them all was the watch on his wrist. Whether an Omega Seamasater like it’s been for the past 30 years or one of his previous pieces from Rolex, Seiko or Breitling, Bond’s watches have always combined style, practicality and gadgetry like lasers and grappling hooks to make them the ultimate accessory for a globe-trotting playboy secret agent.

Since Omega took over as the sole producer of 007’s watches in 1995, the brand has made all of Bond’s screen-worn models available to the public, while also producing separate special editions related to the iconic cinematic hero. Of course, the one drawback of these real-life Bond watches is they lacked the innovative gadgets seen in the movies.

But is that about to change?

Go go gadget watch

Today marks the season 2 premiere of 007: Road to a Million, Prime Video’s James Bond-inspired reality competition series. The show, hosted by actor Brian Cox, sees duos of contestants travel the world and compete in daring challenges that seem plucked out of a spy movie for a chance to win £1 million.

Season 1 received middling reviews and criticism that its Bond connections were tangential at best, but in the season 2 trailer, it looks like those critiques were taken to heart, with amped up action and more Bond vibes on display.

Featured somewhat prominently in the show, naturally, are Omega watches. Omega shared the season 2 trailer to its Instagram account earlier today, and the current Bond watch — the Omega Seamaster “No Time to Die” — appears right at the start of the trailer. But this is no ordinary Bond Seamaster. Take a look at the trailer below and see if you can spot what’s different about it.

Right off the bat, we see a contestant holding a modified NTTD Seamaster. On the bezel, in place of the number 10, we see a 7 (presumably for 007), and when the person turns the bezel so that the 7 marker aligns with 12:00, the four cardinal indices on the dial, as well as the British military “Broad Arrow,” all glow green.

We then see the same contestant take his glowing watch and, apparently, use it to open an electronic door lock. A bit later on in the trailer, we see a blueprint of this modified Seamaster showing the 7 on the dial and instructions to rotate the dial 45 degrees. Notably, the watch in the blueprint is mounted on the classic Seamaster “tank tread” bracelet rather than the usual mesh bracelet of the NTTD Seamaster that’s seen in the earlier clip.

Prime Video

So what exactly is going on here? To investigate, I scanned through the new season and discovered the three scenes described above, all of which happen in quick succession around the 18-minute mark in episode 4. (Mild spoilers ahead.)

One couple needs to get into a locked room. They search for a way in, discover a Seamaster on display that’s identical to the watches they were issued and find the blueprints with the bezel instructions. Upon rotating the bezel, the watch not only lights up but begins blinking, and they use it to open the electronic lock on the door.

Prime Video

Bending reality

Knowing full well that reality shows are highly scripted, it does at least appear that Omega made a functioning prototype for the series. The watch does display blinking lights when the bezel is rotated, despite that it’s clearly running in the video — and running an automatic movement, too. Whether or not the watch will actually unlock a door is another question, but it’s certainly possible. Such a feature is seen on smartwatches like the Apple Watch, but I’ve never seen anything like it on a mechanical watch.

The on-demand lighting system reminds me of a couple of other watches. Of course, there’s the fictional Seamaster in The World Is Not Enough that’s able to light up a small room upon turing the bezel. Then there’s the very real Panerai Submersible Elux LAB-ID, with a movement that houses a microgenerator that converts mechanical energy into electricity. In my review, I called the $100,000 watch the closest thing I’d seen to a James Bond gadget in real life.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

Will Omega really release a version of the Seamaster 007 Edition with these sorts of smart features? I doubt it. Producing these watches at the scale Omega would be looking to sell them would likely be prohibitively expensive, especially if the brand is using some sort of mechanical energy for the lighting system (given the digital key feature, though, I suspect batteries are involved).

If Omega did make such a watch available to the public, well, that would be very cool indeed (hint, hint). A few lights and a digital key may not be as cool as a laser or a grappling hook, but hey, it’s a start.

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