Tom Ford 108 Sunglasses from Quantum of Solace

Unlike the Persol 2720s from Casino Royale, the Tom Ford 108s get quite a bit of screen time and – remarkably – make it back to Europe intact as he wears them later when he goes to visit Mathis in Talamone (Italy).

Initially these sunglasses were thought to be an Oliver Peoples design, with identification based on photos taken on location. However, it later emerged that the design was a new Tom Ford model that closely resembles the Oliver Peoples sunglasses, causing some fans who had made an early purchase to return them for a refund.

Tom Ford 108 sunglasses are handmade in Italy by Marcolin. There are a number of frame/lens variations but the exact design appearing in Quntum of Solace features a semi-matte rhodium frame with black temple tips and smoke blue lenses – colour code 19V.

James Bond

While there is a publicity photo showing 007 at the wheel of his Aston Martin DBS and wearing Persol 2720-S sunglasses, the scene doesn’t appear in the film at all as far as I can see. In fact you have to wait until a Bond and Vesper arrive in Venice before they have their screen time – around 5 seconds from my reckoning. The scene is when they are on the yacht and in the narrow waterways of Venice.

There are several options available for this model, so if you do want to get the genuine James Bond look you need to choose colour code 24/31. You can buy this model of sunglasses from the following online retailers:

When Casino Royale was released to massively positive reviews, it introduced Daniel Craig as a harder edged James Bond and took the character back to his roots.

The film’s huge budget was partly offset by huge product placement, including two pairs of sunglasses provided by Persol. The first of these models, seen when 007 lands in the Bahamas are Persol 2244-S, consisting of a gunmetal grey satin metal frame and brown lenses, colour code 834/33.

The Persol 2244 sunglasses go perfectly with Bond’s light grey linen suit and white short sleeved shirt as he steps off the seaplane while on his mission.

On one of the features on the Die Another Day DVD Brosnan mentions that they were in fact his own sunglasses, believed to be Oliver Peoples – if you have any further info please leave a comment or get in contact, as they don’t appear to be a currently available model based on the lens shape.

Persol 2672-S Sunglasses

After his spell in captivity – where he not only has no sunglasses, but no shaving equipment either – 007 flies to Cuba. James Bond’s sunglasses upon arrival in Havana are a pair of Persol 2672-S, which were specially designed for the film and feature a tortoiseshell frame with Persol’s signature silver arrow on the temple and dark brown lenses.

Alas, like the other sunglasses from the Brosnan era, they are no longer available, although you may be lucky on eBay.

Suddenly in The World Is Not Enough – in my mind easily the best of the Brosnan movies – James Bond wears glasses again, although only one pair of three are actually sunglasses. The first is in the pre-titles sequence in Bilbao, where he is meeting the Swiss bankers; these are Calvin Klein model cK 718F with clear lenses that are tricked out with a remote control detonator – if only they’d left it there with the PTS as the following Thames boat chase is far too long.

Later on in Q’s lab in tries on a pair of blue-lensed glasses, although their secret isn’t actually revealed until later in the casino, when 007 is able to check out the weaponry packed by Zukovsky’s heavies thanks to x-ray vision – or according to The James Bond Encyclopedia (John Cork & Collin Stutz) they contain a transparent polymer video screen which displays filtered infrared video to reveal objects hidden under the top layer of clothing.

Despite Calvin Klein’s official association with the film it turned out the glasses were bought at a high street optician’s shop and the lenses replaced. According to a post on ajb007 The Ian Fleming Fleming Foundation confirmed this with Eon, who said that the model was 9048 Ant Blue 50X19 from manufacturer Blue. The Ian Fleming Fleming Foundation also contacted Calvin Klein, who supplied the information regarding the use of CK 718F.

It’s little wonder that the x-ray specs are remembered rather than the sunglasses worn in the ski sequence as the shots in which Brosnan wears them are brief – much of the sequence is seen in long shot and these sunglasses are nowhere near as memorable. These are Calvin Klein model CK 2007, which – like the other frames appearing in The World Is Not Enough – are no longer available.

The next James Bond sunglasses to appear are in Thunderball, perhaps unsurprising considering the tropical location. When confronting Domino with the news of her brother’s death, Bond hands her his wristwatch and dog tags; but more to the point, he is wearing black famed Wayfarer style sunglasses, although this time we can be certain they are not Ray Bans.

There are a couple of good shots on the Ultimate Edition DVD – at 1h 35m 32s and 1h 35m 50s – where you can see the hinge details.

Rather than being horizontally orientated bars on the front of the frame – as per Ray Bans – the hinge seems to be attached to the frame with two single points on each side, which are vertically orientated – if you’ve got the Blu-Ray edition of Thunderball then you should be able to see this more clearly and if you have an opinion as to what make of sunglasses these are please get in contact or leave a comment below.

In fact he looked so cool in Dr No that he landed the leading role in Hawaii Five-O, leaving a gap in the casting of future Bond films that was never quite filled. James Bond himself doesn’t wear sunglasses, although it’s difficult to understand why in the glare of the Jamaican sun.

In the books sunglasses rarely appear, so while we know the brand of watch, lighter, and even shampoo 007 favours we will never know his preferred brand of sunglasses – in fact probably the only time James Bond wears sunglasses is in the short story The Property of A Lady.

With the increased amount of placement in the movie industry it is perhaps surprising that this didn’t happen sooner, but in Casino Royale Daniel Craig wore the Persol 2244-S and Persol 2720-S models and in Quantum of Solace he wears Tom Ford 108 sunglasses.

Of course Daniel Craig wasn’t the first James Bond actor to wear sunglasses – Sean Connery wears some wayfarer style sunglasses in both From Russian With Love and Thunderball, but it was Pierce Brosnan who started the current trend.

Brosnan wears blue lensed X-ray specs in The World Is Not Enough – the glasses were off the shelf and the original lenses replaced with blue tinted ones instead – as well as a clear lensed Calvin Klein 718F in the banker’s office and CK 2007′s in the ski chase; he returned in Die Another Day, with Persol 2672-S.

So where does that leave us?

Unfortunately the sunglasses worn by Sean Connery haven’t been firmly identified, but Ray Ban or Persol of the right design should do; and Pierce Brosnan’s sunglasses are discontinued, although you can always try eBay.

Luckily the Persol and Tom Ford models are still available, so if you want to add James Bond sunglasses to your collection you still have a chance before they become unavailable and the prices rise to match.