From Russia With Love and Timepieces

This may be something to do with the blunting of Russia’s technological edge since the end of the Cold War or simply that technology has bounded forward so dramatically that we all have access to the tools of Smiley’s trade. Either way, the absence of watches that explode, snipe, snap, record or mix a mean martini, shaken not stirred, was a downer for watch-lover and spy-fiend alike.

There has been watch-based spy-ware in circulation for decades, from the Cold War-era Protona Minifon P55, which incorporated a wrist-watch microphone for covert recording to LG’s GD910 latest phone-watch, which might seem like a simple combination of standard forms but could come straight out of “Get Smart.”

Suunto makes wonderfully high-quality precision sports instruments that might fit happily into any spy’s attache case, but oddly Russia’s subversive suburbanites saw no use for its outdoor GPS model with satellite navigation and online connectivity , despite the fact that its Finnish factory is but a hop from former KGB man Vladimir Putin’s native St. Petersburg.

For quality, though, it is hard not to go back to the classics, and nothing comes more classic than James Bond’s Rolex Submariner, the watch Connery wore and the brand Ian Fleming insisted upon, even though Pierce Brosnan strapped on an Omega Seamaster in later movies. Sadly, it seems none of Russia’s sleepers even went that far.