There’s a great line in terms of Endearment, when Jack Nicholson’s ex-astronaut roué defends his habit of using his old job as a prop to get laid. ‘There are 106 astronauts in the whole fucking world and I’m one of them!’ he yells at Shirley MacLaine. Which is, in a nutshell, how Omega feels about the Speedmaster. There is only one watch that Nasa has ever given out to astronauts, and Omega makes it.
That one fact goes a long way to explaining why Omega has just become the first major watch brand to set up a joint venture selling its own vintage watches – in a boutique called Somlo Antiques in the Burlington Arcade, which just happens to be half-a-dozen doors down from the world’s biggest (though unofficial) vintage Rolex shop. Such a venture is unusual for the obvious reason that watch companies want to sell new watches, not old ones, explains George Somlo, a vintage watch specialist of 37 years’ standing and Omega’s partner in the new boutique. Somlo says the idea came from Nick Hayek Jr himself – CEO of the Swatch Group, which owns Omega – who sees it is an unorthodox, but smart way to tell Omega’s heritage story. After all, it is stories, as much as design and quality, that sell all those new watches.
Omega has other tales to tell – it has been the official Olympics timekeeper since LA in 1932, for example – but the ‘Moonwatch’ is the one that resonates most. Back in the 1960s, NASA wanted a watch that would work in space. They were in a hurry, so rather than going through the whole tender rigamorole, they simply sent two engineers into downtown Houston to buy several chronographs, and tested them. Only the Speedmaster passed. All this happened without the knowledge of any of the brands, until completely out of the blue in 1965, the Speedmaster was adopted by NASA as the ‘officially certified wristwatch for all manned space missions’. Which must have been a great day at the office for Omega.
Stroll down to The Vintage Watch Company, the Rolex boutique, and you’ll realise just how much this matters. Because Rolex bristles with stories – and this shop shows and tells them to perfection. John Silver has been building this business and the collection for 15 years, and now has some 750 watches at any given time, many of which are in a window that is one of the most absorbing in London. There are lots of beautiful dress models from the 1920s and 1930s, but it is the Oysters, the world’s most iconic watch range, that makes the heart quicken, especially as their tales are told.
From early days, Rolex demonstrated an understanding of the power of a good story, ensuring Mercedes Gleitzse had an Oyster strapped to her wrist when she swam the Channel in 1927. In Silver’s shop, you’ll find exceptional examples of early Submariners, famed, of course, as the watch of choice for Ian Fleming’s Bond. Here, too, are early GMTs, the pilot’s watch commisisioned by Pan Am in the 1960s, as well as Daytonas, as worn by Paul Newman in Winning. There are Explorers, made in honour of Hillary and Tensing (who conquered Everest wearing Rolex), including a 1970s Explorer II, as worn by Steve McQueen in Bullitt (my favourite, which apparently makes me ‘a bit flash’).
All sorts come in here, says Silver: hedgies, captains of industry, celebrities – but no footballers, ‘which says it all’. These watches are too subtle for them, he says. They don’t say you’ve ‘arrived’; they set you apart. Can you tell a man by the watch that he buys? No, says Silver – he might be a collector. But you can tell a man by the watch that he wears. After all, if it’s a Speedmaster, it might just mean he’s an astronaut. Edward Vaughan
