I found this
old Zeon James Bond 007 digital watch
during a loft clear out the other day.
I put a new
battery in and was greeted by a melodic digital rendition of the James Bond
theme.
Not bad for
something that could possibly be nearly forty years old and probably cost less
than two quid when I originally bought it during Sir Roger Moore’s tenure as
the super spy.
I can’t
remember precisely when I got it, but it appears to have come out to coincide
with the 1981 release of ‘For Your Eyes
Only’.
Along with
others, Zeon released quite a
selection of different James Bond 007 related digital watches. My example seemed
to have been released in two slightly different versions of watch face. Apart
from mine, one was red with a drawing of Bond above the digital dial. Both
shared the same the packaging featuring a drawing of Roger Moore in classic
Bond pose.
It appears
the same watch went on to feature on similar packaging with Timothy Dalton as
Bond coinciding with the release of ‘The
Living Daylights’.
A selection of other cheap James bond watches. One has an illuminated dail, the other is a wrist radio. The Zeon ‘talking’ digital Bond watch from
2000 featured a selection of animated images on its screen.
I can’t say
I know too much about Zeon, but after
very little research I found that it’s a British company, and the U.K.’s largest
importer and distributer of timepieces.
They have
done other TV and film related budget range watches, including a Thunderbirds one. However, it’s the
cheap range of Bond watches that interest me, as I love the nostalgic tacky
look of this low cost piece of Bond memorabilia. I love the packaging on this version.
'For Your Eyes Only'...Quintessentially kitsch!
When it
comes to Bond timepieces, I can’t see myself being in the position to afford a
new Omega Seamaster 007 Edition anytime soon, or even a second hand Rolex
Submariner. Both would easily set you
back several thousand pounds.
An old tacky
007 Digital Zeon which plays the Bond
theme better reflects my more moderate circumstances, although to be fair I did see one just like it go for sixty quid the other
day on eBay, so maybe not so cheap nowadays.
Never had any Bond or Thunderbirds watches Scoop, but did have a Sinclair Black Watch with red LEDs and no buttons !
ReplyDeleteIt was like having a 'Blake's 7' teleport bracelet at school.
Mish.
I'd not heard of a Sinclair Black watch, Mish, so I checked it out. Very snazzy, I would have loved one myself, and like you say, definitely a bit Blake 7.:)
DeleteIt was the first 'touch sensative' electronic device, only it was a bit of a con, since the 'touch pad' was two micro switches beneath a rubber cover.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, in the 70s, that was cool enough !
Mish.
Like you say, pretty cool at the time.
DeleteTimmothy . . . who . . . Bond, you say?
ReplyDelete;-)
H
Am I to surmise Timothy Dalton didn't float your boat as Bond then, Hugh?
DeleteWhat a cool attic find Scoop! Proves that trips into the attic is always worth it! I remember Zeon watches in the Seventies and the little push buttons and digital displays with the stylised font. Zeon were one of those iconic companies back then like Casio was for calculators and Sinclair was for computer games. You'll have to wear that watch when you see the next Bond movie Scoop! When I had a toy fair stall years ago I had a bundle of Bond-like toy bullet-firing watches for sale. Not as cool as Zeon but pretty nifty. There's usually one or two on Ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SPECIAL-AGENT-SECRT-WEAPON-SPY-WATCH-JAMES-BOND-007-GADGET-DETECTIVE-/303361719377?nma=true&si=2e2l7tF8H5Eabh60Gkv84MOS4Ws%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
ReplyDeleteHow do you change the battery
ReplyDeleteHi I found my old child hood watch the same as this but it is dead. I took it to Timpsons for a new battery but he can't find where the battery is. Any help would be much appreciated thanks
ReplyDeleteI'm unsure sorry. Maybe check out some battery replacement videos on You Tube?
DeleteHi Chris, If I remember correctly I took the back off and the battery is fitted behind a spring loaded metal plate. I took the battery out first to find out which type it was. It's fiddly but you could probably do it yourself if you're feeling brave.
Delete