Peter Speake-Marin Spirit Wing Commander
We love watchmakers. The guys who work for hours toiling over a single issue, a challenge, a problem and finally develop a solution to make the intricacies of the watch come together. Peter Speake-Marin is one of those master watchmakers. With dozens of ideas and a humble nature, he charms us, warms our soul and ignites a passion for traditional watchmaking in today’s world. He has brought us a good many greats in the past years, and we here especially love his complex Triad (read about it here). Now, he brings a new dimension to the forefront with the bold and sporty Spirit Wing Commander big date watch with power reserve indicator and “topping tool” seconds wheel.
profile of the Spirit Wing Commander by Speake-Marin.
The watch, with titanium case, is at once both retro and visionary. Inspired by the British military, the Spirit Wing Commander is one highly legible instrument. The central hours and minutes hands are packed with Super-Luminova to glow green in the dark. It is also equipped with a white lacquered seconds wheel at 9:00 (created in the shape of the Speake-Marin topping tool icon), and a power reserve indicator at 6:00 that offers a fuel-gauge like display – offering a bright white Super-Luminova when complete wound, turning black when half-full, and then red when it is running on empty and needs to be wound. Ingenious and intriguing.
Engraved caseback of the titanium Spirit Wing Commander
The dial of the watch, complete with seconds’ wheel, is a multi-layered three-dimensional beauty that required special construction. To create it, a 3D mould was produced in order to generate a negative mould, in which the lacquer and Super-Luminova were applied by hand to achieve the right colors. When the materials set, the one-piece dial is removed from the mould and bonded to the dial plate. The movement of the watch is the Caliber 1024SPM with automatic wind and 48 hours of power reserve. Engraved on the caseback – in typical Speake-Marin style – are the words “Fight, Love & Persevere.”
