Introducing The Operate-Packed Ollech & Wajs OW Astrochron

The Ollech & Wajs 1967 Astrochron was one of many first chronographs suited to skilled divers because of its 200m water resistant case. Outfitted with a Valjoux 72 motion, a motion it shared with fashions like the unique Rolex Daytona, the Astrochron has been chosen by Ollech & Wajs for a remake this 12 months. Whereas the Astrochron borrows some design cues from its 1967 ancestor and is powered by a descendant of the historic Valjoux 72, it’s geared up with a number of capabilities to maintain you coated in nearly any terrain. With double the depth ranking of the unique and fitted with a regatta countdown timer and a 360-degree rotating compass bezel, the Astrochron chronograph is a mighty strong and function-packed motion watch.

Temporary bio

Ollech & Wajs was based in 1956 by Albert Wajs and Joseph Ollech in Zurich and began life retailing watches from Omega and Breitling. The enterprise expanded to specialise within the meeting of actions from ETA, Dubois Dépraz and Valjoux inside stainless-steel circumstances from Maison Étienne. With a portfolio of hyper-resilient sports activities and power watches, OW gained a stable following amongst troopers, divers, pilots and American GIs in Vietnam.

Following the model’s restructuring in 2017, by 2019, OW was prepared to beat the market with its utilitarian instrument watches with a convincing 1960-Nineteen Seventies classic vibe and outsourced actions (you may learn in regards to the model’s historical past and key fashions right here). With fashions just like the OW C-1000, the Navichron and the Ocean Graph, OW proudly seems again to its archival fashions and reinterprets them in a recent mild.

1967 Astrochron

The title of OW’s 1967 chronograph was designed to seize the area age exploration mania of the day when the race to the Moon was an all-consuming matter. Though it didn’t make it to the Moon, it did make it onto the wrist of NASA’s chief rocket scientist, Werner Von Braun.

Touted as a precision chronograph designed for “pilots, sailors, troopers, engineers, world travellers, divers and frogmen”, the Astrochron was a rugged all-terrain watch with three counters, spectacular 200m water resistant credentials and completely different scales legitimate for navigation, calculating pace and timing immersions.

2023 Astrochron

Measuring 39.56mm throughout with a peak of 16.8mm, the brushed 316L stainless-steel case has a screwed again, a screw-down crown, 4 gaskets on the dual pushers and an extra-thick sapphire crystal to make sure the 500m water-resistance. Like the unique, the pushers are piston-style, however the giant striated crown has a flat head. Different updates embody the 360-degree rotating compass bezel with cardinal course markers and an angle scale and a two-tone gray and white 60-min dive bezel with the primary 20 minutes picked out in white.

Reverse panda

Like its forebear, the 2023 Astrochron flaunts a reverse panda dial with a North Atlantic blue background color and white sub-dials respecting the tri-compax structure of the unique (30-min totaliser at 3 o’clock, 12h totaliser at 6 o’clock and working seconds at 9 o’clock). Nonetheless, in comparison with the unique, the brand new Astrochron ditches the tachymetre scales and incorporates a date window within the 12-hour totaliser, which will be adjusted with the pusher on the caseband at 10 o’clock.

That includes a regatta countdown timer, the 2 triangular areas on the 30-minute totaliser, picked out in blue and white stripes and stable blue, add extra performance to the chronograph. All handled with Tremendous-LumiNova, the massive rectangular indices are indicated by the blunt-tipped baton hour and minute fingers, whereas the central chronograph seconds hand has a big white arrow. To bolster the classic temper, the Astrochron comes on a 20mm 316L absolutely brushed beads-of-rice stainless-steel bracelet.

Valjoux 7753

The 2023 Astrochron is provided with an automated Valjoux 7753. Beating at 28,800vph, the cam-lever chronograph motion delivers an influence reserve of 54 hours and is regulated, adjusted and examined in 5 positions on the OW workshop within the Swiss Jura.

Availabilty & Value

The primary 56 numbered OW Astrochron watches will be reserved on the model’s web site from March 10. Not like the unique Astrochron mannequin, which could possibly be ordered by way of mail and retailed for USD 85, the brand new Astrochron retails for CHF 2,496. For extra data, please go to ow-watch.ch.