A while ago I saw on the Absolutely James Bond forum a project by Corvus Watches to produce a watch strap like the one worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger.
What is interesting about the strap is that it was previously believed to be black and grey; however, when Goldfinger was released on Blu-Ray it became clear that the straps in fact had three colours; dark blue, green and red. Anyway, I signed up to the mailing list to be kept informed of the project and once the order book opened up I bought two straps.
The strap is available in both to both NATO and RAF spec and both are available to fit a 18mm, 20mm or 22mm watch.
While Connery wore a Rolex Submariner, which takes a 20mm strap, you should go for the 18mm RAF strap to be screen accurate, as the strap he wears clearly is too small for the watch. Despite that, I decided to go for the full size RAF strap for my watch, as I don’t wear a Rolex anyway.
The straps are a relatively pricey $39.95 each, although I got a small discount for signing up early. While I ordered as soon as I was able, there turned out to be a delay of around 5 weeks before I received the straps, despite having received an email confirming shipping.
After 4 weeks I contacted the Corvus to let them know I hadn’t received my package, only to be told the 20mm RAF straps would be arriving in a few days; sure enough, around a week later I got my straps – I don’t mind delays, but the shipping notice did confuse things.
Anyway, the strap is manufactured from nylon in what looks like the correct colours from a Blu-Ray screen grab, with high quality buckle. I’ve now been wearing it every day for a few weeks, including a few days at the beach at the end of June, where I swam with it and it got splashed with sun lotion.
What I’m surprised about is that I have to fasten the buckle on the second tightest hole – I don’t think I have particularly small wrists – and for swimming tightened it fully to make my watch feel secure. Previously I was wearing a NATO strap, and that had a nasty habit of undoing while in the water, so I’m a little paranoid about that. The strap also has plenty of expansion, so could be worn over a wetsuit, or as Bond does in Goldfinger, a drysuit.
The suntan lotion and my sweat due to a heatwave in Barcelona meant that the strap got a little grubby, but I washed it with soap and water and it is looking pristine again. All in all it is a very understated way of dressing like Bond every day and something I’d definitely recommend.
