Omega’s new Speedmaster is the latest to make a fortune at Vintage Vogue

This is inevitable The past has cast a long shadow over what is inherently retro in the watch industry, and its presence today can be seen as anachronistic, with many of its most important historical designs never really going away. For example, Patek Philippe’s Nautilus watch is so hot right now that a steel version that retails for £26,870 ($36,512) is trading for $100,000 more than that, and its design has barely changed since 1974. The Calatrava dress watch from the same brand dates back to 1932.

On the other hand, a booming antiques market, the proliferation of scholarship and awareness in online communities, and a continued passion for retro are producing new versions of everything from vintage consoles and analog synths to classic cars to the last engine rivets, for Brand looting profiles create a richer landscape. As evidenced by the retro models below.

Omega Speedmaster 321 Canopus Gold

Most people know that Speedmaster is a watch to the moon Worked with NASA astronauts, but it started life as a racing watch in 1957. This version dates back to the original 1957 model, albeit in an ultra-luxurious format: the case is Canopus gold (Omega’s exceptionally bright white gold alloy) rather than steel, and the dial is cut from black onyx.

But in this case, the real retro play is the movement inside it (the mechanical “engine” that powers the watch). Three years ago, Omega put its manual-winding movement, the Calibre 321, last produced in 1969, back into (extremely limited) production and kept a special workshop in its high-tech factory for manual assembly in the old-fashioned way.

Powering the Speedmaster worn by Apollo astronauts in the 1960s and early 1970s (including the moon landing), the Calibre 321 holds a special place among enthusiasts and collectors. This is only the third modern watch to include it: retro on the outside, even more so on the inside, but at a jaw-dropping $81,000 modern price. The silver lining is that if we’re persuasive, we’ll throw money at Omega at some stage for a more affordable steel version.

Zenith Chronomaster Original

Unlike Omega’s Calibre 321, Zenith’s historic chronograph movement, the El Primero, has never been discontinued: it was launched in 1969 as the first self-winding chronograph (watch with a stopwatch function), and has remained a Zenith A mainstay of the watchmaking industry ever since. Rolex also used it in the 1990s. Today’s El Primero is a thoroughly modern engine, but Zenith has been leveraging its retro origins with a range of retro-inspired models.