To commemorate half a century since the launch of the iconic Goldfinger movie from the James Bond franchise, a renowned auction house, the Christies, has organized a sale of the memorabilia dedicated to the flick. For the occasion, Omega has created a special and unique golden version of its Omega Semaster Aqua Terra piece. The watch was sold for around $112,750 which is about six times more than its estimated value.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Goldfinger Watch
Though it may seem surprising, one of the best known movies about Agent 007, Goldfinger, saw the light of day as much as 50 years ago. This important milestone (which is also appropriately known as a golden anniversary) seemed like a great opportunity for the British auction house that decided to mark it with a big sale of related items. Omega, the official timekeeper of the best known fictional secret agent, likewise recognized the opportunity and jumped onboard by creating a special version of its Seamaster Aqua Terra timekeeper. To be honest, Omega was actually not the watch worn by James Bond in that specific flick; since the relationship between the two brands kicked off around two decades ago with the launch of another movie from the franchise.
Interestingly, this initial collaborative movie has the same noble material in its title – Goldeneye. Despite the fact that this was not the original model in the movie from 1954, the bidders did not seem to mind. The appeal of the commemorative piece was obviously overwhelming, since the projected price of between $11,400-$19,550 was exceeded by far. At the end of the online auction, Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Goldfinger was sold for about $112,750.
The special thing about the one-of-a-kind timepiece (except its exclusivity, of course) is naturally its extensive use of yellow gold, as it is befitting to the theme. As it could be expected, the unique Goldfinger timepiece has its case and bracelet made from the noble material, but that is far from the whole story. Moreover, the watch is made with a golden face and some of the movement’s components in the same material.
It could be said that the decision to make the round housing and the three-link bracelet from 18 K yellow gold was quite expected, while other golden segments can be viewed as cherries on the top. By the way, the dimensions of the watch are quite restrained since its diameter measures to 38.5 mm. Like the outer parts of the watch’s structure, its dial is also forged from 18 K gold. The way it was made gives it an additional doze of charm, since it has a sort of a wrinkled look that makes it look quite cool. Gold was also used for three central hands and its applied spiked-shaped hour markers which are all covered with luminous coating for better visibility. The seconds hand even has a tribute to the overall theme since its counterweight is made in the form of the inscription “007”. The only exception from the golden theme on the front side of the watch is a date aperture at the three o’clock position.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Goldfinger Watch Back
As it has been mentioned, the presence of the precious metal is also visible on the movement which has its bridge and rotor made of yellow gold (unlike the Omega’s common practice of using red gold for the latter component). As for the movement, it is pretty special on its own. It is self-winding Omega Co-Axial Caliber 8501. The caliber with a free-sprung balance features two barrels in series, two-directional winding and has a prolonged power reserve of 60 hours. The movement with the chronometric certification of precision is distinguished since it has strong anti-magnetic features and it possesses the ability to withstand magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss, which is quite a feat. The commemorative Omega dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the arguably best known flick about Agent 007 was packed inside a special wooden box whose construction replicates The United States Bullion Depository, better known as the Fort Knox, around which was featured in the movie.
