A thread posted recently by @alon "Share your love for the 15K Gauss SM AT" https://omegaforums.net/threads/share-your-love-for-the-15k-gauss-sm-at.35792/ reminded me how much I like this watch, even though I own another Aqua Terra that I love very much. Image credit: www.jomashop.com And I got to thinking...the AT 15,000+ Gauss is analogous to the Rolex Milgauss, which is another watch that I've always thought is really cool Image credit: www.jomashop.com Then I got to thinking some more and said to myself: "What a great idea for a collection theme! Science!" I've been working as an Earth Scientist for the last 33+ years (in the weird and obscure field of Rock Mechanics), so what better way could there be to combine my passion for my vocation with my passion for watches? It should be clear from what I've written previously in this Forum that I have limited interest in vintage (translate: oftimes beat-up) watches. I like new, shiny stuff a lot more. And aside from the examples shown above, there is at least one other really cool, new, science-themed watch that I know about: Image credit: www.Jaeger-LeCoultre.com I think I can make a case that I've already got a good start to a Science-themed collection, as this watch is closely associated with space exploration and even contains a chunk of Space itself: A question for Forum members: are there any other contemporary, mechanical watches that would be good candidates for a Science-themed collection?
I'm not familiar with this watch although I've seen lots of lovely photos of it. Is there something about its function or history that connects it to Science?
I've always thought that was a beautiful watch, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to get into collecting multiple Speedmasters just yet
Well, the name Ingenieur translates to Engineer, for starters! It was an antimagnetic watch along the lines of the Milgauss and Railmaster, and was similarly developed for CERN scientists.
Sounds like a clear collection candidate to me and I've always appreciated the classic look of many of IWC's offerings. Thanks for the suggestion!
Looks like a winner and the price is right, too. It's interesting that it features a date window: if you buy into the Omega 15,000 Gauss propaganda, this was a no-no for an iron-caged anti-magnetic movement. Image credit: www.iwc.com
How about the Bremont Codebreaker. Parts from an original Enigma machine are used in the movement. http://www.bremont.com/collection/codebreaker
That is so frickin' cool! Thanks, Chunky! [price-wise, though, I may have to wait a while on that one] [and I already broke the code on the rotor ]
You have a point, though I think a diver might be a little too general in nature. One could make a similar argument for the Rolex Explorer because of its role in dry-land exploration. Funny you should bring up diving and "cool stuff". I went on a diving trip a couple of years to test some underwater photo gear the but the water clarity was horrendous due to a recent plankton bloom. I took quite a bit of video nevertheless and when I returned from the trip I became an amateur Planktonologist (not actually sure if there is such a thing) for a few days and spun the video into a little science vignette. My video has been viewed a whopping 216 times, so if Forum members could get it to 220 views I'll consider it a tremendous success.
Apologies for the thread Hijak, but in case interested, this is one of the better videos/lectures I've seen on how the enigma machine works, presented well by a fellow from the NSA: For a general overview of cryptography, including its history and evolution, I would highly recommend "The Code Book" by Simon Singh.
No, it's not mine (yet). I stopped by a local Rolex AD and did some prelim reconn. There's a lot of bling to this watch that would take some getting used to. Not gangster-bling, but kind of a geeky-bling.
Cool idea for a collection. Think hard about a Milgauss. I loved the look, but it bruised my wrist. If I wore it straight through the work week I wouldn't wear a watch all weekend to let my wrist recover. I eventually traded it.
Yes, I expected some heft from the Milgauss during my test drive, and it delivered. I doubt I'd wear it more than one or two days per week but I'm worried nevertheless.
Did my part. Thanks Rich, nice job with the video. I could have sworn I had dived one of those two, but my log turns up neither.