The best gadget in the casino scene is also the least gadgety. Pierce Brosnan’s Bond puts on a pair of small, black-framed glasses with pale blue lenses and can suddenly see through clothes and into pockets. The frames behind Bond’s X-ray glasses are an ordinary model, and the story of where they came from is more interesting than most props.
In the film
Bond wears the glasses in Valentin Zukovski’s casino in The World Is Not Enough, as a Q-Branch device. A briefing from the production, passed on in collectors’ forums, says the wardrobe department bought them off the shelf at a high-street optician and replaced the normal lenses with the light blue ones seen on screen. They are on screen only briefly, which is part of why people still ask where they came from.
The details
The maker and the model. The same briefing names the maker as Blue and the model as MOD No.9048 ANT BLUE 50X19. A separate source reports the identification was confirmed to the Ian Fleming Foundation by Eon. We regard it as the best identification available, with medium confidence, and the briefing also says the company no longer makes that model.
Small and rectangular. The frames are black and metal, with a small rectangular lens.
The blue lenses. The pale blue lenses are the film’s addition, not the frame maker’s. They are what turns an ordinary pair of glasses into a gadget.
Not Calvin Klein. Many people assumed the pair came from Calvin Klein, which had a product-placement deal with the production for the ski-scene glasses. The Eon briefing names Blue instead.
Wearing it now
As an object this is a fashion-forward pair of tinted glasses, and we would wear it that way, as a small black frame with a pale lens, not as a costume. They look best with plain clothes: a navy knit or a white shirt. Avoid pairing them with a suit, which turns the look into a joke.
The original frames are out of production, so you will need to look second-hand, or look for any small black metal rectangular frame and have blue lenses fitted by an optician. Be careful with very pale tints for driving or night wear, and ask your optician about suitable lens options.
Where to look. A search for the model code on eBay is the only direct route. Expect a mix of replica pairs, so ask whether a listing is an original Blue frame or a copy.
Specifications
| Maker | Blue (per Eon briefing) |
|---|---|
| Model | MOD No.9048 ANT BLUE 50X19 |
| Frame | Black, metal, small rectangular |
| Lenses | Light blue, fitted for the film |
| Status | Out of production; found second-hand |
Questions
What are Bond’s X-ray glasses in The World Is Not Enough?
They are a small pair of black-framed glasses with light blue lenses, sold off the shelf by an optician and fitted with the blue lenses for the film.
Who made the X-ray glasses?
The production says the maker was a company called Blue, model MOD No.9048 ANT BLUE 50X19. Some people guessed Calvin Klein, but the briefing names Blue.
Can you still buy them?
Not new. The maker no longer produces that model, so you need to search second-hand.
More from the film is on the The World Is Not Enough page, with Brosnan’s wider wardrobe in Pierce Brosnan’s Bond. Or browse eyewear.
