ANOTHER LAUNCH MISSION

The M-52B AF was launched over Christmas of 2023 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the 1954 maiden flight of the first B-52 production model. It also salutes the exceptionally rare Ollech & Wajs B-905 ‘US Airforce’ – a watch that was custom made more than half a century ago for airmen serving in Vietnam. 
The dial of the new M-52B AF bears the unmistakable silhouette of the most iconic combat aircraft of all time, the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, the longest-serving combat aircraft in history. After a sucessfull pre-launch teaser campaign, all 56 numbered Editions were reserved within a week and there is now a world-wide waitlist.

OUR FIRST DIGITAL WATCHES IN 68 YEARS

As a Swiss watch brand with a global customer base, but only a handful of retail partners, our challenge is how to let people fully appreciate the fine craftsmanship of our mechanical watches, when they can’t see them IRL. So we set out to create a best in class online demo tool. Using the very latest interactive digital technology we have created 18 fully interactive 360° avatars, one representing each watch and strap variation in the Ollech & Wajs collection. Accurately rendered in infinitesimal detail, bezels that rotate, removable case backs that expose gravity responsive movements, they even display the correct time and date. The new platform allows people to discover subtle design details under extreme magnification and experience our watches like never before. Click on the 360 thumbnails on each product page on the OW website, have a play and let me know what you think...

ORANGE. THE OFFICIAL COLOUR OF ADVENTURE

This fall we boldly introduced the Frogman Expedition watch band. Inspired by the intrepid Frogmen of the 1960s and their striking orange wetsuits. Immortalised in comic books and on movie posters, Frogman orange is the original color of underwater adventure. It is also associated with danger, and the more perilous the mission, the more orange the wetsuit. In fact, orange wetsuits seemed to attract trouble - its wearer invariably ended up being attacked by giant sea creatures or enemy Frogman. Subdued by decades of exposure to sunlight and saline, once vivid scuba gear takes on a vintage coral hue. This distinctive colour now features on OW's boldest rubber dive strap.

DEPT.000 - A SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION OF OLLECH & WAJS

Department Triple Zero began as an administrative designation to handle the burgeoning demand for Ollech & Wajs military watches in the mid 60s. It went on to develop several watches specifically to meet the needs of the US military. Today it handles all development of specialist and custom watches, for military and non-military-organisations. I have been given a mandate to explore how Dept.000 can not just co-exist alongside OW’s consumer business but can compliment and influence it. Marketing Dept.000 presents a challenge as much of the work it undertakes is of a confidential or proprietary nature. Not withstanding, this year we acknowledged its existence, for the first time, within a consumer context and began sharing some of its recent projects (and historic ones) with our consumer audience. An exciting new chapter for Ollech & Wajs, with potential to reinforce its credentials as a watch brand for elite professionals.
Read more about Dept. 000 here

Recent undertakings include a regimental watch for a US Marine Corps assault support helicopter squadron, call sign ‘Ugly Angels’.

A prototype case back for the bespoke OW 350CI created for the Ugly Angels, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 362 in 2023

Dept.000 began developing watches specifically to meet the needs of the US military, the best known of these models is the eponymously named ‘Early Bird’. Coined after the world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite, the model was designed specifically for pilots and radio operators, for whom a 24-hour ‘military time’ dial and dual-time zone bezel were invaluable.

Dept.000 created special regimental editions bearing various Air Force, Navy and Army insignia throughout the Vietnam conflict.

UPCYCLING, COURTESY OF THE SWISS ARMY

Ollech & Wajs have been upcycling again. This 60 year old, military grade hemp twill was originally intended for its rucksacks and truck skins and comes from the surplus stock of the Swiss Army. We’ve given it a second life as the handcrafted ‘Armée suisse’ strap, available exclusively on the M-110 AS. Not as simple as as you’d expect, but worth all the hard work when it generates media commentary like this! Full PR release here

Time + Tide on the new M-110 Armée suisse reclaimed hemp twill strap. Full article

THE NOT SO NEW 56 M

In a world obsessed with new, it’s nice to see the media enthusing about something old. A production journey that started decades ago concludes with the new – well, newish – Ollech & Wajs Limited Edition 56 M. Not just inspired by history, but a piece of history itself. A watch that combines vintage new old stock parts with contemporary parts. All 56 pieces reserved on day of release and a waitlist that had to be capped 24 hours later. PR release here

BENEATH THE SURFACE

Norwegian Freediver Siri Osvoldt dives deeper on a single breath than most scuba divers dare venture with a full cylinder of air. We are delighted to welcome Siri to the OW Elite Professional Community and honoured that she’ll be wearing an OW C-1000 on her ocean descents.

The OW C-1000 in its natural habitat

IN THE PRESS

My remit at Ollech & Wajs extends to media relations. Blogs and magazines are powerful platforms in the watch industry and working with editors and journalists (all of whom are invariably fanatical watch lovers) to tell the the Ollech & Wajs story, is never an onerous task. Being described as “The most important watch brand you don’t know about” by style blog Ape to Gentleman is my favourite piece this year. An Oracle Time ‘Editor’s Pick’ for the OW 8001 in a ‘Best Sports Watch’ article ahead of and the mighty Patek Philippe Nautilus (a £56K watch), is our best accolade yet.

Full Ape To Gentleman article here

‘EDITOR’S PICK’ for the OW 8001 ahead of the Patek Philippe Nautilus, ORACLE TIME July/August 2023

SWITZERLAND'S FIRST MAIL-ORDER WATCH COMPANY

It’s easier to think outside the box when you’ve never been inside the box. Startup mentality isn’t a 21st century phenomenon. Disruptive thinking in 1956 helped the founders of Ollech & Wajs build a world famous brand in less than a decade. I’ve been diving deep into the company archives, to better understand the DNA of OW the brand and share its historic significance. Read the story here

A pre-digital ‘spreadsheet’. Ollech & Wajs kept track of every ad it placed on giant wall charts.

BORN 1973. REBORN 2023

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Ref.8000, OW’s first integrated bracelet sports watch, May saw the introduction of the chronologically named OW 8001. OW’s first COSC-certified model of the modern era reprises the ‘Havana brown fumé’ dial of its predecessor and is a 300 m water resistant, making it versatile enough to wear with a wetsuit or a linen suit. The OW 8001 was awarded ‘Editor’s Pick’ by Oracle Time magazine, over the mighty Patek Philippe Nautilus! PR release here

Ollech & Wajs and the new 8001 on Worn & Wound

Full page ad in the ‘Bonus Edition’ of London’t prestige lifestyle title, Square Mile

CODES AND CIPHERS

Just in time for Summer, Ollech & Wajs have strapped a striking Perlon 'Regatta' band onto the mighty Astrochron, making it ocean ready. Those familiar with the International maritime flag system will recognise its two-tone pattern as the nautical code for ‘J’ (Juliet). Really observant seafarers will also know this flag can be used as a signal to warn others - “I am on Fire”. Gotta love a good cipher! PR release here

THE OLLECH & WAJS ANTHOLOGY

Ollech & Wajs watches has a rich and colourful history. From its humble beginnings in 1956 on the Stockerstrasse, Zurich the OW marque became a globally recognised shorthand for rugged durability. An eight decade odyssey that has traversed the space race, the Vietnam conflict, deep sea exploration, Aviation, Arctic expeditions, endurance rallying and Rock’n’Roll. One of my undertakings as marketing director is to inventorise and the archive the history of Ollech & Wajs. Despite its eclectic past, much of the company’s history had never been documented in detail and some stories remained hidden deep in the vaults for decades. To preserve OW’s precious heritage and share its past with future generation of watch lovers, I have created an anthology of stories, exploring 65 years of watches and the men who wore them. They are curated on the OW website and distributed via the OW newsletter and selected editorial partners. Read the stories here

THE OW ASTROCHRON: EXPLORING THE LIMITS SINCE 1967

The OW Astrochron story began nearly 60 years ago, amidst history’s most ambitious era of exploration. The race to go faster, further and deeper had the world poised at the edge of several new frontiers, the most notable being outer space. The astral realm represented the ultimate in exploration and inspired the name of the famous Ollech & Wajs 1967 ‘triple-register’ chronograph. I prepared and co-ordinated the global PR launch and created a pre-release teaser campaign on Meta.

The all new 2023 Astrochron spliced with its forbear - the original 1967 Astrochron



CLASSICS IMMORTALISED

Pre 1970 Swiss watchmakers rarely produced colour product photography. There are no documented images of OW’s original watches in their prototypical state. Furthermore, most OW watches were worn in professional environments and subjected to considerable daily abuse, many of the classic watches that survive today are heavily patinated, and pristine examples are scarce. So we commissioned specialist watch illustrator and typography expert Bjoern Altmann to retrospectively create original artworks of each watch, exactly as they would have looked brand-new. By studying period documents from the OW archives, and a cross-section of examples of each model, Altmann has skilfully created photo-real exemplifications of each watch, accurate in infinitesimal detail. The project is part preservation and part revelation. Details that may previously have gone unnoticed, hidden under scuffed crystals or burnished away by years of wear, are revealed. The ability to scrutinise these details like never before provides us with a greater understanding of how the design codes of OW watches evolved during the company’s most prolific period. The ‘OW Classics Immortalised’ project featured in Oracle Time

Read the OW Newsletter announcement here

TIME TO GET TECHNICAL

One difference between a marketing director and a creative director is that when it comes to how knowledgeable you need to be about a product - a creative director can get away with bullet points. A marketing director on the other hand needs to know every single technical specification, how it differs from other products in the portfolio and how it differs from other products in the market. A mechanical watch typically contains upward of 200 components, inside a case measuring just 39.5mm by 12.5mm. That takes some cramming, on the part of the watchmaker and the marketing director! One of my most important undertakings this year was to introduce a new ‘movement’ for OW. The quality of a watch is measured by the heartbeat that powers it and this was a landmark moment for OW. The wording had to be precise. Read the announcement in full here

TRIBUTE TO A FATHER

We often hear from OW owners whose watches have served them well for 60 years or more. Some of these owners are Vietnam veterans who wore their watches in combat. We also hear from owners who were bequeathed OW watches by relatives who served in Vietnam. One such owner is JT Hinkle of Rogersville, Tennessee whose father, Marine Sergeant Jerry Hinkle wore an OW at the 77 day siege of Khe Sanh, one of the key battles of the conflict. 50 years on, as a tribute to his late father, JT set out on his own mission: to find the exact same Ollech & Wajs watch that had served his father so well all those years ago. His story is now part of the OW anthology, if you have time, pour yourself a coffee and listen to the audio version here.

Read the full story here

THE NEW OW M-110: NAVIGATE ANY CHALLENGE

You may well ask what use is an analogue compass bezel is in a time when GPS devices are so ubiquitous. Some would argue that we have developed an unhealthy obsession with technology and have become over-reliant on it. For instance, how many of us could light a fire without matches, or distinguish toxic mushrooms from edible ones without Google? A compass bezel represents the essence of human ingenuity and capacity to improvise, adapt and overcome. In a world where we are constantly tethered to satellites, it’s unlikely you will need it every day, but you might need it one day. Ex-British Army Commando and bushcraft survival expert Harrie Ellaway believes one of the best ways to reorientate is to go right back to basics, and that there’s no better place to test a person’s resilience than in the wilderness. It’s also an ideal environment to field-test OW’s latest tactical watch.

The M-110 on test in the wild

Read the OW Newsletter in full here

Pre- launch we playfully revealed the name of the M-110 in Morse and hinted at its tactical features

Full page print ad in Summer issue of Oracle Time

PEACE IN UKRAINE

Within hours of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ollech & Wajs made an immediate financial donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross and pledged 100CHF per watch sold, to help emergency humanitarian relief until hostilities cease. A small, symbolic gesture for peace that we hope will help alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people.