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actorSpotted June 2023

Actor Roger Moore spotted wearing a Rolex

actor Roger Moore spotted wearing a Rolex
Who & what: Hamilton Pulsar P2 LED Digital Watch – Stainless Steel, Red LED Display, James Bond 'Live and Let Die' Screen-Worn Reference

In the 1973 EON Productions film 'Live and Let Die,' Roger Moore makes his debut as James Bond wearing a Hamilton Pulsar P2 LED digital watch — a prop choice that communicated volumes about the franchise's deliberate pivot toward a more contemporary, technology-forward Bond. The still, sourced from Bond lifestyle researchers, shows Moore in a hotel room scene with the stainless steel Pulsar clearly visible on his wrist, its bracelet integrated flush with the cushion-shaped case in a manner unmistakably of its era.

The Hamilton Pulsar P2 — properly the Time Computer Model P2 — was introduced in 1972 as the successor to the gold P1 prototype famously gifted to President Nixon. Where the P1 retailed at $2,100, the stainless steel P2 brought the technology to a broader, though still affluent, market at around $275. Powered by a hybrid quartz-integrated circuit movement with a red LED display, the watch required the wearer to press a side-mounted button to illuminate the time — a deliberate battery-conservation measure that itself became a defining interaction ritual. The rectangular cushion case measures approximately 37mm, and the all-stainless construction of the screen-used prop reflects the mid-range P2 variant rather than the gold-cased luxury edition.

From a collector's perspective, the Pulsar P2 occupies a singular position: it is genuinely the first watch of its kind to reach commercial production. Hamilton's acquisition of the Electro/Data Corporation patent placed them at the epicentre of the quartz revolution's most radical expression. Finding a fully functional example today is non-trivial — the early LED modules and battery contacts are notoriously prone to failure and corrosion after five decades.

For the Bond franchise, the Pulsar P2 sighting represents a fascinating historical hinge point. Moore's Bond would later become synonymous with Seiko during the late 1970s collaborations, but in 1973 the Pulsar was the authentic cutting edge. The watch's appearance in 'Live and Let Die' gave Hamilton arguably its greatest piece of placement in cinema history.

On the current collector market, clean running examples of the stainless Pulsar P2 command serious premiums. Bond provenance amplifies interest considerably, and even non-screen examples in excellent condition routinely trade between $1,500 and $3,500 depending on functionality and originality of the bracelet and module.

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