Style / World of Watches (WOW)

SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition

Our dreams of space travel were fired by series like Ultraman. The SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition was precursor to what would become the Moonwatch.

Jul 10, 2018 | By Jonathan Ho

Tsuburaya conceived of a team of civilians and scientists of the Scientific Investigation Agency, dealing with monsters from space. Disguised as a human among them, was Ultraman, a super hero with the sole responsibility of protecting earth from these Kaiju or “giant monsters”.

For the second time in SpeedyTuesday history, the Omega is offering exclusive online sales of their latest SpeedyTuesday Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition. The Omega Speedmaster, largely evocative of mankind’s journey to the stars thanks to its association with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, is responsible for igniting many a costume designer’s space-faring imaginations but before that, what muse drove our scientists?

In 1967, shows like Star Trek and Tsuburaya Productions Ultraman were pushing our many scientific minds, young and old into overdrive. Eventually, Ultraman was given a boost with genuine space credentials when its costume designers chose to pair the bold orange suits of the heroic Ultraman Monster Attack Team with Omega’s Speedmaster “Moonwatch”, two years before it became the definitive spaceman’s watch.

1967 Omega Speedmaster which inspired the new SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition

1967 Omega Speedmaster which inspired the new SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition

SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition

Ultraman (ウルトラマン) is a Japanese tokusatsu science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. Conceptualised at the height of mankind’s space fervour, Tsuburaya conceived of a team of civilians and scientists of the Scientific Investigation Agency, dealing with monsters from space. Disguised as a human among them, was Ultraman, a super hero with the sole responsibility of protecting earth from these Kaiju or “giant monsters”.

An iconic feature of that classic Omega Speedmaster 1967 chronograph was its distinctive orange seconds hand, which drew the attention of the production team behind the fourth instalment in the series: Return of Ultraman. As the bold orange perfectly matched the suits of the heroic Monster Attack Team, OMEGA’s “Moonwatch” became an essential part of their beast-battling kit. As a result, this vintage Omega Speedmaster eventually came to be nicknamed “Ultraman”.

The new SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition draws inspiration from the original 1967 Speedmaster. Returning is not just the signature orange seconds hand but also matching accents on key hour indexes and the “tachymeter” text on the anodized aluminium bezel.

While the latest SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman shares many obvious stylistic changes, the subdials of the new “Speedy Tuesday” holds a few surprises. As Hayata, the Patrol Officer of the Scientific Investigation Agency was only able to stay as Ultraman for 3 minutes, the minute subdial at 3 o’clock features the first 3 minutes picked-out in orange. On the seconds subdial at 9 o’clock, there’s a hidden silhouette of Ultraman’s profile, which is revealed by a special tool available with the watch. The strap changer, identical to Ultraman’s Beta Capsule, features a UV lamp at one end, which when shined on the dial, reveals the image. Quite meta and extremely geeky, this Omega Speedmaster Ultraman limited edition is bound to be on every geek’s and Ultraman aficionado’s wishlist.

The applied vintage Omega logo on the dial adds a retro touch, recalling the 60s and 70s and the height of “moon pies” and astronaut food packs, while the caseback features an engraving of #SpeedyTuesday and the words QUALIFIED BY NASA FOR ALL MANNED SPACE MISSIONS. The SpeedyTuesday Omega Speedmaster Ultraman limited edition is presented on a black and orange NATO strap and comes with a spare black leather strap. Limited to just 2,012 pieces complete with its own hexagonal box: a tribute to the futuristic table used by Ultraman’s Monster Attack Team.

Omega Speedmaster Ultraman Limited Edition Price and Specs

Movement Automatic Calibre 1861 with 48 hours power reserve
Case 42mm stainless steel with 50 metres water resistance
Strap NATO
Price SG$9180

Place your reservation request now. Available from mid-August 2018.


 
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