I never had an interest in fashion growing up. I skipped the prevailing hipster aesthetic of my college years—skinny jeans, button-ups, beanies—for baseball caps and baggy cargo shorts, looking like the classic frat bro I wasn’t and never would be. If nicer garb couldn’t help me better do the things I loved, like boogie boarding or judo, what was the point?
But I did find inspiration in three numbers: 007.—my favorite of the Bond films—or by his sky-blue swim trunks by the British outfitter Orlebar Brown. What mesmerized me was Bond’s Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean 600M. With its stainless steel bracelet, bulky winding stem, and crenels on the bezel, the diver watch looked like just another Bond tool, yet its orange-tipped second hand, silver zero mark, and white trimmings indicated it was a work of subtle precision. The Seamaster gave Bond a rugged elegance that I flatly coveted.
