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...

  Our second look at the vintage watch market and I really want to do something different. I want to stay close to home (the UK) and look at the small independent dealers. In these times if I can help in my tiny way to spread the word on these dealers I will. All of them have wonderfully curated pieces, they have a theme to their stock. They say 'Buy the Seller' and I could not agree more with this and these dealers are worth buying.  First up something from a great brand, Zenith (I'm wearing my vintage Zenith Defy as I write this) A MK1 Zenith S.58. Zenith's late 50s tool watch. In some ways this is Zenith's answer to the Rolex Submariner and the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms. But I feel it's closer to the Explorer or even the Enicar Seapearl 600 both being bezel-less adventure tool watches. This is a something that Zenith carried through into the later Defy.  My Zenith Defy. This model is sold through Vintage Watch Specialist and i...

  Two Enicar watches from Greg's collection Meet the collector.  In this regular feature I speak with some of most exciting people in the collecting community. I go deep into what drives their passion , be it for watches, cars or even photography. They all share that hunger for the hunt, to feel a hole, a need.  My choice is someone who has a unique collection. Someone that holds character above value, that’s passion for watches and what they represent, the stories they tell will make think about why we collect.  The featured collector is Greg Selch. Greg’s collection doesn’t follow the fads of the must haves, this is not someone collecting to impress, Selch is collecting to learn, to become a scholar.  So sit back with a coffee or something a little stronger and hear from of the communities most interesting collectors.  Aquastar Benthos Where is home?  I live in NYC, where I was born in 1966. I have a house that I built with friends in M...

  The Baltic Aquascaphe : Dive Time The Baltic Aquascaphe : Photo Baltic What is in a name? There are some names that conjure up an image that typifies the object in question. The Ford Mustang, The Supermarine Spitfire and The Baltic Aquascaphe. It brings to mind an early diver in the deep dark waters of  a dangerous sea, a tool in the hands of a diver with years of experience, a diver that is fearless. A name can fabricate a history, it can make an object in some way iconic. But then a name can be elevated by what is represents. John Lennon without John Lennon would just be a man from Liverpool.  Baltic is a French microbrand that has become a darling of the watch collecting world. An appreciation that is not undeserved. Since their kickstarter launch in 2017 they have produced some beautiful and price conscious watches. The microbrand landscape is a crowed space. The growth of social media in the watch wor...

  Future Proof: The Omega Megaquartz 32 Christmas Day 1969 a day that changed the watch industry. On that day Seiko released their first (and the worlds) quartz watch. The Astron was a time only quartz watch in a beautiful gold case that was truly of it's time. Seiko reported an accuracy +/- 5 per month and a price tag of ¥ 450,000, which at the time was massive amount of money for a watch. But it sold very well and is now a very collectable piece.  Photo: Seiko It was not long before R&D enabled much cheaper quartz watches to be produced. In the collecting world this period is generally considered the 'Quartz Crisis'. But clearly this is a matter of perspective, one man's crisis is another man's revolution. For the first time a better then COSC accurate watch was available for all, it was truly democratic. To the thousands of new opportunities outside of Euro...