Not long ago, Isaac Wingold gave us a great perspective on how the internet age has played a huge part in the recent growth of the mechanical watch industry. Watch Get-Togethers (GTG’s) have been popping up all over, and I decided to get in on the action. I’ve already done somewhat of a trip report on the Omega Boutique in Natick, MA, but that was a spontaneous, one-off drop by. This GTG was organized through the WatchUSeek forums by a bunch of local, like-minded watch lovers.

Overall, the event went incredibly well, and there will certainly be more in the near future. The Omega staff was kind enough to put together light hors d’oeuvres, a fine selection of drinks, and hands-on access to nearly every watch. In honor of our event, Omega turned it up a notch by throwing in a couple of bonuses: exclusive access to one of five 45th Anniversary Apollo Speedmasters currently in the US, and pulling in one of the foremost experts on early NASA spaceflight, Larry McGlynn.

Larry is an oracle of NASA information, and has endless stories to tell, most of which are only known by him and the astronauts that actually flew on the missions. He was nice enough to bring a small part of his insane collection, including the all-gold Speedmaster presentation watch given by NASA to Walter ‘Wally’ Schirra — you know, one of the original seven astronauts, and the first to fly in space three times.

It was all-you-could-handle Omega , and hopefully we can spin this off into something more frequent, à la Red Bar Crew in NYC. Enjoy the photos below, and if any of you are local Bostonians, and would like to get in on some meetup action, please leave a comment below to stay in touch.

Omega Speedmaster 45th Anniversary Apollo Omega Speedmaster 45th Anniversary Apollo Omega Speedmaster 45th Anniversary Apollo Omega Speedmaster 45th Anniversary Apollo Omega Speedmaster 45th Anniversary Apollo Larry McGlynn’s Moonphase Speedmaster WatchUSeekers enjoying the festivities The helpful Omega staff Omega Speedmaster Z-33 Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200M Mark III Speedmaster Omega Seamaster 300 ref 165.024 Great trio of Omegas Omega Seamaster 300 ref 165.024 Mark III Speedmaster Omega Seamaster Bullhead wrist shot Speedmaster Mark II with racing dial Tandem of Mark II Speedmasters Transitional Pre-moon Speedmaster Pair of MkII’s, a Paradive and LRRP Trio of Omega Speedmaster ’57s Omega Seamaster Soccer Timer McGlynn’s Captain Eugene Cernan display Omega DeVille Central Tourbillon — the only central tourbillon in the world Omega DeVille Central Tourbillon Wally Schirra’s Speedmaster Panerai 507 Bronzo Vintage Omega Pocketwatch Vintage movements, an 861 and bumper automatic Business end of my Soccer Timer Opening up some casebacks WUS user collection Wally Schirra’s Speedmaster Larry McGlynn’s Apollo-Soyuz Speedmaster with Tom Stafford’s autograph — Commander of the Apollo-Soyuz Mission

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