5 Omega Speedmasters that made it the legend it is today, and their modern equivalent
This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that saw Neil Armstrong walk on the moon. And on his wrist was an Omega Speedmaster. This moment ensured that the humble, manually wound chronograph was vaulted into the hallowed halls of history. But the Speedmaster story is about more than just that moonwatch. Here are five defining references of the iconic Speedy. 1957 – Omega Speedmaster — ref. 2915 — the Broad Arrow If we have to start somewhere, it might as well be at the beginning. Production of the Speedmaster began in 1957, and was conceived as a dedicated tool — for racers, engineers and the like. And so the reference 2915, the first Speedmaster. From a distance it bears all the classic hallmarks of the line. There’s a few tells though, the most obvious being the ‘Broad Arrow’ hands. The other obvious demarcating feature is the steel bezel (rather than aluminium inset). Beyond that point it starts getting really specific: text type, caseback type and all the detail that makes the Speedmaster such a rich field for dedicated collectors. If you’re looking for a modern equivalent, check out the Speedmaster 1957, a bi-compax update of the original. 1965 –…
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Editor’s note: Beyond being one of the greatest tennis players of our time, Novak Djokovic is a pretty great watch ambassador. He’s been with Seiko since 2014, and over the years the watch he’s most often seen wearing (and occasionally lending his name to a limited edition) is the Astron. So, after he beat Roger Federer to claim the Wimbledon men’s final in an epic match (four hours and 57 minutes!), it was no surprise to see him with an Astron on his wrist as he claimed the cup. Specifically, he was wearing the latest titanium-cased Seiko Astron 5X, the SSH003J, which we reviewed when it came out last year … Most of the watches we talk about here at Time+Tide are mechanical — if there’s a battery involved, the watch has to be pretty special to get our attention. Well, Seiko’s Astron meets (and exceeds) the ‘pretty special’ criteria. The original Astron watch was released in 2012 (well, if you want to get technical, the original Astron was Seiko’s first quartz watch from 1969), and is significant as it was the world’s first GPS Solar watch, a particularly useful pairing of technology, which means that the watch can ‘talk’…
Editor’s note: For some reason we can’t quite place (one small step might have something to do with it though), we’ve got the Speedmaster on our mind. And while this Omega Speedmaster Racing Master Chronometer we first looked at in 2017 isn’t particularly limited or hype-y, it’s still a super hot version of THE chronograph … The case It’s a Speedmaster, so no real surprises with the case. It looks and feels much like every other Speedmaster, except for its contemporary dimensions: it clocks in larger than your regular Speedy, at a not insubstantial 44.25mm wide, but it wears well, and sits comfortably on the wrist, thanks to a very reasonable sub-15mm height. The case is mostly brushed, with the exception of that sinuous polished line that stretches from lug-tip to lug-tip, adding an air of elegance to an otherwise utilitarian case. The dial Speaking of elegance, this dial variation is by far the dandiest. The black we showed you earlier is an undeniable classic, and there’s a white version, but this sunburst grey number is the real winner in my books. And not just because the grey is so mutable in the light. No, what really sets this dial…
Gold watches are looked on a spectrum. This is typically between gaudy expressions of personal wealth, and precious metal celebrations of horological handiwork. Wherever your personal perspective sits on this scale, at some point in your watch-loving life, you will find yourself looking with adoration at a gold watch (Andy wrote how best to deal with this feeling). As John Mayer said once about the Rolex Rainbow Daytona, “When people see (them) in person, they all kind of give in and go, yeah I get it.” This (almost guilty) look down at the heavier part of the watch counter led us to consider: what were the best gold watches from 2018? TUDOR BLACK BAY S&G Originally released with a low-key black dial in 2017, the previous S&G took everyone by surprise with its luxurious two-toned demeanour and the warm sense of formality that it brought to the Black Bay family. This latest version ups the luxe even further, adding a stunning golden champagne dial to the mix, and reminding us that sometimes two tones are better than one. Ref No. 79733N, Case size 41mm, Case material Steel & gold, Movement MT5612, Price $5990 LONGINES RECORD Launched last year, the…
Editor’s note: Sure, the mighty Grand Seiko Spring Drive GMT in titanium (ref. SBGE215G to its friends) might lack the fancy dials of the Snowflake and the new manual-wind Spring Drives but, good golly, it makes up for it in sheer presence. The case, the bezel, the gold detailing. It bangs. It’s fair to say that much of Grand Seiko’s catalogue leans towards the dressier end of the spectrum — but, of course, there are exceptions, and the SBGE215G is a perfect example. This sporty GMT is an evolution of the SBGE201G; it shares the same large 44mm case. But while the SBGE201G had a steel case, the 215G is cased in high-intensity titanium, and I can tell you that on a watch of this brawn, the lighter weight of titanium makes a real difference on the wrist. There’s also been a change to some of the dial details: the hands and applied indices are now in rich red gold, as is the 24-hour scale under the sapphire bezel. These golden details make a real change to the overall mood of the watch — it’s less purely utilitarian and a touch warmer and, dare I say it, flashier. Whether or…
In case you haven’t watched our videos and heard our brutal mangling of Swiss brand names with broad Australian accents, you might not realise that Time+Tide is an Australian-based company. So it makes sense that we’re a little proud of our homegrown heroes, and even those we’ve adopted (hello Rusty). So, in the spirit of mateship, say g’day to three crackin’ Aussie watch ambassadors. The ambassador: Chris Hemsworth. Brand ambassadors don’t come much bigger than the mighty god of thunder. The former soapie star has dominated screens since his breakout role in 2011’s Thor. Since then he’s gone from strength to strength, as an action hero, and a man who doesn’t mind flexing his comedic muscles (I mean, Ragnarok is clearly the funniest MCU movie). The brand: TAG Heuer. Hemsworth popped up on TAG Heuer’s radar after his turn in Rush, the Heuer-heavy racing biopic, and the relationship was made official in 2015. Why it works: Australians love Hemsworth. Sure, he’s famous, but he’s also chill — preferring to call Byron Bay home instead of the Hollywood Hills. We also love TAG Heuer — the sporty, automotive brand has been a force to be reckoned with down under for decades. Plus…
For many, the Rolex Submariner is the watch. The default, the archetype. In some ways the watch has transcended its original function and become a totemic symbol for aspiration, class and cool. It is, after all, the original watch of James Bond. On the other hand, it’s still a superlative tool, designed for the dangerous job of diving, a job it still excels at. The fact that the Sub can balance these two faces has a lot to do with its success. As does its long, sustained production run and the fact that a Submariner from 1954 will look pretty much the same as one from 2019. So, to brush up on the history of what is — arguably — the most significant wristwatch around, we’d suggest a quick peruse of this GQ article. 
If you haven’t heard of Aurel Bacs, that is something that needs to change. While the word influencer has been irreparably ruined by people who use Instagram at the beach, it is one of the most fitting words to describe his impact on the global vintage watch market. The founder of the watch department at Phillips, he still runs the business with his wife Livia Russo under the name Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, responsible for a string of records that places him in a league of his own at the rostrum. As you might expect, given he spends the majority of his waking hours (and probably some of those while sleeping) thinking about vintage watches, he is incredibly passionate about the subject matter, as well as collecting for himself. He tells the story of being 16 years old when he first fell in love with a Patek Philippe, convincing his parents to loan him the money to buy it, which they agreed to if the watch stayed in a safe till the debt was cleared. I don’t know about you, but at 16 I had a few other things on my mind besides old Swiss wristwatches, but…
In 2019, the President of the United States sends foreign policy updates live to your phone. You can order takeaway from a mountaintop, and toilet seats can perform health checkups. At first, this seems to be a net positive for humanity. However, it has made it incredibly difficult to disconnect from the world around us and slow down, and in an age where my boss can remotely access and dictate my schedule from now until eternity, I take comfort in knowing that there is one place left, from which he cannot steal my time. Wristwatches speak to us from what feels like a bygone era, and counsel us with their old-world wisdom. “Slow down,” my watch advises in a Christopher Walken-like drawl. “Walk. Don’t run. It’s your time.” Whether it’s the graceful sweeping seconds of a mechanical, or the hypnotic tick of a quartz, traditional wristwatches have the ability to yank us from the fast-paced world we live in, and force some perspective onto us. Most nights before bed, I take off my watch, place it by my ear on the pillow, and practice breathing. I often wake up with an imprint of a buckle on my left cheek. Obviously,…