The Watch and Dry Goods Co.

  Moon Shot   Photo: Omega  So much has been written about Omega's relationship to NASA and the moon landings of the late 60s, early 70s that it is true lore of the watch world. Ever since Wally Schirra wore an Omega Speedmaster Ref 2998 during his Mercury flight the Speedmaster has been a space watch with all the excitement and glamour that brings. In 1969 the Omega Speedmaster Professional (as it had become) became the Moonwatch when Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the Lunar surface (Neil Armstrong left his Speedy on the LEM as a back up) it had now reached legendary status.  Since NASAs last visit to the Moon in 1972 with Apollo 17 there has been many Speedmaster references and countless Limited Editions. Many sold under the banner 'Moonwatch'. Now the farther we get away from the Apollo programme and the more versions that appear I begin to wonder if we start to dilute what it is to be a Moonwatc...

Making a watch your own, in a disaster zone: Vintage Seiko 6309-7040 Gareth Munden © For a long time I wanted a Seiko 6309 ‘Turtle’ Dive watch. I had looked on Ebay, the normal mix of mods and redials. Nothing that I wanted. So I moved on, forgot about it. I have a love of really beat up watches, one that have lived a life. I guess that have that feeling of an old pair of Redwings, worn, but miles of walking left in them. Then one afternoon looking on the ‘Bay. There with a Dutch dealer that sells many used Seiko Dive watches was a 1981 Seiko 6309, boy was it me. The text on the dial was almost gone, the lume was faded and the hands in a bad way. I love them rough and this was the one.  1984 Seiko 6309  The watch didn’t disappoint. In fact I liked it more on the wrist. Sure it wasn’t my most expensive or rarest watch. It’s a pretty common model, run of the mill. But something about I enjoyed. It did get me thinking about history of our watches. This Seiko clear had a lif...