The Omega 'First Omega In Space' Speedmaster Returns With A New Blue-Grey Dial; A Confusing Nomos Tangente 2date; A Black Captain Cook; New From Mühle; And An Update To The Best Watch In The World

Hey friends, welcome back to It’s About Time. I am a bit of an Omega snob. The Speedy Moon Watch sits way above anything else they make and I never really looked at any Alph-hand variations. But I have to say, this FOiS is really, really nice.

In this issue:

• The Omega 'First Omega In Space' Speedmaster Returns With A New Blue-Grey Dial

• Nomos Glashütte Introduces The Tangente 2date With Two Dates And A Brand New Movement

• Rado Gives Its Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Black And Rose Gold Colorway

• Mühle-Glashütte Introduces A Very Sporty 29er Big Small Seconds 1994 Edition

• Ressence Updates The Best Watch In The World, The Oil-Filled Type 3 With Two New B&W Versions

Today’s reading time: 9 minutes and 11 seconds

👂What’s new

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The Omega 'First Omega In Space' Speedmaster Returns With A New Blue-Grey Dial

Four years ago, Omega killed their Speedmaster First Omega in Space model. It was a nice looking watch, paying tribute to the watch Wally Schirra wore during his Sigma 7 mission. It was also significantly different to the Speedmaster Professional, with a smaller, fully symmetrical case, and Alpha-shaped hands. The tribute, which came out in 2012, was widely praised for the smaller case, offering a more traditional Professional look (apart from the hands) at a more manageable size, while also marking an important date in Omega history when Schirra made this watch the first Omega in space on October 3rd, 1962. Yeah, you see it, right? An Omega made it to space for the first time exactly 62 years ago today and Omega is introducing a new version of the First Omega in Space.

On the outside, if you’re not a huge Speedmaster fan you would say that’s just a Speedmaster. But if you’re a Speedy nerd, you will see all the differences. First, it’s still a symmetrical case, unlike that of the Pro. It also has straight lugs, kind of like the Speedmaster Calibre 321, with a combination of brushed and polished surfaces. The stainless steel case measures 39.7mm wide, 13.4mm thick and has 48mm lug-to-lug. On top is a domed sapphire crystal, but shaped to look like the Hesalite one, while out back is a solid steel caseback with an engravign of the Speedmaster hippocampus medallion. It also bears the “The First Omega In Space” engraving on the top and “October 3, 1962” on the bottom. Surrounding the crystal is the fixed external steel bezel with a black aluminium insert that has a tachymeter scale with the famous Dot Over Ninety. Water resistance is 50 meters.

As for the dial, this one is obviously different. While the previous FOiS featured a black dial, this one gets a really special gray-blue color achieved through a chemical vapor deposition process. It’s a stepped dial with the logo and Omega name taken from the original CK2998 that Schirra wore. The watch keeps the Alpha shape hands, now filled with a tan lume. The chronograph seconds hand is in a needle shape and varnished in white, while the small 12-hour and 30-minute pointers are also white.

Inside, you won’t find the 321 movement that the original CK2998 Speedmasters had. Instead, it’s the Speedmaster Professional-used Master Chronometer-certified caliber 3861 which has a Co-Axial escapement, a rhodium-plated finish and a 50 hour power reserve. The new Speedmaster First Omega in Space can be had with three options — a flat-link bracelet with brushed and polished links, or a brown or black leather strap.

So, the new Speedmaster First Omega in Space is smaller than the Pro, has a lot of heritage, a more retro look and, most interestingly, it’s cheaper than the Professional with sapphire crystal. If you get the FOiS on leather, it would set you back €8,300, while the steel bracelet is priced at €8,700. See more on the Omega website.

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Nomos Glashütte Introduces The Tangente 2date With Two Dates And A Brand New Movement

I stray far from the majority of the watch world when it comes to date windows on watches. For the most part, I can’t stand them. They mess up the symmetry, show up in the stupidest of places and I overall have no use for them. Sure, I know, I’m in the minority here and I completely understand why people would love to have a date indication and are willing to sacrifice a bit of looks to get it. So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw the new Nomos Glashütte Tangente 2date which at first glance seemed to solve the issue of using an unsightly date window or a superfluous pointer-date hand. They have this fantastic way of displaying the date on the edge of the dial — more on that later — but then I saw the name: 2date. In addition to that incredibly cool date indicator on the edge of the dial, they also have a date aperture for a traditional date wheel at 6 o’clock showing the exact same date. What the hell is going on here?

First, the case. It’s a classic Tangente. Bauhaus-inspired, made out of polished steel with those spindly angled lugs, the case measures 37.5mm wide, 6.75mm thick and with a 49mm lug-to-lug. On top is a flat sapphire crystal and an almost invisible bezel. Water resistance is 50 meters.

So, the dial. First the basic stuff. You can get it in either galvanic silver-plated with black printings or sunray-brushed blue with white printings. The hands are long, thin and rhodium-plated, with a snailed small seconds display sitting right underneath the central hand stack. Right underneath that is a traditional date window. But you also get the date indicator that I mentioned at the beginning. It’s a series of 31 numbers along the entire perimeter of the dial, with cutouts on either side of the numbers. Underneath the dial you have a red colored disc that frames the idnicated date on either side. It’s an incredible way to display the date, inconspicuous but extremely useful. Nomos already used it on the Tangente Update and Metro Update. So why show both? No idea, except to enrage me, I guess.

But perhaps more importantly, there’s something brand new inside. Gone is the Calibre Alpha, their first in-house movement that’s now almost 20 years old. Instead, you get the Calibre DUW 4601, which is also based on the Peseux 7001 like the Alpha, but thoroughly modernized. You get a skeletonised balance cock, which lets you see the Nomos swing system, a proprietary escapement. Power reserve is updgraded from 43 to 52 hours. The watches come on Horween Genuine Shell Cordovan black leather straps.

The new Tangente 2date is available now and will set you back €2,360 for the close-back option and €2,580 for the sapphire-back version. See more on the Nomos website.

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Rado Gives Its Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton A Black And Rose Gold Colorway

I’m pretty sure that when someone says Rado, the first thing that pops into your mind are the very 80s and 90s square ceramic watches. This would mostly be because most of us weren’t alive in the 1960s, when Rado made some really interesting dive watches. It’s those two histories - the 60s divers and their experience in high-tech ceramics - that meet up in the Rado Captain Cook, a retro looking but futuristically made, diver. The Captain Cook line has seen a number of iterations, with the most exciting being the skeletonized one which Rado is now releasing in a new black ceramic colorway and PVD rose gold accents.

The new Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton in black is a continuation of the model revamped last year which came in a dark grey ceramic and was updated earlier this year with a wonderful olive ceramic. Being based on the older model, you still get the same very chunky case - 43mm wide, 14.6mm thick and a 50mm lug-to-lug. Those who have worn it say that it’s very comfortable on wrist, despite its size, due to the curved lugs.

But the shape of the case is less interesting than the materials and colors. It has a monobloc construction and a matte black finish. The same material/color is found on the bezel insert, with very appropriate contrasting details that are rendered in polished rose gold that comes as a PVD coat. It clashes fantastically with the black of the rest of the watch. The bezel also has a concave shape, a pronounced domed sapphire crystal and the watch is water resistant to 300 meters.

Being a skeletonized watch, there’s not much of a dial. You can see the entire movement with the only dial-like elements being a matte black inner flange to which a tinted transparent crystal and rose-gold coated hour markers are attached. Despite there being no dial, Rado adds an anchor logo at 12 o’clock with a synthetic ruby backplate, with the party trick being that the anchor rotates. The centre-wheel bridge is also gold-coloured.

The movement you see is the Rado Calibre R808, which is essentially a reworked and openworked version of Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80 movement. It beats at 3Hz frequency and has an 80 hour power reserve. It’s equipped with an antimagnetic Nivachron hairspring and is wound by an anchor-shaped rotor.

The black Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Skeleton is part of the regular collection and it can be yours for €4,900. See more on the Rado website.

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Mühle-Glashütte Introduces A Very Sporty 29er Big Small Seconds 1994 Edition

Certainly the most undervalued brands to come out of the famous German town of Glashütte, Mühle-Glashütte has been on quite a roll expanding both their dress and sporty model lines. And joining this roll out is the new sporty and nautically-themed 29er Big Small Seconds 1994 Edition, named after the 29er class of racing boat.

Being a sporty watch, don’t expect it to be small. It’s a chunky thing that measures 42.4mm wide, but a fairly thin 11.3mm. There are pronounced triangular crown guards on the right side and the majority of the case is brushed with polished facets. Water resistance is 100 meters, which should be enough when faced with sailing.

The dial reflects the nautical theme. The base of the dial is a dark blue, with a lighter blue flange that surrounds it and holds the white minute scale. Hours are indicated with applied baton hour markers and pointed to with equally shaped hands. The seconds hand is dislocated to the small seconds sub-dial at the 6 o’clock position, while at 3 o’clock you’ll find a date aperture with a blue date wheel.

Inside is the SW261-1 automatic, a derivation of the trusty SW200, but with a small seconds display. It beats at 4Hz and has been modified by Sellita for Mühle with a shockproof woodpecker neck regulator for improved regulation and accuracy. It has 41 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a blue fabric strap.

The new 29er Big Small Seconds 1994 Edition actually celebrates the 155th anniversary of the original founding of the brand, so the watch is limited to 155 pieces and priced at €1,900. See more on the Mühle-Glashütte website.

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Ressence Updates The Best Watch In The World, The Oil-Filled Type 3 With Two New B&W Versions

You might think that the title is hyperbole, that there’s no way that the Ressence Type 3 is the best watch in the world. But you would be wrong. If you’re a regular reader of the newsletter, you know what’s about to happen. If you’re new here, let me introduce you to my absolute obsession with Ressence watches, especially the Type 3. Ever since I first saw one in 2013, I fell deeply and madly in love. Which is kind of funny, because Ressence watches are not watch-nerd watches. They are what happens when you give an industrial designer free rein on watch design. It’s a completely new, yet eerily familiar way of displaying time and I really think it is the best watch in the world. The operating phrase being “I think”. But now, Ressence is updating the Type 3 Black and Type 3 White to match the rest of the lineup and I still think they’re great.

The incredible pebble case remains largely the same, with barely noticable updates. it’s made out of grade 5 titanium and measures 44mm wide and 15mm thick. The case has always been made out of two parts — the top curved part filled with oil to give the iconic Type 3 look and the bottom part which houses the movement. The bottom parts has now been restyled to look very much like the top part, making it very symmetrical, divided in two with a strip of titanium.

More updates can be found on the dial, but only done to make them look very much like other watch in the Type 3 collection. Overall, it’s a more clean and modern dial, with a simpler hour disc with indexes every two hours and a redesigned shock absorber. Additionally, the weekend days and oil temperature indicators now feature new pastel tones. Ask me which I would choose, and I would have to say I prefer the original, but mostly due to a nostalgia factor.

Not much has changes in the way it works. Both still have automatic ETA 2892 base movement on the bottom side and an oil filled top part that creates a projection effect that gives the illusion of information displayed directly on the glass. The issue is, of course, that the mechanical movement can’t sit in oil. So Ressence developed the ROCS, their proprietary module to display all the information on top through a series of rings that are connected to the movement with magnets. And if you know anything about watches, you know that oil, magnets and mechanical movements can only cause problems. Well, not here. Ressence goes to insane lengths, creating a series of bellows to ensure consistent oil viscosity at most temperatures and ensuring that the magnetic fields counteract each other before they reach the movement. You gave to love them. The Black comes on black synthetic strap while the White comes on a grey woven fabric strap

The new Ressence Type 3 Black and Type 3 White replace the previous versions as members of the regular collection and will be available for purchase very soon. While super fun, these are not cheap watches. They will set you back CHF 38,200. Without taxes. See more on the Ressence website.

🫳On hand

Our selection of the best reviews we stumble upon

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A review of the Tuul Filthy 13 in bronze

2/

Hands-On with the De Rijke & Co. Guy Allen “Land” From The Amalfi Series

3/

A review of the titanium Alpine Eagle XL Chrono

⚙️Watch Worthy

A look at an off beat, less known watch you might actually like

The Bower Tide Seeker is a beach lover’s dream

Don’t think for a moment that the Bower Tide Seeker is just another Kickstarter watch with a niche slapped on top. The name Tide Seeker is accurate, because the tide function is displayed front and centre. What seems at first like an oversized seconds hand from a ‘60s dive watch is actually the tide hand, which points to the rehaut chapter ring ranging from high tide, across falling tide, down to low tide, then back up through the rising tide. It’s quick, self-explanatory, and gives you a relaxing mental picture of the shore whenever you check your wrist.

Read the whole review on Time + Tide

⏲️Wait a minute

A bunch of links that might or might not have something to do with watches. One thing’s for sure - they’re interesting

• This story about a young reporter being sued by the former governor of Mississippi for defamation is made even more compelling by the reflections of ESPN senior writer Mark Fainaru-Wada, who almost went to prison for refusing to give up a source while reporting for The San Francisco Chronicle two decades ago. The braided approach gives this piece deeper layers and insights.

• New York magazine goes inside the secretive alliance between the New York Post and Eric Adams. Rupert Murdoch’s paper helped elect Adams and hasn’t quite given up on him yet, despite all the scandals.

• I am in awe of how John Lanchester took a subject that would make many of our eyes glaze over—the consumer price index—and turned it into a brilliant and entertaining narrative. And it centers on a non-human protagonist! I love how John Lanchester just lays that out right away: “The main character of this piece is not a person but a number. Like all the facts and numbers cited above, it comes from the federal government. It’s a very important number, which has for a century described economic reality, shaped political debate and determined the fate of presidents.”

👀Watch this

One video you have to watch today

Casio should make this an actual release.

💵Pre-loved precision

Buy and sell your watches. Think of this section like old school classifieds - i don’t guarantee anything except that a bunch of people will see your ad and I’ll put the buyer and seller in touch. Want to advertise your watch? Contact us

• LOOKING TO BUY: Here’s a crazy request. One of you is looking to buy the Lotēc No. 7.5. Sure, it’s a big ask, but if any of you have one and want to sell, reach out to and I’ll put you in touch

• SOLD: Well, not really new. It’s a great looking mid-90s Tudor Submariner 75090, offered for sale by a member of the It’s About Time reader crew. I love the way it looks and seems to be in great condition. Check it out over on Chrono24.

• LOOKING TO BUY: One of our readers is looking to purchase three very specific watches: an Islander ISL-133 Mother of Pearl, a Sinn 556 Mother of Pearl or a Zelos 300m GMT Mosaic Mother of Pearl. If you’re selling any of these, reach out to us and we’ll put you in touch

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-Vuk