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@bjoernaltmann

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Visualisation and dial design
TAG Heuer | Ollech & Wajs | Wristcheck | Hodinkee | Watches of Knightsbridge | EG Studio

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The ‘Selectron Computer’ slide rule chronograph, one of Ollech & Wajs best known, best recognised and most enduring product lines.
The multipotentialite Ref. 003 was something straight out of the space age in 1969 - “The watch with the mechanical brain”, as OW described it. Advertising slogans like ‘Own today the watches of tomorrow’ were perhaps prophetic given the ubiquity of today's so-called smart watches. One advertisement even went as far as suggesting that ‘time’ was a secondary purpose - ‘Swiss Flight computer tells time too!’. The ‘Selectron Computer Chronograph’ was aimed primarily aviators, chief engineers and men in command. Pilots from the Red Arrows and the RAF Phantom squadron are known to have used the watch in the early 1970s. The Selectron Computer came with a two thousand word instruction manual detailing the multitude of computations it could perform on the ground and in the air.

Part 7 of the OW classics Immortalised Project. The series, which also includes prototypical renderings of the legendary 1965 Early Bird and the 1967 Astrochron, is now published in full on our website (link in bio).

Illustration: @bjoernaltmann

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If you’re in Brussels this Sunday 2nd July between 1-5pm, drop into the PROSPER boutique (@prosper_brussels) and hear our CEO deconstructing some of the classics from the OW archive.

PROSPER 📍🇧🇪
Antoine Dansaert 101,
1000 Brussels, Belgium.

Illustration: @bjoernaltmann

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The 1966 ‘Moon Orbiter’ slide rule watch (Ref. 73), like the Ollech & Wajs ‘Early Bird’, was inspired by a space race era satellite. The Lunar Orbiter Program was launched to photograph the Moon’s surface and help NASA identify suitable landing sites for the Apollo Program. Five Lunar Orbiters were successfully flown in 1966 and 1967, mapping 99% of the Moon’s surface with a resolution of 60 meters or better.

Back on earth, the Moon Orbiter watch ambitiously combined two concentric bi-directional scales which revolve around a 24h dial - a night and day duel time bezel and an E6B slide rule, operated by the lower of the two crowns.

"The Moon Orbiter watch was made at the same time as the Early Bird. Both models were made to house 24-hour movements, but for the Moon Orbiter, an experimental model, we were short of the 24-hour wheels, so only part of this production run actually houses the 24-hour movement version, while the rest were fitted with the same movement, but with the normal 12-hour components." - recalled Albert Wajs, who himself, designed this watch.

The Moon Orbiter is indicative of OW’s endeavour to extend the assortment of computations a professional tool watch could perform. It is also evidence that innovation is no garuntee of commercial success. Impressive as it was to fit so much functionality into a 38mm diameter area, the diminutive 24 hour dial proved too small for people with anything less than 20/20 vision. This was particularly problematic for potential military users to whom the watch was primarily aimed.

It is recorded that less than 100 watches were assembled for OW, making it a highly prized historic reference amongst OW collectors.

Part 8 of the OW classics Immortalised Project. The series is now published in full on our website.

Illustration: @bjoernaltmann

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#MakeDressWatchesGreatAgain 👍

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The Astrochron

1967 saw a new addition to the Ollech & Wajs collection – a chronograph that many consider the company’s finest ever. The ‘2003 GMT Roboter World-time 17-Jewel Pilot and Diving Chronograph’ would soon become known simply as ‘the Astrochron’. Like its predecessor, the hugely successful ref 2002 Navichron, the new ref 2003 was certified 20atm / 200 m water-resistant. Few chronographs of that period could claim anywhere near that level of impermeability, and 200 m depth rating is impressive even by today’s standards. The Astrochron was powered by the legendary Valjoux 72 movement, favoured by makers of most of the prestigious chronographs such as the original Rolex Daytona. However, while many brands of the day used track racing as a marketing shorthand for precision timing, the Astrochron appealed to professionals far beyond just motorsports. A letter airmailed to O&W Zurich toward the end of 1967 confirmed that the Astrochron had admirers within NASA circles and was even presented to the Apollo programme’s chief rocket scientist, the infamous Dr Wernher von Braun.

Part 6 of the OW Classics immortalised project. Illustration: @bjoernaltmann

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Cartier is for lovers, right? 🤍💙

#SingaporeWatchClub

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Illustrator @bjoernaltmann shows us his take on the @audemarspiguet Royal Oak. What’s yours?

Get creative and show us #YourTakeOnTheRoyalOak by hitting our link in bio.
The competition closes on the 6th of November 2022, so get your entries in!

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3 of my favourite artistic shapes from the glorious house of @Cartier.

Which one would you pick? 🤗

#SingaporeWatchClub

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Watches and art — it’s remarkable how these two diverse worlds of collectibles have been influencing each other for years now. Today, if you look up #watchart, you’ll discover many artists in the digital world whose works are inspired by watchmaking. And even though it’s tough to capture the enormous talent brewing in the contemporary watch-art scene right now, we reached out to some of the leading names for our two-part series, The Art of Time. Hit the link in bio to discover these artists’ incredible creations!

✍🏽: @natvff ⁠

#wristcheck

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OW Aquaguard Ref. 405 
The1962 Aquagaurd predated the iconic OW Caribbean 1000 by two years and was also an important watch for OW. Not only does it exemplify the utilitarian simplicity for which OW is now known, it was one of our first watches to adopt an automatic ETA movement. Its brushed stainless steel skin diver–style case, oversized crown (designed to be easily gripped with diving gloves), and hand-painted luminous spot hour markers typify the aesthetic of dive watches of the period. The Aquaguard line incorporated several dial and bezel variations, but this particular one – with its Mercedes, Dauphine and lollipop hand combo – is something of a rarity. Part:3 of the ‘OW Classics immortalised’ project.

Illustration: @bjoernaltmann

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