The Alpha and his Omega

A surreal evening at MI6's makeshift headquarters in London, with Daniel Craig keeping company, is how Omega chose to commemorate 60 years of James Bond in movies. To no one's surprise, there's also a limited edition tribute watch.

- PARTH CHARAN

I WANTED THE SORT OF OMEGA I could wrap around my fist and punch someone on the nose with," said a tuxedoed Daniel Craig, standing in an old railway tunnel, surrounded by paraphernalia not unlike the sort found inside the brick-laden confines of Q branch.

The event, the venue, and the set had been designed by Omega which chose to celebrate 60 years of James Bond in a very Omega way: filled with pageantry and glamour.

Twenty-seven years ago, Craig's request may have seemed unusual to the brand. But given that Omega's watches in Bond films have done everything from shoot grappling hooks to emit lasers, having one double as a knuckleduster shouldn't have proven too tall an order. With Craig, the Bond franchise was entering a new era of brute physicality and gritty realism; preposterous gadgets weren't his style.

Craig preferred a more direct approach.