Sixty-five years ago today, the name of a cinematic, chronographic icon was first registered as a trademark in the United States. On March 25, 1952, Swiss watchmaker Omega Louis Brandt & Frere, S.A. was granted U.S. Registration No. 556602 for the mark SEAMASTER, for “watches, watch parts and watch movements.” Long a favored wrist accessory of celebrities, politicians, and other public figures, the Omega SEAMASTER brand gained a new level of fame in 1995 when it replaced Rolex as the preferred onscreen timepiece of James Bond, the cinema’s most celebrated secret agent. SEAMASTER branded watches have featured prominently in every James Bond movie since 1995’s Goldeneye, and Omega even produced two 007-themed commemorative editions of the SEAMASTER watch in 2002 and 2006. The SEAMASTER name remains in use, the 556602 registration is still in force, and best of all, you don’t have to be a member of Her Majesty’s Secret Service to wear one.

By Johntorcasio (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.