There are many watch series in the watch world that are quite related to the field of racing, and some of them are directly used on the track, Traditionally, racing watches have been inextricably linked to the chronograph function, which can help competitors calculate the time and help them master their speed, and watchmakers have also thought of extending auxiliary scales such as tachymeters from the chronograph function to allow the wearer to better understand the relationship between time and speed.
Recently, there are two old racing watch series in the watch world, one is Omega's Speedmaster series, the other is Rolex's Daytona series, both of which are famous for the development of racing chronographs, but the former later became known for flying into space to obtain the reputation of the moon watch, which somewhat concealed its initial intention of being developed for motorsports, but these two series are already battle-tested evergreens, they are from the shape, design, There are many things to praise about everything from function to movement quality, which has led to the brand's continuous injection of new technological achievements in watchmaking to create a desirable ace racing chronograph.
OMEGA Speedmaster Super Racing Chronograph
OMEGA's Speedmaster range has evolved into a more diverse range of products, but the origins of the series for motorsport have not changed, with Speedmaster Racing being the heir to the series' track pedigree, especially its faceplate design that cleverly incorporates elements from the racetrack, making people feel the excitement of racing at a glance.
In 2023, the Speedmaster Racing collection pays homage to the Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss created by OMEGA 10 years ago (although it is not the same collection), thus extending the Speedmaster Super Racing chronograph.
▲The watch is black with yellow details, echoing the classic high-magnetic masterpiece of the Seahorse Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss, and even the dial has added a honeycomb pattern, exuding more eye-catching visual features.
The Speedmaster Super Racing Chronograph is made of stainless steel, with a bracelet of the same material as the case, and the case size is 44.25mm, which is the same as the general Speedmaster Racing chronograph, but the shape of the bracelet knuckle is based on the current moon landing watch and the Speedmaster Chronoscope, making it a bit different from other Speedmaster Racing chronographs.
In addition, the black bezel of the watch is made of ceramic, and the dial scale is filled with yellow pigment to echo the Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss, in addition to the central gradient chronograph large seconds hand, the subdial hand at 3 o'clock, the date dial numerals, the words "Speedmaster" and "SuperRacing" are also yellow, and the hour markers and hours, The Super-LumiNova coating on the surface of the minute hands is also yellow, which stands out against a black background.
On the dial, you can notice that the hands of the watch are plated in black, and the design of the central chronograph seconds hand has been changed - the needle body shows a shape that gradually decreases from the axis to the tip, and the diamond design is not added to the tip, and the details start to make the watch more simple and neat.
▲The 9920 automatic calibre equipped in the Speedmaster Super Racing Chronograph inherits OMEGA's modern high anti-magnetic technology, and through the improvement of materials, it gives the movement excellent anti-magnetic performance of more than 15,000 gauss.
A closer look at the black dial reveals a honeycomb pattern that differs from the Seamaster Aqua Terra >15,000 Gauss, which is said to be inspired by a concept watch with an anti-magnetic performance > 160,000 gauss, which is more visually subtle than the black dial of a typical Speedmaster Racing chronograph.
OMEGA has also left a bit of a surprise in the date display, the original date dial font has been changed to the same cursive style as the "Speedmaster" (the numerals for other dates are the same as those of ordinary Speedmaster chronographs), which is designed to echo the milestone of the 10th anniversary of the OMEGA > 15,000 Gauss anti-magnetic watch, so that on the 10th of every month, the wearer can experience this meaningful pleasure, if it was already a Seamaster Aqua Terra > owner of the 15,000 Gauss, and it will be a pleasure to take out the two watches at the same time.
▲Calibre 9920 is equipped with OMEGA's unique Spirate™ system, and the spiral silicon balance spring of the escapement system can be adjusted by a special device on the balance bridge, further pushing the watch's accuracy to an excellent level of 0~+2 seconds.
Rather than the "façade" details, the essence of this watch lies mainly in the movement, and the automatic calibre 9920 developed by OMEGA includes a Spirate™ system, which contains a special spiral hairspring that allows the movement to be fine-tuned more precisely, thus improving the overall accuracy of the watch. The hairspring in this system is made of silicon wafers, and OMEGA uses DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching) technology to achieve the special shape of the hairspring.
There is no shortage of movements in the world of watches that use silicon hairsprings, but they are often not able to adjust to the rhythm of time more precisely, but the spiral hairspring of the Spirate™ system breaks this limitation, allowing the silicon hairspring inside to control the length of the balance spring by means of an adjustment mechanism – a hint of this can be seen by a special mechanism on the balance wheel bridge of the 9920 calibre, which adjusts the rigidity of the hairspring junction so that the movement can theoretically be held with 1/ The 10-second fineness for quick adjustment, coupled with the variable inertia balance design of the movement itself, makes the watch's accuracy close to the ultra-high level of 0~+2 seconds per day, which is higher than the Masters Chronometer certification standard (0~+5 seconds per day) that is commonly required by OMEGA, and its anti-magnetic performance is also extended from the brand's first 8508 calibre with an anti-magnetic performance of 15,000 gauss.
Rolex Cosmograph Daytona 126500LN
Rolex's Daytona collection will be celebrated in 2023 as it is known that it will celebrate its 60th anniversary, and most people expected that the brand would want to "do big things" in this milestone year, and sure enough, the series will finally usher in a facelift in 2023 after 2000, from the original 1165XX to the 1265XX.
For example, the case shape seems to be about the same, and the diameter of the watch remains unchanged at 40mm, but Rolex has actually revised the appearance of the watch, and if you carefully taste the inside and outside of the new Daytona, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the changes that Rolex has been brewing for more than 20 years still show their full sincerity.
▲The bezel visible from the side of the case is inlaid with Cerachrom ceramic pieces on a metal base, which can strengthen the protection of the side of the bezel, while the visual effect and scratch-resistant and wear-resistant effect on the front are still undiminished.
A closer look at the new Daytona reveals that the lines of the case and lug edges have been trimmed even better, and the Cerachrom ceramic bezel is a new highlight in the collection.
Originally, Rolex used Cerachrom material to make the entire bezel, but the new generation Daytona switched to the way of inserts, and the Cerachrom material was inlaid on the metal bezel base, so if you look closely at the edge of the new generation Daytona bezel, you will find that it has a circle of metallic luster, a bit like the feeling of a ceramic piece being edged by metal, and the Cerachrom ceramic ring of the previous generation is a whole piece of the design presented on the outside, which has a sense of visual change, which can improve the durability of the bezel when it is hit on the side。
As for the appearance of the new generation Daytona, there is also a highlight that is not easy to notice visually, the brand has reduced the thickness of the case, compared with the previous generation, the new generation Daytona case thickness is reduced by 0.5mm, to 11.9mm, this slight size difference may determine the comfort of the watch to wear.
▲The dial seems to have changed little, but from some details such as the hour markers, the subdial scale ring has become slender, and even the crown pattern has been added at 6 o'clock, it can be seen that the watch has been replaced with a new generation.
The dial of the new generation Daytona somehow makes people feel that the watch seems to have changed Sven, because Rolex has changed the rectangular hour markers to be more slender and the edges and corners are clear, and the width of the scale ring of the three-eye chronograph subdial is also thinner, all of which make the overall feeling of the watch not as bold as before, but more restrained, which actually echoes the adjustment of the bezel.
In addition, the new generation Daytona also has a clue on the dial that helps to identify the new element in the direction of 6 o'clock, in the era of the 4130 movement of the previous dynasty, there is only a space in the middle of the word SWISS MADE in the direction of the Daytona dial at 6 o'clock, but in 2023, with the change of the Daytona dynasty, a new version of the movement of the watch will appear, so the current Daytona is in SWISS For the first time, the word "MADE" has been distinguished by the addition of a crown motif, which has been the way for all Rolex watches to be remodeled in recent years, and now Daytona is following in the footsteps of other collections and preparing for the next 20 years.
▲Compared with the 4130 movement, which takes a simple and simple route in appearance, the 4131 movement has made a lot of effort to shape and modify the appearance, regardless of whether the wearer can see it or not, which reflects the brand's attitude of pursuing progress.
The protagonist protected under the solid case back of the watch has been upgraded from the 4130 calibre, which has been in use for more than 20 years, to the 4131 calibre, which inherits many of the advantages of the former, such as a practical power reserve of 72 hours, and an escapement with anti-magnetic, The Parachrom balance spring with anti-shock and temperature resistance, the combination of the column wheel with the vertical clutch mechanism, the characteristic arrangement of the quadrat and the chronograph seconds wheel have also been maintained, and the new movement also introduces the latest developments of Rolex, such as the Chronergy escapement and Paraflex shock absorber to reduce energy consumption, and even the ball bearings of the rotor have been improved to improve the winding efficiency of the movement.
When it comes to rotors, the 4131 calibre pays more attention to polishing and styling than the movements produced by Rolex in the past, so the new model is replaced with an rotor with a larger hollow amplitude, and the base plate of the movement even has Rolex's new Côtes de Genève decoration, which seems to be more obvious from the spacing grooves between each wave, the brand has its own set of polishing standards and design, on the contrary, it can be seen that the 4131 calibre not only has optimized its performance, but also has a simple style of the previous 4130 movement, giving the movement a higher visibility。
OMEGA超霸Super Racing计时码表
Stainless steel / Automatic 9920 movement / Hours, minutes, small seconds, date / Chronograph function / Sapphire crystal / Transparent case back / Water resistant to 50m / Diameter 44.25mm / Reference price: RMB 94,300
ROLEX Cosmograph Daytona 126500LN
Stainless steel / 4131 automatic movement / Hours, minutes and small seconds / Chronograph function / Sapphire crystal / Water resistant to 100m / Diameter 40mm / Reference price: RMB 117,900
Article source: World Watches
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