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RECOMMENDED READING: 1969 – the year that changed watchmaking forever RECOMMENDED READING: 1969 – the year that changed watchmaking forever

RECOMMENDED READING: 1969 – the year that changed watchmaking forever

Felix Scholz

In the history of the 20th century, few years are as loaded with cultural weight as the year 1969. It’s defined in our collective memory as the year of Woodstock and the Moon Landing, but it’s also a year of great significance for watches.

Seiko Astron from 1969

Chris Hall has done the heavy lifting here for QP Magazine, in this excellent long read that sums up just why 1969 mattered, watch-wise. Of course there’s the complex and multi-pronged development of the automatic chronograph — long regarded as one of watchmaking’s holy grails. And then there’s the aforementioned moon landing, in which Omega’s famous Speedmaster had a small, but significant role. And then, over in Japan there’s the dawn of a new age of timekeeping — the quartz era. And these are all important achievements to look back on; it doesn’t hurt that all these events happened 50 years ago — and no one loves a commemorative limited edition more than a watch brand.

Like we said, 1969 was a busy year for watches. Read the full story (with bonus Concorde and internet!) over at QP.