The Swiss watchmaker brings 30 years of 007 horological heritage to life through OMEGA’s James Bond and Spectre Exhibition, an immersive dual archive, original film props, and six museum timepieces – open through November 8.
When a watch becomes legend
On October 5th, the OMEGA boutique in Glendale transformed into something between a museum vault and a secret intelligence briefing room. For the first time, the brand erected The Timeless Adversaries: James Bond and Spectre Exhibition (running through November 8), a five-week installation that finally gives Spectre equal footing with the world’s most famous spy. Thirty years after Pierce Brosnan first strapped an OMEGA Seamaster to his wrist in GoldenEye, the brand has built a conversation between two worlds, not just a monument to one.
The exhibition unfolds as a architectural argument. Two facing archives, each built as runs of minimalist shelving, display original props from seven films spanning 1995 to 2021. On one side: James Bond’s world (passports from Skyfall and Spectre, the identification pass, cufflinks engraved with his initials, the “RUN” note from Quantum of Solace, the DB5 key fob from No Time to Die. On the other: Spectre’s octopus ring, multiple versions of the bionic eye built for the final Craig film. The archives don’t compete. They face one another, then lead visitors into a single room where six timepieces from the OMEGA Museum in Biel/Bienne sit side by side, including the official watches alongside limited editions, a visual continuity across three decades of espionage cinema.
Six watches, one story
The horological collection tells its own narrative. Two pieces are the watches Craig actually wore on screen. The Seamaster Diver 300M of 2006, with its blue dial, is the version from Casino Royale (a direct descendant of the Seamaster Brosnan first wore). The Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M of 2012, featuring a black ceramic diving bezel and visible Co-Axial calibre 8500, is the watch associated with Skyfall. Its orange Seamaster lettering stands out against the black dial.
The other four are limited editions, each produced in quantities ending in 007. The Seamaster 300M Limited Series of 2002 marked 40 years of Bond in the year of Die Another Day, limited to 10,007 pieces with a 007 gun logo on its blue dial. The Seamaster Diver 300M Limited Series of 2006 celebrated Casino Royale in 10,007 pieces, the gun logo both on the caseback and as the seconds hand counterweight. The Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M Limited Edition of 2012, produced in 5,007 pieces for Skyfall, replaces the dial’s seven with a 007 gun logo and carries “Skyfall 007” on the rotor. The Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Limited Edition of 2015, released ahead of Spectre, was limited to 15,007 pieces and powered by a Master Co-Axial movement resistant to magnetic fields of up to 15,007 gauss.
Archive as experience
The physical design of the exhibition mirrors archival thinking. Shelving units arranged to face each other create a conversation rather than a sequence. Visitors walk into one world, then the other, choosing their allegiance through an AI photo booth that offers two moods, James Bond or Spectre, before capturing a single portrait. It’s participatory mythology, the kind that turns a boutique into a pilgrimage site.
Raynald Aeschlimann, President and CEO of OMEGA, articulated the curatorial intention simply: “James Bond first wore an OMEGA in 1995, and for three decades we told the story from James Bond’s side. This time we wanted Spectre to have the same space. In Glendale, their two worlds are built as archives facing one another and both lead to one room where the watches are shown together. Everyone has a James Bond and Spectre side, and I hope our visitors have as much fun finding theirs as we had building.”
The exhibition runs through November 8 at the OMEGA Glendale Boutique, 716 Americana Way, Space E-104, Glendale, CA 91210. No appointment is required, and admission is free. Opening hours are Monday through Saturday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
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