Fleming`s watch to exhibit at the National Watch & Clock Museum next year

ViaLuxe reports that the Rolex Ref. 1016 Explorer wristwatch worn by author Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, will be on display in the U.S. for the first time ever when the National Watch & Clock Museum, [Columbia PA, USA] undertakes a 2010 Summer exhibition centered around the timepieces of the "world's most famous spy". Serving as guest curator for the exhibit is watch expert Dell Deaton, who wrote a recent article for WatchTime magazine on Fleming's Rolex Explorer and its significance to the writer as 007's character - and taste in wristwatches - steadily evolved.

"Ian would have enjoyed the idea of displaying his own Oyster Perpetual as part of an exhibition of James Bond watches," said Fionn Morgan, stepdaughter of Ian Fleming. "It is wonderful to see the James Bond legacy presented through the watches that this character has worn. It is further most gratifying to see Ian’s Explorer number 1016 displayed as the origin of this long and continuous chronology. Collectors and the public will learn a lot through this exhibition."

Although the scheduled appearance at the National Watch & Clock Museum will be the first occasion this provenance-rich Rolex Explorer watch will be seen in the United States, it has been viewed by the public before. Most recently, the stainless steel timepiece on a riveted Oyster bracelet starred in an exhibition dedicated to Ian Fleming's life and works at London's Imperial War Museum.

Noel Poirier, Director of the National Watch & Clock Museum expressed his gratitude and enthusiasm for the opportunity to have the Fleming Rolex on display: "The National Watch & Clock Museum is honored to be able to display Mr. Fleming’s watch, and we are thankful to the Fleming family for allowing this one of a kind object to be part of the Bond watch exhibit."

Visit www.nawcc.org for more details.

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