Grail Worthy: The Omega Speedmaster Ref. 2915

1957 was a momentous year in world history. The final new episode of I Love Lucy aired on CBS, The King called Graceland home, Wham-O introduced the Frisbee, Russia launched the Sputnik I igniting the Space Race, and the legendary Omega Speedmaster was born.
A watch for ‘Men Who Reckon Time in Seconds’, this iconic model was initially marketed for use by sports writers, production engineers, movie and TV directors, athletes and coaches, and motorsports enthusiasts.
Of course the Speedmaster was destined for loftier heights than the Earth’s atmosphere could contain. It went on to become NASA’s choice for manned space missions, making Omega a household name during the Apollo program. and of course it accompanied the astronauts on mankind’s greatest achievement - touching down on a heavenly body.
In continuous production for nearly seven decades, the Omega Speedster line has iterated into virtually innumerable configurations. While the Speedmaster line has evolved far beyond its original brief and housed some of the Omega’s most innovative technologies, the history of it all begins right here with the first model, the Reference 2915-1.
The brainchild of designer Claude Bayod, the Reference 2915 was unlike any chronograph of its era. It housed a black, stepped "pie-pan" dial and elected for a tachymeter scale displayed on the bezel rather than its traditional location on the dial’s periphery.
Constructed with a more utilitarian aesthetic than its modern siblings, the Reference 2915-1 features a compact 38.5mm stainless steel case with straight lugs, a domed crystal, barrel chronograph pushers and a signed winding crown. The stainless steel bezel is engraved with what Omega initially referred to as a “TPM” or “Tacho-Productometer” scale with base-1000 markings, allowing the wearer to calculate speed on the fly.
Dating to the first year of production, this example is one of the most honest and lovely early pieces seen to date. Authentic and correct throughout, this exceptional example features the correct flat-link, expanding bracelet with short style signed clasp and a set of correct ‘Number 6’ end links. Impressively, it retains its correct early flat top bezel assembly, 24-tooth type 1 crown with flat feet logo, pre-Hippocampus blank caseback with Speedmaster engraving on the bevel edge, subsidiary alpha handset, and small chronograph pushers.
Its dial bears the signature triple register display showing a beautiful charcoal gray patina complemented by a broad arrow handset, both of which retain untouched luminous which have beautifully patinated to a caramel tone.
Powering this piece of course is the venerable Calibre .321. This manually-wound column wheel mechanism was based on the Lemania 2310, a Calibre that was so mechanically impressive, it was developed and adopted by the likes of the Patek Philippe with the Calibre CH27-70, Vacheron Constantin in the form of the Calibre 1140, and Breguet’s Calibre 533.3. Robust and undeniably important, the 321’s column wheel coordinates the start, stop and zero functions of the chronograph mechanism with the utmost precision.
With an estimated 300-500 pieces produced in period, locating an early first series 2915 is a tall order - more so when seeking out a top-quality example such as this one. Beyond reproach and fully backed with our warranty and guarantee of authenticity in perpetuity, this example returns to us from its most recent custodian unworn and unused for nearly a decade. Treated to a conservative mechanical servicing, this special Speedmaster is now ready for sale, accompanyied by a full set of factory ephemera, including a rarely seen period-correct corduroy-lined box, user’s manual, blank warranty booklet, period advertisement and an extract from Omega's Archives confirming production and delivery to Italy in 1957.
There are only a handful of wristwatches that have truly withstood the test of time. But none with more historical significance, pop culture relevance and enduring design than the Speedmaster.
Indeed, the original Speedmaster isn’t just a chronograph, it’s the chronograph.
This extraordinary timepiece is now available for viewing and purchase at Analog:Shift.
#AnalogShift #MakeTheShift

[@edotedy]

Time machine

[@Laguna2013]

these don't age well

[@Blackbay1010]

You’re prob a quarter of its age or less. Sit down

[@Laguna2013]

pass @@Blackbay1010