OW Early Bird, Numbered Edition

In 1965 Ollech & Wajs launched the eponymously named ‘Early Bird’, 24-hour dual-time-zone watch, which paid tribute to a satellite of the same name. Though 24-hour time is widely used all over the world today, 24-hour mechanical Swiss watches are seldom seen. The reimagined ‘Early Bird’ EB-24 has an automatic, 24-hour movement, meaning unlike a conventional watch, the hour hand only completes a single revolution in a full day. This feature allows the wearer to view all 24 hours of the day at a glance while simultaneously tracking a second time zone, an indispensable feature for pilots, international travellers and professionals communicating across continents.

he Intelsat I, or ‘Early Bird’ as it is better known, was the world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite, and handled all commercial telecommunications transmissions between Europe and North America between 1965 and 1969. This included the live transoceanic TV coverage of the Gemini 6 splashdown; footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing; and the first ever performance of ‘All You Need Is Love’ by The Beatles, live to a global audience of 700 million people. Early Bird changed humanity’s relationship with distance. It made the Atlantic feel smaller by enabling near-instantaneous communications between continents. Before Early Bird, the world was connected by cables. After Early Bird, it was connected through space. It became one of the defining technological milestones of the twentieth century. The Early Bird satellite was decommissioned in 1969, but it remains in silent in orbit today, more than half a century after its launch.

Albert Wajs wanted to pay tribute to this landmark moment of modern engineering by creating a watch in its honour. The 24-hour ‘military-time’ dial reflects the time taken for the satellite to complete one orbit of the Earth. The blue-and-red metallic bezel echoed the colours of the satellite itself.

However, unlike its namesake, the Ollech & Wajs Early Bird was not made for outer space. It was created specifically for military personnel, particularly pilots and radio operators, for whom a 24-hour ‘military-time’ dial would be invaluable. Most of the original Early Birds were ordered direct from Zurich via adverts in black-and-white newspapers like the Army Times. The new owners were pleasantly surprised when the watch arrived to see that it had a blue-and-red bezel, not grey tone as the ads suggested.

Of all the watches that carried the OW monogram, the Early Bird is said to be Albert Wajs’s personal favourite. Despite being one of our best-known watches, it is also one of the rarest - no more than 500 Early Birds were made.

OW Early Bird Details:

bespoke Soprod calibre C-125 automatic movement
28,800 vibrations per hour
25 jewels
42-hour power reserve
accuracy: -7/+7 seconds per day
brushed case in 316L stainless steel, screwed bottom, screwed crown
sapphire crystal with anti-glare treatment
bidrectional, anodized aluminium bezel
hands and index markers in white Super-LumiNova
water resistant to 300 metres
black Italian leather strap
20 mm Italian leather and natural linen strap with signed ‘OWZ 1956’ buckle

case diameter: 39.5mm
case height: 12.5mm
lug to lug: 48mm
lug width: 20mm