INSIGHT: Omega’s watchmaking in the modern age
In the constant cycle of new releases, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that watches are machines built to last for generations — with a little regular care and love. And while you and I might be there obsessing over the year’s hottest release, or wondering what’s coming next, Omega takes a longer view. Which is only to be expected, given that over their 170-odd years of history, watchmaking technology has changed quite a bit, and Omega has kept pace with this change, every step of the way. And while in the first half of last century they were busy forging ahead with improving accuracy, automatic movements, and protecting against water and dust, the 21st century heralds new obstacles for mechanical watches, with new solutions. One such solution is the Co-Axial escapement, a more stable and efficient mechanism developed by George Daniels and industrialised by Omega. The first commercial Omega Co-Axials were released in 1999, and quickly became the foundation of Omega’s increasingly impressive and sophisticated in-house offerings. More recently, Omega opened their brand new facility — a significant infrastructure investment that gives them plenty of room to grow. And on top of that, Omega recently announced an…
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I’ve been a little spacey recently — and not just because Andrew has been reliving the glory of holding Gene Cernan’s Speedmaster, and First Man is on our must-watch list. On top of that, I’ve recently re-watched the excellent Hidden Figures and cracked the spine on Andy Weir’s The Martian, which probably means I’m part of the wider #marsorbust zeitgeist. After all, it’s an exciting time to be interested in space, as it’s a space that’s becoming increasingly global and democratised. And of course, for Time+Tide, more space means more space watches — which is something we can get behind. So, to celebrate, we’ve put together four space-proven watches that aren’t the iconic Speedy … Seiko 6139-6002 ‘Pogue’ The Pogue takes its name from Colonel William Pogue, who wore a Seiko 6139 Chronograph for 84 days on 1973’s Skylab 4 mission. Pogue bought the distinctive yellow-dialled chronograph from a PX store to use in his pre-flight training, before he was officially issued the Omega Speedmaster. So, one of the first automatic chronographs ever made also earned the honour of being the first automatic chronograph in space. Col. Pogue’s actual watch was sold by Heritage Auctions in 2008 for around $6000 USD.…
