This is the Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 made in 1972 and worn by Sir Roger Moore in the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die. Even though it does not house any movement, it sold for CHF365,000 (£335,000 / US$365,000) at the November 2015 auction held by Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo. This was way above its estimated value of between CHF150,000 and CHF250,000. Photo: © Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo.
Even though this watch does not work because its movement was removed, this Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 made in 1972 (case no. 2,683,776) and worn by Sir Roger Moore (born in 1927) when he played the famed British master spy, James Bond, in Live and Let Die has proven that it simply gains in value over time.
We are pretty sure there was some hot excitement in the bidding room when Lot 290, referring to this Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 sans movement, came up for offer.
That is because the final hammer price was CHF365,000 (£335,000 / US$365,000) at the November 2015 auction conducted by Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo.
Its earlier estimated value was between CHF150,000 and CHF250,000. Not bad for the “shell” of a Rolex Submariner. At least it was signed “Roger Moore 007” inside the case back.
This is indeed one Rolex Submariner that has gone through some truly exciting moments. In the movie Live and Let Die, this Rolex Submariner has a hyper-intensified magnetic field feature that is powerful enough to attract a teaspoon.
It can even deflect the path of an incoming bullet at long range and its bezel edges were used to cut through rope. Yes, take a closer look at the bezel again and you’d notice the serrated edges.
Of course, what was probably most exciting was Bond’s cheeky use [or should we say (ab)use] of his Rolex Submariner’s hyper-intensified magnetic field to unzip the dress of Italian agent Ms Caruso (played by Madeline Smith) in a brief scene shown sometime during the first fifteen minutes of the movie.
In terms of value, the positive gains realised from this Rolex Submariner once worn by Sir Roger Moore and sold at the November 2015 auction conducted by Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, was almost CHF150,000 from its last public auction sale four years ago in 2011.
At the November 2011 auction held by Christie’s in Geneva, this same watch fetched CHF219,000. In other words, this particular Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 had appreciated by CHF146,000 over four years.
Such gains are highly remarkable, considering that at a much earlier Christie’s auction, held more than a decade ago – in February 2001, the estimated value of this very same Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 was between £15,000 and £20,000 (US$23,000 and US$30,000 based on the exchange rates then).
Now this is just one example of the real, or perhaps it is better to say “reel”, value of movie props used by famous actors and in highly popular long-running movie franchises.
Both sellers in the 2011 and 2015 auctions, assuming they were also the original buyers in 2001 and 2011 respectively, sure made a good “killing” each time.
After all, this is a James Bond watch and the double O (“00”) designation, as we all know, is the licence to kill.