James Bond wears a vintage Vertex watch in new novel King Zero

James Bond has a new watch, at least on the pages of the latest 007 novel. In King Zero, the new James Bond adventure by Charlie Higson, Bond is revealed to own a vintage Vertex Cal 59 W.W.W. military watch dating from the Second World War.

The watch appears in Chapter 27, appropriately titled “Luxury and Violence”, when Bond wakes in his (fictional) Anara Fushu Atoll Hotel in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and checks the time:

“Cold, blue-grey eyes opened and focused on the Vertex on his bedside cabinet that told him it was not yet seven in the morning. The watch was a slightly battered Cal 59 WWW navigation model with a small crack in the glass.”

Higson goes considerably further than simply naming the brand. The novel explains that Bond's Vertex is an original wartime watch inherited from a great-uncle who served with the 6th Airborne Division during the operation to secure Pegasus Bridge on D-Day.

"An original wartime model, left to him by a great-uncle who’d been part of the 6th Airborne Division that had secured Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. The piece held a host of memories for him and, as a solid reminder of the real world, brought him back to his senses."

The watch has therefore become a very personal object for Bond, carrying family history as well as the marks of its age. Higson describes it as holding “a host of memories” and serving as “a solid reminder of the real world.”

It is an interesting choice for the literary Bond, and one with genuine British military history behind it.

The Vertex Cal 59 W.W.W.

Vertex was one of twelve watch manufacturers commissioned to produce wristwatches for the British military during the Second World War. The group of watches would later become known among collectors as the “Dirty Dozen.”

According to Vertex, production of its Cal 59 W.W.W. watch began during the war, with 4,652 examples delivered during preparations for D-Day. Vertex was the only British-based company among the twelve manufacturers supplying these military watches.

The W.W.W. designation was used for military watches built to a common specification, resulting in practical, highly legible watches designed for service rather than luxury.

That background makes the battered watch described in King Zero particularly fitting. Instead of giving Bond a pristine new timepiece, Higson has chosen an object that already had a life before it reached him.

Vertex itself was revived in 2016 by Don Cochrane, the great-grandson of company founder Claude Lyons. The modern company has continued to draw heavily on its military history, including watches based on the original Cal 59 design.

An actual vintage Vertex Cal 59 W.W.W. is currently hard to find. The closest and most modern version of the Cal 59 W.W.W. is the Vertex M100 series, still available at Vertex, starting at £2100 / $2800.

A new watch for the literary James Bond

The Vertex should not be confused with the watches worn by James Bond in the films. Omega remains closely associated with the cinematic 007, while the Vertex belongs specifically to Higson's literary interpretation of Bond.

Vertex owner Don Cochrane told GQ that he only learned the vintage watch had been included in the novel when contacted by the publisher. He also stressed the distinction, describing Vertex as Bond's watch in the literary world rather than an official Bond watch connected to the films.

The choice also fits Higson's approach to the character. King Zero brings James Bond into the present day while retaining connections to the world that originally shaped him. A mechanical military watch inherited from a relative who fought during the Second World War gives this modern Bond a tangible link to that earlier generation.

King Zero was released in the UK on 24 September 2026 by Penguin Michael Joseph. It is Charlie Higson's first full-length adult James Bond novel, following his 2023 Bond story On His Majesty's Secret Service and his earlier Young Bond series.

And while Bond has worn some of the world's most famous watches over the decades, the scratched and slightly battered Vertex on his bedside table might be one of the more personal choices yet.

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All photos © Vertex

With thanks to Ajay Chowdhury