Sixty-five years ago today, Ian Lancaster Fleming could have celebrated his birthday in anticipation of creating one of the most phenomenal IPs of all time [1].
Did he?
I seriously doubt it. Almost seven weeks prior to that Sunday, he had suffered a major heart attack. He was in litigation over rights to his latest book to feature Agent 007, Thunderball. His six-month option with Harry Saltzman to secure major studio backing for a series “James Bond” motion pictures was about to expire.
Fast-forward to present day.
Four years ago, all sorts of interests came out to create a spotlight on sixty years of the franchise that has, incredibly, endured to this day. Every one of ’em was late to the party. They could only appreciate the premier of Dr No, which had come much later than genesis when it appeared near the end of 1962.
The path from the debut of the fictional character the April 13, 1953 Casino Royale, to introduction of (Sir) Sean Connery as “Bond, James Bond,” was anything but certain or linear.
But it did have a clear start date. And that authentic history began in 1961.
As James Bond watches go, acknowledgment of six decades of James Bond movies, rightly, rests solely with the “Ian Fleming 60th Anniversary Commemorative Rolex.” Appropriately, it came to us with an inherent emotional charge, as a two-tone Explorer model, reference 124273 [2].
In personal honor of the real deal struck by Albert R Broccoli, Ian Fleming, and Harry Saltzman now sixty-five years ago next month, I’ll be going on-wrist with my own year-of-release issue of this watch for an extended wear, starting today.
Expect a full report on that when the time comes.
Meantime, here’s to the continued memory of Ian Fleming, one-hundred, eighteen years on, with no end in sight.
— Dell Deaton
off-site
Reference
- “James Bond and the Mad Dash for Franchise IP” / February 26, 2025 / Borys Kit and Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter (accessed May 28, 2026).
- “Rolex Explorer Two-Tone | A Week On The Wrist” / September 30, 2021 / Hodinkee (via YouTube).