Think of a James Bond watch and you’ll probably picture the Rolex Submariner of Sean Connery-era Bond, or the OMEGA Seamaster Professional introduced with Pierce Brosnan’s Bond and continued to grace Daniel Craig’s 007 wrist. And speaking of the latter blonde Bond, the watch in your mind’s eye might just be the No Time To Die OMEGA Seamaster Professional.
It's a fantastic watch and probably the best Seamaster Professional model available with its dark titanium case, robust Co-Axiel movement and creamy faux-aged lume. But I don’t think it’s the best Bond-themed watch. Rather, that accolade for me drops massively down the price range to a Swatch watch.
Yes, really. And the watch in question is the Swatch 2Q – a watch built out of the Swatch x 007 collaboration; given the Swatch Group owns Omega, there’s some logic to this partnership.
Now in the strictest definition of a ‘Bond Watch’ the 2Q watch wasn’t worn by the murderous, womanising spy himself. Rather, this watch is based on the one Ben Whishaw’s Q wore in No Time to Die. But I still count it as a Bond watch given Swatch nests it under the ‘James Bond’ category.
Based on the super-slim SKIN Irony watch family, these were two limited edition Q Swatch watches released back in 2020 ahead of No Time To Die’s 2021 debut. The first featured the more movie-accurate red hands and coil, while my version – the 2Q – renders those parts in a fetching dark blue. Both of the released Q watches have a ‘Q’ logo at six o’clock, which the original movie watch didn’t – it would somewhat give the game away for the MI6 technician when out in the field.
As both a watch to wear and some movie memorabilia, I think the Q watch, especially the 2Q, is fantastic. It’s surprisingly slick for a watch that cost a little north of £150, and is part of my main watch collection sitting easily alongside my OMEGA Seamaster Aqua Terra and Speedmaster Professional despite the vast gulf in prices.
Swatch 2Q: The specs
On the specs side, the Swatch 2Q is a simple quartz watch making use of a reliable ETA movement, which you can see via the semi-skeletonized dial. Mechanical watch purists might turn their nose up at this, but I rather like peering into the movement – it’s hard to see much in action but I do like seeing the battery and its connection to a variety of cogs and plates.
This movement powers just an hour and minutes hand – while you can hear the watch tick, there’s no seconds hand here – both featuring a smattering of lume. These flow around a brushed ring that encircles the skeleton movement, with simple, slim painted-on indexes, the Swatch logo at 12 o’clock and the Q logo at six.
I’m normally against anything that displays its movie links, such as the 007 branding on previous movie-tie in Omega Seamasters. But the ‘Q’ logo is reasonably subtle and, to the unsuspecting eye, could just as easily be a reference to the movement as it is to Q-branch.
Around the hour track is a fetching red band that forms part of the stainless steel case’s inside and creates a sense of depth to the dial, along with a pop of eye-catching colour.
Where the 2Q – and indeed the Q watch – gets interesting is in its dimensions. It has a 42mm diameter and a lug-to-lug length of 45.6mm. This makes it a large-ish watch in terms of overall wrist coverage, but thanks to a super-slim 6.7mm thickness it doesn’t have the bulk one might expect from a watch with its diameter.
The Swatch 2Q also has a form of integrated leather strap, which also means there’s more room for the dial to be the star of the show; it partially reminds me of the modern OMEGA Constellation design. A flat acrylic crystal also makes it look like the dial is uncovered in certain light, again adding a bit of depth to such a thin watch.
Water resistance is only 3 Bar, which works out to some 30 metres, so this is not a watch to go swimming; not that you’d want to get the red and brown leather strap wet for any length of time.
What’s the Swatch 2Q like to wear?
As I’ve got more into mechanical watches, the Swatch 2Q has found less time on my wrist. But popping it on for this article, I realised I’d forgotten just how nice it is.
That combination of a large-ish dial in a super slim case, means when 2Q pops out from under a cuff it’s ripe for admiration. I think I’ve had more people ask me about the 2Q than my five-grand Aqua Terra; it’s simply an interesting watch that gets attention without screaming for it.
It’s an odd watch to categorise too. It’s arguably too big and colourful to be a dress watch but it’s not a sports watch either. But that means it’s quite wearable with all sorts of outfits; it offers a pop of colour and interest to a dark suit, yet is equally at home paired with a T-shirt and jeans.
I also rather like the leather strap, with its patterned brown exterior and red sides and interior. Plus a solid-quality buckle is appreciated. The strap did feel a little stiff when I first put the 2Q on, but it soon wore in. That’s handy as the integrated design of the strap into the case means there aren’t exactly other strap options.
Another minor caveat is the crown is rather small - it’s never been a big problem to pull out and set the time, but I’m glad I don’t need to use it to wind the watch. And don’t expect the lume on the hands to win any competition in luminosity as it serves more of an accent to the 2Q than a prominent feature.
Is the Swatch 2Q worth it?
That’s a tricky question to answer, as the Swatch 2Q and the original Q are no longer available from Swatch, being limited editions; there were 7,007 of them but they sold out pretty quickly.
But for around £150, I felt the Q watches were an absolute bargain back in 2020. Sure you’re getting a basic quartz movement, but the design, decent construction, and the not-ostentatious Bond link were worth it. Compared to a £250 Swatch x OMEGA MoonSwatch with its horrible Velcro strap and plastic construction, the 2Q is very good value.
However, a quick look online and I’ve seen the Swatch 2Q going for some £400. Unless you’re really into pseudo movie memorabilia or limited edition Swatches, I don’t think the 2Q is worth the used asking price.
Find one for £250? Then yes I’d say go for it, as you’ll get a decent quartz watch with a cool design and a neat little story behind it that’s worth paying attention to.
