Editor's Picks
The Great Grandaddy Speedmaster — The CK2915
The Speedster was a “cut down” version of the cabriolet – the steel windshield frame was excised for a lightweight, aggressively raked aluminum unit that was easily removable for racing – with all soundproofing and weather stripping ripped out. Even the windows were discarded in favor of largely useless plastic side curtains. It was the car James Dean embarked on his racing career with, until he traded in his Speedster for his ill-fated 4-cam 550 Spyder. And like Diane Lane, through a frustrating combination of obstacles, the car remains tantalizingly out of reach for me.
As much as I adore the concupiscent perfection that is the inverted bathtub iconography of Ferry Porsche’s 356, what I really want is the reliability of a new car. I would also like to know that each time I thundered down the road like the myopic Mister Magoo I am, I wasn’t risking pranging some now 60-year-old piece of automotive history into oblivion.
Well, this is exactly what Omega has done with their CK 2915, the very original and most coveted Speedmaster of all time, the watch that gave birth to one of the greatest legends in watch history, and the timepiece most inextricably linked with the space program – the most significant advancement of mankind in the 20th century.
The Omega Speedmaster CK2915 was one of the most distinct sport watches to have ever been created. Its matt black dial featured high visibility yet elegant attenuated luminous indexes. It featured three counters, one for continuous seconds, one for the 30-minute counter as well as a 12-hour counter which was vital for endurance races. The hour hand was a brilliant original design known as the Broad Arrow for its unique shape, and was combined with an equally aggressive minute hand, both treated with luminous material. At 38mm in diameter it was a large watch for its day and is the first of three Speedmaster models to feature straight lugs as opposed to the lyre lugs created for the model ST 105.12.
Thanks to my friend William Roberts, founder of the website Speedmaster 101, and the world’s preeminent vintage Omega collector, I’ve tried on several of the best existing examples of the original CK 2915. And as much as I love them, I would feel nervous about donning one as a daily wearer, let alone jumping on my motorcycle or into the swimming pool with it on.