I’d always worn a watch. I’d always thought I might collect them. In 2014, I started. 

My name is Hamish Robertson, and I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of The Watch Collectors’ Club. What started as a minor hobby focusing on something interesting and pretty on my wrist has turned into a full time job with the goal of building a global collector community for everyone who likes watches.

My career was going well and I had always wondered about collecting watches. At that point, I was still wearing the Tag Heuer my parents bought me for my 18th birthday. It had been through a lot, including a very expensive service in 2009 that cost 75% of the original cost. It was a reliable little beauty though and super subtle. 

I wanted something older, and more interesting. I knew nothing and pottered around eBay. For some reason, I couldn’t imagine myself going into new boutiques, or spending more than a few hundred pounds on a watch. I now know that feeling is very common amongst people looking for a watch. They have no idea what they should be paying or what they’re buying. In the end, I did something simple and bought a knocked-about steel 1950s Jaeger LeCoultre from a reputable looking online antique dealer. Not a watch dealer, just someone who passed along a handful as he came across them. I think I asked two basic questions and was satisfied with his replies, so went for it. This was the start of my watch collecting journey.

I was delighted. Despite its rather dirty dial, unpolished case, and unremarkable features, it ran very well and felt great to wear. At only 36mm in size, it was subtle, almost a secret pleasure. As far as falling down the rabbit hole and becoming a collector, that was that. Within six months I had another…

I quickly learned that Jaeger LeCoultre are a legendary Swiss watchmaker, and famous for their quality movements, or mechanisms. Having purchased the first, I saw another while at an antiques fair with my mother. It was equally simple, but solid gold. It didn’t take me long to buy it. Entertainingly, I felt my collection was complete! A steel watch for everyday wear and a gold watch for fancy occasions. I had failed to consider so many other things, I thought I was done.

Of course, I was mistaken. I now had two Jaeger LeCoultre watches and wanted to know more about the brand. Googling almost randomly led me to a few interesting posts about their watches, and more specifically their famous watches. I learned about the Reverso, Futurematic, Memovox, Polaris, and Master Control. I also got very excited about their Military watches.

Without taking you through all my purchases, I ended up with an example of a few of these but also branched out into other models.

Only a couple of years after taking up this hobby, I moved to London. In my new office, someone from another team in my department noticed my watch and struck up a conversation. That person was Ed Howkins, my now Co-Founder, and he was the first watch collector I’d met. 

Having discovered we were both collectors, we simply asked each other what we were wearing each time we bumped into each other in the office. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t awkward, and it wasn’t difficult. It was the easiest way in the world to explore someone’s collection. He was a much more experienced collector than me and was more confident. He’d learned who else in the office liked watches, and encouraged me to ask them about that day’s timepiece. 

I cannot stress enough how my interest in collecting increased thanks to these opportunities to talk about my watches and ask people about theirs.

Ed also knew of a watch meetup in London. Watch meetups are where people get together to simply talk about watches and see what each other owns. They have been happening for decades, as long as people into horology (the study of watches and clocks) have been able to find each other. The coming of the internet age has made it much simpler to find fellow watch lovers, but hasn’t until very recently, made it easier to meet up in person with them. 

Social Media changed the watch world forever. Watch groups sprang up, especially on Facebook and Instagram. Two watch meetup groups became established in London, and Ed already knew about them Redbar and Time4aPint. We decided to go along together, an activity that made me much more confident in attending, as I really didn’t know what to expect.

I should not have worried. I had a fantastic time as both events are filled with interesting people with even more interesting watches. The variety can be extraordinary, especially at Time4aPint, which features more vintage watches and collectors. 

I swiftly fell under the spell of two more watch brands: Universale Geneve and Breitling. Ed also encouraged me to buy from auctions, and I found a London based watch specialist called Watches of Knightsbridge. A few over-excitable mornings later my collection had grown even further!

Why did this happen? Simply because there is no better way to further a passion than finding like-minded people who are happy and delighted to share their knowledge. Attending the events encouraged me to explore what I liked, buy with confidence, and gain satisfaction when I could share my recent additions with other watch lovers. For many, and me at first, it can be a private journey, and not everyone wants to be a public collector. Meeting other watch lovers and discovering the enormous wealth of detailed knowledge and enthusiasm was infectious. 

I now have 18 wearable watches, a Fitbit, and one that is broken and in need of specialist repair. I have spent the last 3 years only buying new watches, a few G-Shock, Swatch and a Unimatic character watch, below. I have learned so much about watches that how I collect has transformed. I currently want to spend little (I’m an entrepreneur with no salary), and I want to buy fun things I like. I also am making a list of things I want if I ever have time to collect seriously and in size. It’s a very very long list! 

2022 already has one new purchase, this sensational Casio G-Shock Moonwatch. It’s my brightest, boldest, shiniest watch by far. Even 3 years ago I wouldn’t have gone near this. My appreciation of what G-Shock does, my growth in understanding of the variety on offer, and my belief that I can collect and wear whatever I please have led to this. I love it.

My experience has led me to believe that the collectors' community can go further. That more events with more variety will lead to more people taking the same journey I have. For those just starting out into the world of watches, or on the sidelines unsure where to go, more events means more opportunities to experience the enthusiasm and passion of the community.

If you’re reading this you know I am building The Watch Collectors’ Club as a full-time job. Many people ask why it will succeed, how will it earn money, and why build something in such a small niche. I reply that there are a lot of watch lovers, we have plenty of options to earn revenue if we can create things people want to buy, and the “niche” is currently a $30-40bn annual market. Success means more events, more educational content, and more people we can help on their collecting journey and make friends with people in the community.

More importantly though, I’ve seen the power of community first hand. I’ve taken a journey myself, navigating a confusing and unruly world of online advice and advertising. I’ve taken baby steps and enjoyed wearing the results. I’ve found like-minded people I’ve learned from and given me the confidence to collect further. I’ve used my knowledge to buy more carefully and purposefully, while still simply gotten over excited and pulled the trigger on something I loved.

I’m building a company that can take others through this journey. Whether starting out or with a few watches in hand, we will provide fun events and content to take them wherever they want to go next. To explore the world of watches and find things they never dreamed existed. To buy confidently in small corners of specialised information. To learn how to search more confidently and trust the right people and places. And then, if it suits them, we’ll help people pass their knowledge, stories and passion onto others. 

The number of watch lovers is enormous. The number of collectors includes everyone with at least one watch, and we are here for everyone who likes watches. Join us at one of our events soon, and if you  know anyone who might like the sound of this, please send them this email or let them know where to find us.

Hamish Robertson's watch collecting journey? Why did Hamish start The Watch Collector's Club?

How a watch collection became a full time business

How a watch collection became a full-time business, from Founder and CEO Hamish Robertson of The WCC

My Watch Collecting Journey - a hobby that's become a business

We had a great time last night at our January In-Person Meetup. It was a smaller group than usual, so we held it in a pub in Central London, and this time we could all sit around the same table. As is becoming usual, a diverse and interesting set of people came along, from experienced collectors to complete newbies. We had another set of great watches, including the bright yellow G-Shock you can see below!

We welcome Watch Collectors at every level

One of the goals of The Watch Collectors’ Club is to help people explore and learn more about the watch world no matter how long they have been interested. Last night a new attendee came down and was clearly very knowledgeable, passionate and knew exactly what he liked and didn’t like. He brought along the famous and fun “Harrods Special” Tudor Black Bay, a watch possibly unique because you can only buy it in one store, and they only make that version of that watch for that store. If you like it, you can order one in Harrods in Central London in the UK. It’s a fun chunky sports watch, and the bracelet is pretty cool too, with the Harrods logo engraved on the back. 

Our website designer came along, and he is very early in his watch collecting journey. Even earlier in her journey was his girlfriend, who has given very little thought about watches until recently. They were both delighted to see some of the watches people brought down and enjoyed the variety on display. They didn’t know some watches have moonphases, and that sparked a fun discussion of the different kinds available, whether they are engraved or painted, and how they work. This blog post from the summer discusses them in detail.

To highlight the variety that is quickly becoming common at our Meetups, here are two pairs of fascinating watches people brought along last night. The first pair are fashion watches from mega-brand Diesel. They were bought in Tokyo in 2005 and their dial design and strap are really unusual. The owner and his partner wore them for all kinds of crazy activities for about ten years, and it shows!

The next pair are two watches designed first and foremost to be tough. The G-Shock Frogman we mentioned earlier is an early GWF-1000, and is the G-Shock range’s dive watch. It has absolutely tons of features, but the most unusual thing about it is the fact it is offset to the left of the strap to make wearing it with a wetsuit easier. The most notable watch to do this was the Omega Polprof, but G-Shock ran with it for their Frogman series from 1993, and even with the current version with analogue hands, the whole watch is still off-centre. G-Shock Frogman watches have an incredible feature list, including dive timing, dive recording, temperature sensing, GPS, solar power, and more.

In contrast, the Gorilla Fastback is a concept watch that is design-led, focussing on novelty and incredible toughness, a titanium and carbon fibre case, and a unique dial design. It has a simple and very common movement and no additional functions. 

While neither of these watches will be to everyone’s taste, tough or “unbreakable” watches are very popular, and it is always nice to see some timepieces from this corner of the watch world.

We are very excited to bring you as many interesting, engaging events as possible in 2022. We wrote about our plans here, and are delighted to announce the next In-Person Event will be on Thursday, February 10th, from 6:30PM in Central London. You can sign up here. 

This coming Monday, 24th January, we are holding a virtual talk via Zoom. It is an engaging exploration of how Rolex became the Kings of the watch industry, covering its origins, watches, and marketing brilliance. It starts at 8:00PM UK Time and you can sign up here. 

We at The Watch Collectors’ Club believe that so much more can be done to bring watch lovers together. Our events will focus on exploring and sharing our passion for watches and we will provide fun educational content to help people learn easily. If you know anyone you think might enjoy our events or benefit from our approach, please let them know, and make sure they sign up to our email list to get all the details. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Interesting watches at our January In-Person Meetup

January In-Person Meetup Event Highlights

Interesting watches brought seen at our January Meetup

Hi everyone. Following on from Hamish’s email last week I wanted to introduce myself to our new members. My name is Ed, and I co-founded The Watch Collectors Club with Hamish. I’ve been collecting watches since my teenage years, and you can read more about some of my favourite watches here. 

As we start 2022, I have been reflecting upon my collection: what I like about it; what I want to change; and how I am hoping to add to it this year. 

Recently my partner was lucky-enough to collect her new Explorer from our local Rolex boutique. Despite writing a blog about why people should and do love Rolex I have never properly considered buying one myself. However, this changed when the new Explorer arrived in our house. I instantly fell in love. My partner’s new watch is a combination of steel and yellow gold, which is a bit of a contradiction for a tool watch such as the Rolex Explorer. Many watch commentators disliked this watch when it was first released but grew to love it over time. Interestingly, this watch is the only time-only tool watch that Rolex has ever made in a precious metal, and I think it’s a great reflection of what Rolex is all about: reliable, robust luxury watches. If you want to learn more about Rolex, make sure to sign up for our Rolex virtual event here.

I hope 2022 is the year that I buy my first Rolex. I’ve put my name down for the most popular Rolex model, the DateJust; however, as is the case with my entire collection, I’ve gone for something a bit out of the ordinary and have ordered a green palm dial version. The dial is created by laser-etching a series of tiny holes into the dial and the palm motif is created when light hits the holes. 

We wrote a series of blogs on independent watchmakers last year, covering the oldest brands and the young upstarts. Whilst I found the stories fascinating, I hadn’t been able to try many on for size. That changed when we attended the WatchProLive event in London, and I was able to try on a wide variety of watches from independent brands – highlighting the value of events! 

Two watches have been playing on my mind since then, and I’m considering buying one of them. 

The first is the Czapek Antarctique Passage de Drake. This recently re-established brand launched a stainless steel sports watch last year, as demand for that type of watch was so high. I particularly like how Czapek have created a watch that has exceptionally high finishing standards, but also has a unique design in a crowded market. To my eyes, it is the modern-day Royal Oak, and hands-on inspection shows that it compares well. Additionally, so few are made that they feel special when you see one. 

The second watch is the Parmigiani Fleurier Tonda Chronograph. Again, this is a stainless steel sports watch, but executed in a very classical way. The case and lugs are curved so that they hug the wrist and give the impression that the watch is much smaller on the wrist. I am fascinated by the different brushing techniques used on the case, and the delicate machining of the dial. Overall, I think the watch looks particularly beautiful for something that is designed to go everywhere. 

Like all things, watch collections change over time. I have sold many watches over the past decade, replacing them with watches that are kept for a few years before being sold to other collectors. The watches that I want to buy in 2022 are expensive, so if I am going to buy any of them, I will need to sell a quite a large portion of my existing collection. I’m starting to prepare for that now by rotating my watches daily to see if there are any that I no longer enjoy wearing. I get very attached to watches, so this process usually takes a few cycles through before I decide what to sell. 

During that process of rotating my collection I will probably change my mind and decide that the three watches I’ve talked about won’t give me as much joy as a cheaper watch. Experience tells me that is probably going to happen, as the watch I wore most in 2021 was one of my least-valuable: A Mido Oceanstar Decompression Timer. 

Join us on 20th January for a casual in-person event in central London to tell us what you want your collecting journey to look like in 2022. You must sign up to attend.  

We need people to build this community. If you know of anyone who likes watches, of any kind, please let them know about us, and tell them about our events. It'd be great to have them along.

A Word From Our Co-Founder

Hi, it's Hamish the CEO of The Watch Collectors' Club. I'll start by wishing you a Happy New Year and I hope that you got a good break over the holidays. This blog post is to tell you what we have planned and how you can help!

2022 is going to be a big year for The Watch Collectors' Club as we host a series of fun and engaging events here in London. We will continue our online Showcases and Virtual Talks. We will develop our educational content, bring you a variety of interesting things from around the watch world, and help you learn more about timepieces, no matter what kind of watch sparks your passion.

We can't do this without you. We want as much feedback as you can give us, whether it's on a Blog Post, Event, or simply a question you'd like answered. We're here to help you in any way we can.

We have so many ideas that we want to try, and to know what works we need you to tell us what you liked and didn't like. We won't be offended, it's all part of growing as an organisation. We've already had excellent feedback from our in-person and virtual events and you can be sure that we take it into account for our next efforts. If anything springs to mind at any time, please let us know.

We hope that you find our blog interesting and useful. People tell us they enjoy them and are learning a lot, so if you have something you've always wanted to know about in the watch world, please let us know and we will write it! We will ramp up our educational content this year so please look out for more on our Social Media Channels and Website, including video!

When we have enough followers, we intend to launch an online community where we can talk to each other, share our timepieces and our passion, to learn from each other as well as from Club materials. We don't know what software we will use just yet, but I can assure you we will make sure it is a safe, welcoming and fun place to spend time. Online forums can be intimidating, and Social Media overwhelming. We intend our community to be easy to use, and a friendly place to be.

The COVID pandemic has led to huge restrictions on our ability to hold events, and more clearly, a drop in interest for people to try new events as they worry about infection. 

We feel that with the worst stage of the pandemic behind us, 2022 is the time to experiment with different kinds of watch events. Some will be educational, some will explore the fringes of the watch world, some will help you meet other watch lovers, and some will focus on brand new watches. We want to move away from stuffy boutiques and strict brand guidelines. We want to experiment with locations that make learning fun, make it easy to enjoy the watches and get to know people. We want to do it all safely and in a way that welcomes people from all walks of life.

Do you have an idea for an event you'd like us to put on? What do you want us to do? What kind of thing is watch related and might be fun? We have no monopoly on ideas, and the watch world is so conservative almost nothing has been tried. We're here to change that, so do let us know your thoughts.

We are holding an in-person and a Virtual Event this month, and indeed every month in 2022. The in-person Meetup will be relaxed and intimate, somewhere in Central London. We will ask all attendees to register a negative lateral flow test before attending. It's on Thursday, January 20th from 6:30PM and you can register here.

Our next Virtual Event is A Short History of Rolex, hosted by yours truly, where we'll run you through just a tiny part of the Rolex story to help you understand how they have maintained their quality and reputation for so long. It'll be on Zoom, it's completely free, and it's at 8:00PM on Monday 24th January. Please register here.

The more people who can help us build this community, or if you know of anyone who likes watches, of any kind, please let them know about us, and tell them about our events. It'd be great to have them along. 

What does the Watch Collectors' Club do? What is the Watch Collectors' Club?

Watch Collectors' Club Plans for 2022

What to expect from The Watch Collectors' Club in 2022

The Watch Collectors' Club runs regular events where we teach members a little about watches, watchmakers, watch

A club for everyone who likes watches.

There are many millions of watches out there that do only one thing. Tell the time. They have no date, no fancy features, they just tell the time. Their job is to do that reliably, accurately and safely. We call these time only watches.

Achieving this took a surprisingly large amount of innovation in the watch industry during the move from pocket watches to wristwatches in the early decades of the 20th century. It was not simply about making everything smaller; putting a mechanical device on the wrist exposed it to far more movement, dust, and water risk than when the watch was kept in a pocket. This meant that technology had to improve at a rapid pace and it hasn't stopped since. Accuracy and reliability in watchmaking remain the goal whether the watch costs $10 or $1 Million.

It is possible today to buy a reliable digital watch for only $10, and a reliable mechanical watch for around $40. You can also pay millions of dollars for a handmade watch that also only tells the time. Two of the most popular watches in the world, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual and the Patek Philippe Calatrava only tell the time and have long waiting lists. So how do high-end watchmakers sell their time-only watches for thousands of pounds, and why are some of them so famous?

Why are some time only watches so expensive?

The story of making watches more reliable and accurate is ongoing. Some big watch companies design and make their own mechanisms, so-called in-house movements, aiming to bring out new and improved mechanisms every decade or so. Some do it with great fanfare, such as Rolex, others do it more quietly, but the quest to make watches better continues. These brands see technological development as a core part of their offer to customers.

Continued innovation in high-end watchmaking leads to higher accuracy and reliability, and most notably in recent years, a much longer service interval. Watch companies used to recommend a mechanical watch be serviced every 2 or 3 years, but now regularly offer 5 or 7 years guarantees on a movement and expect no service need until then. This is a massive benefit to the wearer and has come about thanks to huge amounts of research and development. These improvements cost money.

The watch world is still dominated by brands made in Switzerland and Japan. Both of these companies have a very high cost of living, and thus the employees of watch manufacturers and their suppliers based in these companies are very well paid by global standards. Similarly, the costs to manufacture are much higher than in other parts of the world. For customers who want their watch to be Swiss or Japanese-made, they have to pay these higher costs.

Finally, some watch companies hand adjust and hand finish their movements. This is incredibly labour intensive, and this labour is expensive, wherever it is done. The more hand-crafted a watch is, the more expensive it will be. 

Why are some mechanical watches so cheap?

There is a very simple answer to this: Asian Manufacturing. The excellent progress of simplifying movement design made by the Japanese over the course of the 20th century was then added to the sheer scale and quality of Chinese high-volume manufacturing. Citizen Watch Group make many of their low-end movements in China, and Seiko make many of theirs in Malaysia, but using Chinese-made parts. 

This enables simple movements, including time only movements, to be made at very very low cost as they make tens of millions of them. The same is true of quartz and digital watches.

However, these movements are not particularly accurate, and can often break. They are accurate to around 45 seconds variance per day, which over a week can lead your watch to be 5 or more minutes out. When they do break it is often not worth the cost of a service to fix them, they are usually replaced entirely by the watchmaker.

The good news is that the availability of these movements, plus ones made by Chinese manufacturers, has enabled the creation of a huge number of new Microbrands, allowing enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to start their own watch brands for very small amounts of money. We wrote a whole series of articles on Microbrands last year, and we love seeing what new ideas people dream up. Low cost movements allow this, without taking anything away from the higher-priced movements sold by other watch brands.

In 1927 Rolex introduced the first wristwatch to be a proper "hit". The Rolex Oyster was the first waterproof watch to hit the big time, with the Rolex brand and watch name marketed widely, something still unusual for watches at the time. They even put the watch in fish tanks in jewellery store windows to prove its claims! In 1932 Rolex added the Perpetual automatic, or self-winding movement, and this watch was even more successful. The watch has been so successful they still sell it today, 95 years later. The current version is powered by the Rolex Reference 3230 movement, which is the culmination of a century of improvements, with the latest version having no fewer than 91% new parts compared to the previous one when it was introduced this year.

The Patek Philippe Calatrava is the simplest watch in the Patek range, and for a firm most famous for complicated timepieces with many functions, it is still a very popular watch. Its simple design was influenced by the German Bauhaus design movement in the early 20th century. In 1952 it was given a revolutionary new automatic movement, and it has featured one ever since. The relaunch of the watch in the 1980s saw it given the name Calatrava, which it has retained ever since. Remarkably, this name is now so iconic that some people are referring to time-only watches from other brands as "Calatravas", despite it being a Patek Philippe brand name.

There are many more iconic time-only watches from the great Swiss and Japanese brands, such as the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso, and the Credor range made by Grand Seiko. They are often priced as true luxury watches, even if they don't have the most complex functions or movements, they are well regarded by collectors and very reliable for their owners.

The fact that time-only watches are the most numerous available means there are many very reasonably priced vintage watches available. This is often a great place to start if you like a watch brand but cannot afford its current range. You can buy incredibly high-quality watches for relatively little money, so long as you are very careful. See our guide to buying vintage watches for more details about how to get started.

There are so many watches in the world with interesting functions, fancy complications and crazy designs that it is easy to overlook the fantastic range of time-only watches on the market, from the youngest Microbrand to the most prestigious high-end Independent watchmaker. They are also the most accessible way to buy the big brands, whatever the price point. We at The Watch Collectors' Club don't have a favourite time-only watch but we see many in our members' collections. We hope you will join us to explore this part of the watch world. Please follow us on social media and make sure you are on our mailing list so you don't miss out on any of our events.

Why are some time-olny watches so expensive?

Exploring Time-only Watches

We explore the range of watches that simply tell the time.

Why are some time-only watches so expensive?

We're already half way through 2022 and it's been a great year so far building momentum for The Watch Collectors' Club! We've held 12 Events, with more planned this Sunday (details here) and in July. Last Tuesday we had our general Meetup in London, and it was a fantastic success, with a great mix of watches and people from different backgrounds. When watch lovers come together it's really easy to have a good time, and we keep proving it! 

It's the biggest brand in the world and there are a lot of them, but it's always lovely to see some Rolexes. No fewer than 8 were brought along on Tuesday! There were both new and vintage models, and it was especially nice to see the two Explorer models side by side. There are definitely two of the more subtle watches in the Rolex range. With their distinctive dials and tough construction, they are great daily wearers.

On the vintage side, there were some fascinating Elgin Drivers watches, which have hinged lugs to allow you to wear it on the side of the wrist while your hands remain on the wheel. I'd never seen or heard of these before, and they are a great example of the idea that you'll almost always learn something new at a meetup. It's one of the most fun things about them.

Finally, we had a nice range of High Quality Swiss and Japanese timepieces, some rarer than others, but all remarkable to see in person! Let's hope future meetups are as blessed. If you have something you're proud of and would like to share, please do come along.

Our audience and following continue to grow, and we will hold at least one online and in-person event every month from now on. If you have any event ideas you'd like to see us create, please let us know. In the meantime keep an eye out for our event promotion on our events page. 

We are building our educational resources and hope to launch our Club Membership towards the end of the year. If there's anything you think we should cover then do let us know! What do you most want to learn about? 

We are currently hiring interns, so if you want to intern with us or know anyone who likes watches and might jump at the chance to intern for a startup (paid, of course!), please send them our way.

As part of our ongoing development, we have changed our website domain and will change our email address after this week. So please update your safe senders, as all future Blog Posts and event communications will come from: join@thewatchcollectorsclub.com

Thanks for following us and please do give us any feedback about what you'd like to see us cover, any event ideas you have, and if you like what we're doing, tell anyone else you know who likes watches. The bigger this community, the more events we can run, and the more fun we will have.

June Meetup HIghlights and Watch Collectors Club Plans for the summer

A selection of fantastic watches from our Meetup earlier this week.

The Omega Speedmaster is one of the most famous watches in the world. Since its launch in 1957, there have been many changes, improvements, case shapes, and limited editions, and the watch that was the first to land on the moon is rightly famous and popular. The one that preceded the Moonwatch is also huge in terms of popularity and importance; this watch is referred to as the "Ed White". A simple classic design, and a famous movement, or mechanism, the Calibre 321, led to great popularity among collectors. This Blog Post will explain what is so special about it and why you might want one.

The fact that the Omega Speedmaster qualified to become the official watch issued to astronauts at NASA, the US Space Agency, is well known. The toughness of the tests it had to pass is not.

They were crazily difficult and the competing watches from Rolex and Longines-Wittnauer failed at least one of them. The tests included high temperatures of 93 Degrees Celsius (200 Fahrenheit), a temperature fluctuation in a pure vacuum test to mimic space, and very aggressive acceleration, decompression and vibration tests. That any watch survived them is remarkable, but the Speedmaster came through them ticking. This model, the Reference 105.003, entered the history books and is now known as the "Ed White".

How did an Omega Speedmaster become the Moonwatch?

On March 1st 1965, the watch became the official Flight Qualified watch for all Manned Space Missions and therefore NASA ordered watches directly from Omega to give to astronauts during training for their missions. Previously, astronauts had supplied their own watches.

Ed White was an early member of the NASA Astronaut program in the 1960s.  He is remembered for being the first American to "walk" in space. This means he undertook activities outside the small spacecraft in which he was orbiting the Earth. Most excitingly of all, he used a small gas-powered gun to move through space away from the vehicle, and he timed this movement using an Omega Speedmaster strapped to the outside of his spacesuit. In fact, he wore two Speedmasters on that trip, a journey known as the Gemini IV mission. 

As the first mission after the Speedmaster had passed the NASA tests and become the official watch for astronauts (which it remains to this day), it was very successful and proved that Omega had chosen correctly. The Spacewalk was 23 minutes long and proved the equipment was good enough to survive the tough environment of space. This test directly led to the momentum for the Moon landings four years later.

A tragedy cemented Ed White's legacy as a pioneering astronaut. While conducting a test for the Apollo 1 launch an accident on the launch pad saw the crew cabin containing three astronauts burst into flames. All the men died quickly, and the Speedmaster Ed White was wearing then was destroyed. His son inherited the other, and today it survives in a watch collection in Japan. The Speedmaster worn by the other astronaut on the Gemini IV mission, James McDivitt, is now held in the collection of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

The original Ed White is called the Speedmaster Reference 105.003 and is one of the most collectable Omega watches. There are plenty of them available as they were made in great numbers to celebrate the certification by NASA. There are many good and bad examples, so it is important to be careful if looking to buy a vintage watch. The most useful reference website for all Speedmasters of this period is the Speedmaster 101 website.  

In 2019, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Moon landing, Omega recreated the famous Calibre 321 movement by exactly copying one from an Ed White belonging to another astronaut, Gene Cernan. He flew with this watch on the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17 in  1971. The following year they released a brand new version of the Ed White model, which is an exact copy but made to modern standards. You get the 321 Calibre but made of modern materials, such as the Sedna gold coated base plates. It has modern lubricants and also the case is now 50m waterproof with a Sapphire case back. This has proven an exceptionally popular offering from Omega and is a great premium Speedmaster for those looking for something new.

The Watch Collectors' Club believes exploring the history of Speedmaster watches is worthwhile precisely because there are so many of them, and their involvement with NASA's various space programs means there are many fascinating stories. Understanding the differences in the details can be a lot of fun. The Ed White remains one of the most popular amongst collectors, and we hope we've explained why that is. For more content like this to help you learn more about the watch world, join our monthly watch events and make sure you follow us on Social Media.

What is the Ed White watch? What's the Speedy Ed White? Who was Ed White?

The story of the Speedmaster "Ed White"

Exploring the origins of this classy vintage and modern Speedmaster

We are delighted to announce our next virtual event, and we are starting by keeping it simple. It's on Sunday 24th July, at 7:30pm BST

You bring the watches, we will host the discussion. Here’s how it will work:

    The Watch Collectors’ Club exists to bring people together to explore, learn and share the world of watches.

    1.) Send us a pic or pics of a Watch from one of the largest watch groups. It can be any brand as in the photo.

    4.) Each person will get two minutes to introduce the watch, what it means to them, and what they like about it

    5.) If people want to discuss it, we discuss it

    6.) We all learn a little, and see some great watches.

That’s it. A stress-free way to learn what’s out there, and hear why people wear what they wear. If you don’t want to participate, that’s fine, you can just listen in. It’s a showcase and a get together. We will be kind, considerate, and interested. We ask you be the same.

Join us on Zoom for a wider reaning chat about watches.

join us online for a wide ranging chat about watches

WCC July Virtual Showcase 2022

Our next General Meetup will be on July 12th from 6:30pm in Central London, and we will release the details early in the week of the event. It will be a relaxed evening in a private space where you can come and share your passion for watches with like-minded people. We will give two short talks to help you learn more about this fascinating space, and there will be refreshments available.

Everyone is welcome, whether you have been collecting for years or are just getting started. We are creating a place to share knowledge and help each other out, and you don't even need to own a watch.

We assure you that the venue will be COVID-compliant, and there will be plenty of sanitiser available.  Please register using the link and if you have any friends how might like to come, also ask them to register in advance.

Join us to share your watch stories and explore the watch world.

watch meetup in central London July 2022 for watch collectors

WCC July in-person Meetup

Join us on Sunday June 19th at 7:30PM UK Time, for an engaging and interactive exploration of Patek Philippe. You'll hear about the 4 men who have made it the company is today, 4 of the most important watches from the last 100 years, and learn about the 4 little numbers that denote a Patek Philippe reference, and hence the name collectors use to talk about them. We promise a short, exciting, and of course interactive experience, where you'll learn a lot more about one of the world's most famous watch companies. It's free, and it's on Zoom, and everyone is welcome. Please register using the link below.

Join us for a short introduction to what makes Patek Philippe so special.

Live introduction to Patek Philippe and what makes it special

Virtual Patek Philippe Talk

June Virtual Meetup - Patek Philippe Talk

My Watch Collecting Journey - a hobby that's become a business

January In-Person Meetup Highlights

My Collection in 2022

Club plans for 2022

Make the watch world simple