Without question, when most people and even most watch collectors think about James Bond and Rolex watches, they picture Sean Connery in their minds. After all, Sean Connery was the first James Bond; he always wore a Rolex watch, and most fans of the film series consider Connery to be the best 007 ever. Despite this fact, the ultimate and archetypal James Bond Rolex watch in terms of storyline and cool features was worn by Roger Moore in his first outing as James Bond in Live and Let Die. In fact, one character remarks to James about the 5513 Rolex Submariner, “That’s a particularly handsome watch you’re wearing Mr. Bond!” With the arrival of Roger Moore came the arrival of the far out wristwatch gadgets. The wildest is the 5513 Rolex Submariner worn in Roger Moore’s debut, Live and Let Die. Moore explains to “M” that pulling the stem on this ordinary looking Rolex wristwatch activates a “hyper intensified magnetic field… powerful enough to even deflect the path of a bullet at long range.” Of course, James Bond uses it, instead, to whisk a spoon off “M”s coffee saucer. Later, the true colors of James emerge when he uses the magnetic power to unzip a damsel’s dress. In addition, the damsel is not even in distress, but she will be in a certain happy distress when James gets his paws on her.

As a visual cue that the magnetic field is engaged, the otherwise white number markings on the dial of the 5513 Rolex Submariner turn to red. Given the demonstrated power of the watch later in the film, every metal object within 50 feet should have flown though the air and attached to the Rolex watch. Of course, this never happens, and the device only affects the objects James Bond wants to be attracted to the magnetic power. Why this “bullet deflecting watch” is not issued to Bond from here on out is a bit of a mystery. There is certainly no shortage of bad guys taking shots at 007, but, after Live and Let Die, this incredibly useful feature is never seen again. However, in reality, it is only a mystery from the perspective of the James Bond world, but not from the moviemaking world. After all, using the same gag repeatedly in a series of films simply is not an accepted practice in Hollywood.

There is an inexplicable continuity error involving this Rolex watch in Live and Let Die. Having given the audience a visual and verbal description of how to activate the magnetic field by pulling on the watch stem, the filmmakers proceed throughout the rest of the film to have James Bond employ a completely different method. On two separate occasions, Roger Moore activates the magnetic field in Close-Up by turning the watch bezel instead of pulling the stem. Well, what can you expect from the movies — they may be playing super secret agents, but in reality, they are just your average Hollywood types. Still, the idea of a hyper intensified magnetic field built into a wristwatch is impressive enough, but that is just the beginning. The top of this watch can be set spinning so the serrated edge of the bezel acts like a miniature buzz saw. The original bezel of the 5513 Submariner was re-cut to accommodate this feature. This gimmick is not too complicated, and it could actually work. It certainly is a convenient feature that stands Moore in good stead near the end of the film when he uses it to cut the ropes that secure him to an “unnecessarily slow dipping mechanism” (as described by Dr. Evil in a parody of this scene from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery). When Roger Moore returned in The Man With The Golden Gun, he was again seen wearing a 5513 Rolex Submariner again. In this film, however, the watch had no special function and is easily missed. Without question, on the right wrist, the power of a Rolex watch on screen can be irresistible. After seeing that hyper-powered Rolex Submariner in Live And Let Die, a well-known watch collector mentioned in private, that he started his collection. “I think it was the extreme close-up of the watch and the extraordinary things that Roger Moore’s Rolex did,” he said. “I’ve always been a bit of a film buff, but I guess I evolved into a true wristwatch collector.” Without question, Roger wears the coolest Rolex James Bond watch ever when he dons that incredible Rolex Submariner in Live And Let Die.