Omega London Trip with Moonwatch Universe March and October 2022 (Photo heavy)

[Omegafanman]

So last week I spent a couple of days in London with @SpeedyPhill the creator of Moon Watch Universe (tumblr.com)

@SpeedyPhill was hunting the Smiths / Hillary Everest watch and trying to avoid the MoonSwatch launch… although MoonSwatch is a hit for me :0)

In the meantime, on day one I organised a visit to the Old Bond Street Omega boutique.

The team there were very helpful and had arranged some nice watches for us to view….

30/10/22 - Edit - We had such a good time we have just met up again in October 2022 - this time to visit the RAF Museum at Hendon.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...october-2022-photo-heavy.144087/#post-2071860

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Edited: Oct 30, 2022

 

[Omegafanman]

So what did we get to look at the Old Bond Street Omega boutique and what would two old forum friends pick from the collections……

Well not to our taste but we had to see the Speedmaster 57 Rory Mcllroy special edition yellow gold on yellow gold. A real statement piece and you could feel the quality abd weight of the metal.

Next was the speedmaster in white Canopus gold. It was interesting to compare it with my steel 3861. Again, you could feel the weight of the gold. This is a really classic understated watch and a hit for both of us I think.

Then came the Silver Snoopy Award watch. I was not a huge fan of the watch when it launched, but this visit was a reminder that you need to see a watch in the flesh. The watch was very impressive and fun. Viewed through a loop the detail of the moon on the case back (taken from a NASA photo) is truly spectacular. I had also missed some details like the Apollo 13 mission track plot on the watch stap. This watch was another big thumbs up.

We then had a look at the new Chronoscope which is a respectable watch but the dial was too busy for us and not to our personal styles.

Over time a lot of us seem to move towards simpler / cleaner watches and in keeping with the Everest Smiths hunt we selected a trio of watches to look at:-

A trinity Rail master 1957, a modern Railmaster and an Aqua Terra.

The 1957 edged it for me but I own the Seamaster I am biased. For a one watch collection the Aqua Terra also ticked all the boxes and looked very stylish with blued hands.

The team at the boutique were very accommodating and it was a great way to start a watch meet.

There are a lot of great watch shops in that area and we did spot a nice Ranchero as we headed off for dinner.
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Edited: Mar 30, 2022

 

[Omegafanman]

Day two and @SpeedyPhill continued on from the Omega boutique basecamp and onto the science museum. The place is well worth a visit. The Apollo 10 command module also has the control panel on loan and in the clocks and watches section for the next three years you can see the George Daniels Space Traveller II…The Space Traveller II is an 18ct gold-cased watch with a silver engine-turned dial. Fitted with Daniels’ independent double-wheel escapement, the watch can display both mean solar and sidereal (star) time. The watch also shows the phase of the moon, an annular calendar, the equation of time and features an ingenious chronograph (stopwatch) which functions with either solar or sidereal time via the flick of a lever.

After interrogating a few Museum staff and looking round the aeronautical section @SpeedyPhill tracked down the Everest watch which coincided with some other elements of his London visit.

Celebrating a successful mission was a good excuse to head off to the Southbank to enjoy some sunshine and a late lunch :0)
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[SpeedyPhill]

Legendary watchmaker George Daniels' created the one-of-a-kind yellow-Gold Space Traveller pocket watch is an amazing piece in tribute of the Apollo lunar missions. I believe it still holds the record for the World's most expensive English Watch (auctioned a couple of years ago).
Of course we all know George Daniels (1926-2011) as the inventor of the low friction coaxial esacapement, which he put in a Patek wrist watch and was adopted by Swatch-Omega group medio 1980s. By 2024 we'll celebrate the 50th anniversary of Daniels' invention !

About the Omega boutique I have to mention it was an interesting experience and much praise goes to the sales person who was extremely friendly showing us many wrist watches. Morever this person was passionate about the brand and knew a lot about Omega's military, aviation and spaceflight experience... Thus far, I never came across such a knowledgeable fan of the make in any Omega store !

For the Spaceflight aficionados I have to mention that currently the London Science Museum has the original CSM-simulator cockpit lay-out on loan. Since 1966, this Apollo command module instrument panel was used in the North American Aviation Apollo simulator by all Apollo-era astronauts... an amazing piece which normally sits in the NASM - National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C.
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[SpeedyPhill]

The most amazing Omega Speedmaster chronographs were spotted at Omega Vintage watches at the northern corner of Burlington arcade.
Although I had visited the shop years ago, this time they had truly superb condition Mercury-Gemini-Apollo era Speedmaster CK2298, 105.003 and 105.012 versions ... the best examples I have ever seen/touched in real life.
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[SpeedyPhill]

As an Anglophile, the main reason for the trip to Albion was a visit to the RGS - Royal Geographical Society exhibition on the Antarctic voyages of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton ... and the nearby Science Museum.
A century ago, British Explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton passed away during his last oceanographic and sub-antarctic expedition.
The wooden wreck of Endurance was discovered on 5 March 2022, nearly 107 years after she sank, at a depth of 3000 meters.
Visiting the RGS also allowed in preparing the important upcoming anniversaries of the British Himalayan Committee which set up mountaineering expeditions to Mt Everest (1922 Reconnaissance, 1933 Flight over Everest, 1953 first ascent), as the wrist watches used during those tough historic expeditions still speak to our amazement/admiration.
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[SpeedyPhill]

An interesting paper on the consequences of British imperialism
Tenzing's Two Wrist-Watches: The Conquest of Everest and Late Imperial Culture in Britain 1921-1953
(Oxford University Press - by Gordon T. Stewart )
We have talked about some historic watches used on Mt Everest here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/the-edmund-hilary-smiths.141917/
and here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/wha...ary-wore-on-everest.29349/page-5#post-1831517
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[cristos71]

Great report, it sounds like a really interesting and fulfilling trip.

And if I had to choose one of the watches shown it would have to be the 18kt Flightmaster.

 

[SpeedyPhill]

IMHO the best Speedmaster seen/handled in the Old Bond Street Omega boutique: white Gold white dial version
On a side note, I also had an interesting meeting with Andrew of YouTube channel theEnglishWatch
Now hoping that Covid-21 figures remain low so we can meet up again as the time of GTG was too long ago

 

[Omegafanman]

SpeedyPhill

As an Anglophile, the main reason for the trip to Albion was a visit to the RGS - Royal Geographical Society exhibition on the Antarctic voyages of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton ... and the nearby Science Museum.
A century ago, British Explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton passed away during his last oceanographic and sub-antarctic expedition.
The wooden wreck of Endurance was discovered on 5 March 2022, nearly 107 years after she sank, at a depth of 3000 meters.
Visiting the RGS also allowed in preparing the important upcoming anniversaries of the British Himalayan Committee which set up mountaineering expeditions to Mt Everest (1922 Reconnaissance, 1933 Flight over Everest, 1953 first ascent), as the wrist watches used during those tough historic expeditions still speak to our amazement/admiration.
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The level of preservation of the ship is amazing due to the depth and temperatures. An amazing legacy from an amazing story - Everest and the artic are the nearest to space on Earth - those early explorers were extremely brave and dedicated given the level of equipment they had. The survival and rescue of endurance crew is very inspiring.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60662541

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[SpeedyPhill]

Next time in London... we gotta do this:
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[Omegafanman]

SpeedyPhill

Next time in London... we gotta do this:

90mph hits a hole in the ice riding with the RAF Bobsleigh team....It nearly killed him and he was still doing a piece to camera / not a medic in sight (just a flesh wound ;0) They bred kids TV presenters tough back then / John Noakes is a bit of a legend.
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(25) TV program Blue Peter - Feb 1975 St. Moritz - John Noakes behind John Blockey - YouTube
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[TimeODanaos]

Omegafanman

John Noakes is a bit of a legend.

Not forgetting wonderful Shep.

 

[rob#1]

TimeODanaos

Not forgetting wonderful Shep.

And the elephant

 

[Omegafanman]

Staying with the kids TV legend John Noakes I came across some old Blue Peter annuals today.
He had a good bruise from the Bobsleigh crash…and then back to baking…
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[Omegafanman]

But I had forgotten about his record breaking 5 mile free fall parachute drop in 1973….kids TV presenters went the extra 5 miles for childhood entertainment back then. He was a legend. I can’t quite make out his wristwatch…
And then back to sticky back plastic and Diorama models……
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[Omegafanman]

So this week I had another chance to catch up with @SpeedyPhill the creator of Moon Watch Universe (tumblr.com) in London. This time we went to the RAF Museum at Hendon. Six hangers filled with aircraft and information. The exhibits are well laid out and the lighting is good. It is well worth a visit (free to enter but you must book tickets). The staff and volunteers are also super helpful and well informed. We had a great day and rounded it off with a nice dinner (ok maybe not Belgium nice but Philip was very polite :0). But with so much to chose from which watches did we take and which aircraft caught our eye............
(Photo heavy sorry).
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Edited: Oct 30, 2022

 

[SpeedyPhill]

Indeed, another interesting week in London, visiting BIS, RGS, RAF-museum and several wrist watch shops in the British capital
Always happy to give a way a few copies of Moonwatch Only and the VRFM - Vintage Rolex Field Manual chevalier hardcover edition.
Also pretty interesting & surprising to see some MoonwatchUniverse Omega Speedmaster spaceflight-related art in the display cabinets of vintage watch dealers (e.g. Somlo London in the Burlington Arcade )
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