Carole Bouquet and Jack Hedley, as Melina Havelock and Sir Timothy Havelock, in For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Vitals
Jack Hedley as Sir Timothy Havelock, marine archaeologist contracted by the British Secret Service
Ionian Sea off the Albanian coast, Spring 1981
Film: For Your Eyes Only
Release Date: June 24, 1981
Director: John Glen
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Waller
Wardrobe Master: Tiny Nicholls
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
For Your Eyes Only, my favorite James Bond movie of the Roger Moore era, was released 40 years ago today! To celebrate, I wanted to shift focus from 007 to the stylish and significant—but only briefly seen—character of Sir Timothy Havelock.
As with Steve Zissou, Sir Timothy was reportedly based to some degree on iconic French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau (who died 24 years ago tomorrow), though the connection is even more personal as Cousteau was reportedly a real-life pal of Bond author Ian Fleming.
Sir Timothy never actually interacts with our hero, though it’s his death that propels the plot once Moore’s 007 crosses bows—er, paths—with the Havelocks’ now-orphaned daughter, Melina (Carole Bouquet), hell-bent on taking revenge for the murder of her parents.
What’d He Wear?
Sir Timothy spends a quiet morning aboard ship with his wife Iona (Toby Robins) and their parrot Max, all eagerly awaiting Melina’s arrival (or, in Max’s case, a kiss.) Timothy’s light-colored, lightweight clothes are consistent with his breezily affable attitude as well as his profession; few who don’t work on research vessels in the Mediterranean can expect to spend their days barefoot in half-buttoned shirts.
Melina’s parrot Max joins Sir Timothy as he attempts to track down the ATAC, the MacGuffin driving the plot of For Your Eyes Only.
This light woven cotton shirt is patterned with blue and white hairline-width stripes so fine that the shirt looks pale blue when not seen in close-up. The shirt has a point collar, breast pocket with horizontal yoke and mitred corners, and a plain “French placket” worn with the top three buttons rakishly—but not unflatteringly—undone. In the same spirit, Timothy also keeps his cuffs unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled halfway up each forearm.
Timothy’s flat front trousers are a pale blue cotton that presents to nearly match the shirt, though the semi-solid trouser cloth differs from the striped shirting. Indeed, Havelock’s real-life inspiration Cousteau was frequently photographed in blue shirts and trousers as well, albeit a more hard-wearing chambray work shirt with darker trousers.
The trousers have slanted side pockets and a back right pocket that closes through a single button. The bottoms appear to be finished with turn-ups (cuffs), with an appropriately high enough break that Timothy doesn’t trip over them as he walks the decks of his boat barefoot.
Timothy holds his trousers up with a tan leather belt imprinted with an interlocking meander or “Greek key” design, a significant motif given his wife’s heritage that Melina cites as contributing the passion behind her eventual drive for revenge.
Over the corpses of her parents (spoiler alert? I guess?), Melina swears revenge. Note the textured tooling of Sir Timothy’s belt, shining in the sunlight behind her.
Admittedly, Sir Timothy’s wardrobe may have escaped my attention if not for his watch. By this point in the series, SEIKO had been firmly established as the official watch of the James Bond franchise with Sir Roger sporting a variety digital, analog, and hybrid timepieces in five of his seven movies as 007, including two in For Your Eyes Only.
Bond may have felt a horological kinship with the departed Sir Timothy, who dressed his wrist with a stainless steel SEIKO 7546-6040 “Sports 100” quartz diver—appropriately enough, given his aquatic profession—with the familiar red and blue “Pepsi” bezel. On the dark blue dial, the hours are marked with non-numeric luminous shapes, oblong at 6 and 9 o’clock, triangular at 12 o’clock, and absent at 3 o’clock in favor of a white day/date window. The stainless steel 39mm case is secured to a steel three-piece link bracelet, similar to the Oyster-style bands branded by Rolex.
Our first look of Sir Timothy features his SEIKO sports dive watch prominently in frame, instantly communicating that he’s just the sort of expertly equipped professional should any diving be required to recover the ATAC.
These classic SEIKO sports divers occasionally show up for sale on sites like eBay and Mornington Watches. Alternatively, you could pick up a new SEIKO diver like the automatic SKX009K2 as owned by yours truly. (See my SEIKO here!)
Jack Hedley and Toby Robins as the affable but ill-fated Havelocks in For Your Eyes Only (1981)
How to Get the Look
Sir Timothy Havelock dresses simply but stylishly for a day of working on the water, illustrating that there can be a happy medium between form and function as demonstrated by the handsome and hardworking “Pepsi”-bezel SEIKO dive watch that accompanies his sea-shaded shirt and slacks.
- Blue-and-white hairline-striped light cotton shirt with point collar, plain front, breast pocket, and button cuffs
- Pale blue semi-solid cotton flat front trousers with belt loops, slanted side pockets, button-through back-right pocket, and turn-ups/cuffs
- Tan “Greek key”-printed leather belt with silver-toned square single-prong buckle
- SEIKO 7546-6040 “Sports 100” quartz dive watch with stainless steel case, rotating red-and-blue “Pepsi” bezel, black dial (with 3:00 day/date window), and steel three-piece link bracelet
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
I’ll give you a nut.
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