If cost and scarcity didn’t matter, which watches would former intelligence officers, watch industry pros, firefighters, and Navy SEALs want for their personal collection?

From Tudor Submariners worn in the jungles of Vietnam to Casio G-Shocks and Seikos used as tools in the Global War on Terror and beyond, certain watch brands have stronger connections to the military than others. So much of what you see out there is for marketing’s sake that it’s hard to know which brands you can trust for watches well suited to the Use Your Tools ethos. Luckily, we are here to help.

One of our earliest partners, Leather Works Minnesota, has been making leather goods by hand in the United States since 1999.

On this Veterans Day, we highlight independent watchmaking brands founded by current and former service members from the United States & the United Kingdom. 

The Rolex gift that landed on President Trump’s desk and what it signals in broader trade diplomacy and US-Swiss bilateral relations. This weekend, photos surfaced of President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with a new accessory on the 145-year-old Resolute Desk, a gold-plated desk clock with a green “malachite” dial and fluted bezel. 

When perception becomes reality, a watch can be used to manipulate belief, manufacture outrage, and reshape political narratives. At Watches of Espionage, we often analyze a domestic or foreign leader's watch to gain insight into that individual or current events. In the modern and politically charged media landscape, a watch can be a small piece of the puzzle as we strive to understand the world as it is. 

Revealing the Timepieces Worn by Key US National Security Figures - From an obscure Patek Philippe worn by President Trump to the National Security Advisor’s Rolex GMT and the FBI director's Breitling unit watch, the second Trump administration rolled into the White House with serious watch game.

From a high-profile heist targeting literal crown jewels in Paris to Vice President JD Vance returning to his Apple Watch-wearing ways to a French politician accused of hiding his luxury watch, to a major slowdown in Swiss watch exports to the US, it’s been a big few weeks for the broader Watches of Espionage community. 

A US Navy Diver and EDC enthusiast customizes a niche French military dive watch to suit his underwater workplace. Brock Stevens is a US Navy Diver and part of the photography team at W.O.E. He’s also an EDC nerd who has helped in the development of several of our custom tools, including the Birdwatcher and the Submersible Wrist Compass. When we heard Brock was leaning into his diving experience and design ethos to develop a dive watch, we asked him to tell the story of the design process and how the watch was informed by his experience in the Navy as well as his deep appreciation for the utility of mechanical watches.

The Use Your Tools Ethos Is About Utility, Heritage, & Shared Experience, Not MSRP - The watch media landscape is replete with lists of “affordable” watches, many of which are constructed based on brand input or marketing dollars, SEO optimization, or integrating affiliate links. The adage that you should not believe everything you read rings true, but for many, these lists are helpful, providing a useful starting point for further research for anyone who does not live among the weeds. With that in mind, we created a list of relatively affordable watches specifically tailored to the needs of our community.

Amazon removes firearms and covers Rolex from Bond posters? In a move that sparked outrage from both Bond nerds and culture warriors alike, Amazon Prime Video quietly edited promotional artwork for classic James Bond films, digitally removing or cropping out the spy’s iconic Walther PPK pistol.

What Can A Dive Watch Teach Us About Espionage In The Hermit Kingdom - Thirty minutes south of Tokyo, Japan, a mangled Seiko dive watch sits in an innocuous glass case in a museum dedicated to the Japanese Coast Guard.

Tudor partners with the new Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego, creating realistic displays of issued watches - This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the newly minted Navy SEAL Museum in San Diego, a short drive from the west coast Teams and Coronado, where generations of frogmen were forged in the crucible of BUD/S.

For Astronauts, Watches Are Tools & A Key Aspect Of Culture - In 2024, more than 8,000 individuals representing a diverse array of backgrounds and fields of expertise applied to be part of NASA’s 2025 astronaut class. 

Humankind’s quest to explore the final frontier has always relied on the most cutting-edge technology, including mechanical and digital watches. After the successful launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1 satellite on 04 October 1957, a sense of fear and panic spread across the Western world. 

Revealing The Omega, Breitling, Rolex, & IWC Watches Used As Tools By Military Pilots - From Navy and Air Force fighter pilots to the Hollywood theatrics of Top Gun, watches are crucial tools and a key aspect of culture in the cockpit. 

Trump Hangs With The Rolex CEO, A Taliban Casio On Display, Honoring Robert Redford, The Syrian President’s Patek Philippe, & Plenty Of Watch Crime. 

From Sketchy Breitlings to Rolex, Vacheron, & Bremont, The FBI Has A Serious Relationship With Watches - With over a century of history, thirteen thousand special agents, and a broader workforce of some thirty-seven thousand, the FBI has a strong sense of heritage, which is evident in the watches worn by special agents and other key figures within the Bureau.

Carefully Selected Timepieces From Tudor, G-Shock, Seiko, Panerai, Citizen, & RESCO Add Depth To Jack Carr’s Characters - The Terminal List: Dark Wolf takes Jack Carr’s universe deeper into the shadows, with Taylor Kitsch returning as Ben Edwards in a prequel that explores his transition to shadowy CIA operative after a troubling exit from the SEAL Teams. 

The Story Behind the Olongapo Bracelet - The Vietnam-Era Tradition That Still Resonates With Collectors and Veterans Today

Todd Beamer’s Rolex & United Flight 93 - For an entire generation of service members and Intelligence Officers, September 11th was a defining moment. 

For Some Of The World’s Most Powerful & Influential People, A Watch Is Never Just A Watch - At Watches of Espionage, we view timepieces as tools, serving dual duty as timing instruments and cultural symbols.

Forget The Insiders: The Only Rule Is To Wear What Matters To You - Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal published an article, “Do Not Wear This Watch With a Suit! And Other Men’s Watch Rules to Know in 2025.” The article garnered significant attention, with many sending it in for our thoughts.

The single watch case is durable, compact and functional, and honors our community with subtle accents, most notably flap catches constructed from recycled Battle Dress Uniforms (BDUs). It features subtle nods to our community, honoring those who have gone before us and upholding our ethos.

A Military Watch Icon Trusted By Navy SEALs & Secret Service Agents - Only one Swiss watch brand can claim to have been worn by everyone from Navy SEALs in the Vietnam War to the modern US Secret Service Counter Assault Team and the French Commando Hubert Combat Swimmers, and that brand is Tudor.

Tudor In The Terminal List: Dark Wolf, Tariff Drama Heats Up, Keanu’s Stolen Watches Coming Home, Hans Wilsdorf Revelations, Fake Cartiers, & Facebook Marketplace Watch Crime - It is once again time for the W.O.E. SITREP, or Situation Report, our monthly amalgamation of news and events related to watches, intelligence, national security, and the military.

The Most Fascinating In-The-Wild Watch Photos From Watches Of Espionage - W.O.E. is about watches, and we love watches, but it's really about people, heritage, and culture. We view the world through the lens of timepieces and use them as a vector to the human element for history and current events.

What watches have historically kept this emerging bloc that’s challenging the Western order on time? President Trump recently met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, a land mass that was purchased from the Russian Empire in 1867 for a measly 7.2 million dollars. 

From Open-Water Swims To Dinner Out, Meaning Comes From Use, Not MSRP - Summertime generally means travel, time off at the beach or in the mountains, or, if you are lucky, a trip to Europe or another cultural destination. It is also a great time to build lasting memories. 

From 007 To Atomic Blonde To Mission: Impossible, Spy Gadget Watches Are A Key Aspect Of Hollywood’s Portrayal Of Intelligence Officers  Hollywood's depiction of spy gadgets embedded in a Rolex Submariner or Omega Seamaster is entertaining, but largely a fantasy of the screenwriter's imagination. In reality, there were very few times in my career as a CIA Case Officer that I used “spy gear” and instead largely relied on low-tech tradecraft to build relationships, recruit spies, and steal secrets. While the realities of intelligence work typically include more intel-writing and (unfortunately) fewer laser-firing Omega Seamasters, Hollywood has taken the idea of “spy gadget watches” and run with it. 007’s filmography is likely the catalyst, but the use of watches that do a lot more than tell the time has taken on a life of its own, becoming a key aspect of the overlap between popular culture and espionage.    Despite how far Hollywood has taken the concept, spy gadget watches were (and likely are) a real thing. An informed discussion on the role of timepieces in espionage must also include an analysis of spy gadget watches in television and movies.  As is so often the case, certain films do a better job than others, and in this Dispatch, we’ll share some of our favorite spy gadget watches in film, from the almost plausible to completely ridiculous and everywhere in between. Real-Life Spy Gadget Watches  (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Typically associated with the Cold War, there are several historical examples of intelligence officers leveraging timepieces as tools for concealment, surveillance, and listening devices, all of which likely played a role in influencing Hollywood.  The German-made Hanhart Protona is one such example, which contained a microphone to surreptitiously record conversations on behalf of both East and West Germany during the Cold War. The case contained a microphone, with a cord running from its nine o’clock side up the wearer's arm to a tape recorder. The watch itself did not keep time, with the movement having been removed to make space for the microphone. There are numerous other real-life examples of watches integrating “gadget” functionality (READ HERE), but most are admittedly not as far-fetched (or fun) as Hollywood’s efforts. Let’s get to the movies.  Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)  A screen capture from Mission: Impossible 2 showing the modified G-Shock DW6900-1V. With a staggering eight films now in the franchise, we have to go back to the second installment of Mission: Impossible in 2000 for some spy gadget watch action. Following a more subtle G-Shock cameo by the DW290-1V in the first Mission: Impossible, IMF agent Ethan Hunt, portrayed by Tom Cruise, utilized yet another G-Shock in the second film. This time, the watch was more than just a watch.  It’s not as outlandish as a laser on Bond’s Seamaster, but in a tense scene where Hunt attempts to avoid detection by a hostile sentry, he activates a transponder built into his G-Shock to inform Luther, played by Ving Rhames, that he has safely infiltrated an installation and disconnected from an unlikely yet dramatic helicopter hoist.  What is interesting about this particular gadget function is that it feels plausible, and we have no doubt that CIA Technical Officers would be capable of creating something similar. It may have seemed like advanced technology in 2000, but today, real-time geolocation is a basic feature of any smartwatch. For members of the W.O.E. community, the DW6900-1V is an important tool, having been issued to and worn extensively by Naval Special Warfare during the Global War on Terror. Atomic Blonde (2017) Charlize wears a Carl F. Bucherer Manero AutoDate in Atomic Blonde. This photo does not contain a gadget watch, but here we are. In Atomic Blonde, top MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton, expertly portrayed by Charlize Theron, goes undercover in Cold War-era Berlin to solve the murder of a fellow agent and search for a list of double agents. The list happens to be contained on a microfilm concealed inside a special Carl F. Bucherer watch that also features prominently in the plot. This is another instance of a fictional spy gadget watch almost mimicking reality, as there were several examples of watches being used to conceal hidden messages utilized during the Cold War, including by the Soviet Union's KGB. The Carl F. Bucherer Manero CentralChrono plays a key role in the plot of Atomic Blonde. The role of Carl F. Bucherer in the film (Charlize also wears a ladies' model from the brand) is likely the work of paid product placement. Watches intended as concealment devices were typically nondescript and unassuming, which is in stark contrast to the Swiss luxury watches showcased in Atomic Blonde, but we still appreciate the semi-accurate integration of a gadget watch in this unrealistic yet thoroughly enjoyable Cold War espionage action thriller.  Bond, James Bond A magnetic Rolex Submariner that also integrated a buzzsaw bezel from 1973’s Live and Let Die.  No discussion of spy gadget watches is complete without 007. We have touched on Bond’s indelible connection to the Omega Seamaster in a dedicated episode of W.O.E. TV (WATCH HERE), where we also explored many of the specific instances of Seamasters being used as gadgets by Bond.  Beyond Omega, Bond wears a unique Breitling Top Time in 1965’s Thunderball that serves double duty as a Geiger counter, with Roger Moore’s Bond leaning into a Seiko capable of printing ticker-tape messages in The Spy Who Loved Me and another Seiko in For Your Eyes Only serving as an old-school text messaging device. For more on the non-Omega watches worn by Bond over the years, click HERE.  007 wearing a Breitling Top Time outfitted with a Geiger counter in 1965’s Thunderball. More than any other fictional character, Bond is directly responsible for the rise of the spy gadget watch as a concept, with countless other onscreen intelligence officers having been inspired by Bond’s laser-firing Seamasters and buzzsaw bezel Rolex Submariners.  Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)  Kingsman: The Secret Service is the unserious story of a secretive British spy organization starring the sharply dressed Taron Egerton and Colin Firth. Another clear example of product placement, Bremont, a British watchmaking brand founded in 2002, adorns almost every wrist in the movie. The agents wear special versions of the ALT1-World Time, with one being used by Colin Firth’s character to fire amnesia and taser darts in a pair of ridiculous fight scenes.  While the spy gadget Bremonts are works of fiction, the brand does have real ties to the W.O.E. community, having produced over 500 custom unit watches, including for several UK intelligence services. Despite the product placement in this instance, the connection between Bremont and the world of espionage makes sense and is a perfect “if you know, you know” reference.   Archer (2009 to 2023)  People often ask W.O.E.: What is the most accurate portrayal of espionage in Hollywood? Films like Argo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Spy Game come close, but Archer is the one that takes the cake. There are rumors that this series is a semi-documentary of the life of W.O.E., something that we will neither confirm nor deny. The cartoon series showcases secret agent Sterling Malory Archer’s adventures working for the International Secret Intelligence Service. Of course, Archer wears an interesting watch, which haters will say is fake: the Omicron Spymaster. A gift from his mother, Archer’s Omicron offers not only basic timekeeping functions but also crucial tools for any intelligence officer, including knockout gas, a garrote, and the occasional laser. Given that Archer’s watch has also enjoyed several onscreen closeups, we can’t help but wonder if someone involved in the show is a dedicated watch nerd. In any case, the number of intelligence professionals who enjoy an episode or two of Archer after a long day is surprising, and we believe there is a market for a real-life version of the Omicron Spymaster.  Get Smart (2008) In 2008’s Get Smart, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway, Maxwell Smart wears a nondescript watch issued by CONTROL, the fictional intelligence agency, equipped with yet another Geiger counter. Based on the 1960s television series of the same name, Get Smart is an on-the-nose parody of James Bond, with Smart’s use of a radiation-detecting watch as well as other more ridiculous gadgets, including the infamous shoe phone, playing into the film’s humorous approach.  As is so often the case in Bond films, the Geiger counter watch also serves as a plot device in Get Smart, being used by Smart to detect traces of radiation on Agent 23, played by The Rock, providing proof that Dwayne Johnson’s character is, in fact, a double agent. Luckily, espionage on the big screen doesn’t have to be realistic.  Final Thoughts A real-life digital “watch” produced by the KGB, capable of sending signals. (Photo Credit: James Rupley/W.O.E.) Hollywood’s portrayal of spy gadget watches may trade plausibility for entertainment value, but they tap into something real: the enduring idea that a watch can do so much more than just tell time. The reality is that many historical examples of watches with cameras, microphones, or secret compartments are less than sexy, and many of the most successful intelligence operations will never see the light of day. Still, from Bond’s laser-firing Omega to Archer’s garrote-equipped Omicron, these fictional timepieces are fun and capture the imagination, shining a light on the often unheralded work of intelligence professionals.   The spy gadget watches of film are part fantasy, part homage to genuine tradecraft, and a reminder that even in an age of high-speed satellites and cyber operations dominating surveillance work, the wrist remains prime real estate for an intelligence officer’s most trusted tools, whether they’re real or just real fun to watch. If you enjoyed this article, please consider signing up for our weekly free newsletter for further updates HERE. Read Next: The Real Spy Gadget Watches of the CIA, KGB, MIT, and German Intelligence