professional

Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary Watch

A new Baselworld and a new limited edition Omega Speedmaster Professional watch right? Like clockwork... This year the piece is known as the Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary Watch, and is meant to celebrate the 1975 launch of the Apollo-Soyuz spacecraft - an historical mission due to its collaboration between the US and the then USSR. This was also the final mission with a space shuttle bearing the "Apollo" name. It is known as the first international space flight. In remembrance of this event, the watch will be limited to just 1975 pieces with a specially engraved caseback. The watch will also feature a special dial made from meteorite - probably the best feature of the watch. Personally, I love meteorite watches, and it has always looked pretty darn good on the Speedmaster Professional. You can see that the meteorite has been given two colors, a lighter tone for the subsidiary dials. Otherwise, the watch pretty much remains the same. With the same steel case and manually wound mechanical chronograph movement.

With all this focus on preserving the heritage of the moon landing and space shuttle events, I think that the Swatch Group (parent company of Omega), should step in and try to save NASA, from a short-sighted US Government that is contemplating the closure of the extremely important US treasure. A couple of hearings on behalf of NASA would help at least. That would be an event worth watching CSPAN for.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary Watch

Tags: 1975, 35th anniversary, Apollo Soyuz, meteorite, Omega, Professional, Speedmaster

Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch 40th Anniversary Limited Edition: Now In Platinum

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The quintessential function-first, tool watch has finally gotten a healthy dose of gaudiness. It was only a matter of time before Omega decided that it needed to price a version of the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch out of its core consumer's spending threshold. Available starting at Omega's new flagship 5th Avenue store in New York City - 69 pieces of the new 40th Anniversary Limited Edition Apollo 11 Moon Watch, in platinum, will tempt collectors. The watch case, bracelet, and hands are done in platinum. An 18k gold engraved plate on the caseback, and as the seconds subsidiary dial, are emblematic of the successful 1969 moon landing mission. The gold plate on the dial pictures an eagle landing on the moon, to celebrate the historical statement made famous by event stating, "the eagle has landed."

Even after 40 years, the watch remains very true to the original. Size of the case is 42mm wide, while the crystal is made out of an acrylic compound called Hesalite. Why not sapphire? Because the plastic is shatter-proof (even though it can scratch), and a shattered sapphire crystal in a space shuttle would be a disaster. The movement is a still manually wound Omega Caliber 1861 movement. Again, this has to do with the fact that an automatic movement would be worthless in a gravity-free environment.

The platinum version is in addition to a stainless steel version of the 40th Anniversay watch, which will also be in a limited edition, but of 7,969 pieces instead of the 69 pieces for the platinum version. From afar, the only thing telling the watches apart from is the color of the engraved plate on the dial - which is gold for the platinum watch, and sterling silver on the steel version. I would guess that price for the platinum version is $100,000 plus. Still a good looking watch, but did they take it too far? We will only know after seeing what Omega comes up with for the important 50th anniversary in another 10 years.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 40, 40th, anniversary, moon, moonwatch, omega, platinum, professional, speedmaster, watch

Quench Bar

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Spirits

The ultra-sleek Quench Bar gives the impression that it was wheeled out of a hip nightclub and brought straight home. Made of brushed and polished stainless steel, the bar's most stunning aspect is the placement of two UV-sensitive panels on the front, which glow under the black light that is hidden just under the bar top. It is set on wheels, with castors to prevent unwanted movement, so it is fully mobile. It has a professional layout, stainless steel sink and a removable drip try in the counter, in case any of your friends are a bit clumsy with their cups. A fridge that is designed to fit behind the bar is included, but it will not travel quite as easily as the rest of the bar, which can be disassembled and reassembled in less than 60 minutes. Price: £4,195.

[via Born Rich]

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Tags: bar, bars, drinks, nightclub, professional, quench