> There’s a reason James Bond wears expensive watches and that reason is product placement.
Only since Goldeneye when Omega started paying for product placement. Bond had worn Rolex since the original novels, which were written before their big pivot to luxury, so him wearing expensive Rolexes in later films was more of a historical accident. Rolex never actually paid a cent to appear on screen.
The novels always had a lot of wealth signaling from Bond. E.g. in 1953, he ate an avocado, which to British consumers at the time was virtually unknown.
Originally Bond wore a Submariner, which wasn't a wealth signal at a time- it wasn't a _cheap_ watch, but also not the choice of a wealthy person. The Submariner was originally a tool watch, used by naval infantry. The modern equivalent would be wearing a G-Shock DW5600 with a tuxedo. It hints that Bond is a military vet.
Only since Goldeneye when Omega started paying for product placement. Bond had worn Rolex since the original novels, which were written before their big pivot to luxury, so him wearing expensive Rolexes in later films was more of a historical accident. Rolex never actually paid a cent to appear on screen.