The Poly(methyl methacrylate) wonder
According to Wikipedia, Poly(methyl methacrylate), aka PMMA, was first created in the UK and commercialized by ICI in the 1930's under the name of Perspex, while in Germany a similar plastic was manufactured in thin sheets as a safety glass which was named Plexiglass. Both products found their use several years later due to their ability to stop bullets before they could go through the skull of aircraft pilots, something most people involved at the time with flying and shooting at each other found to be beneficial. Later sold under other brand names, and better known as acrylic, PMMA became the material of choice for watch crystals with Hesalite known for being the choice of NASA for the crystal on the famous Omega Speedmaster "Moonwatch".
The watch I'm trying to photograph is the Glycine Airman No. 1 reference GL0162. It has never been to the moon, and with a WR of 1ATM I'd better refrain from even sneezing in its vicinity. However, at 40mm diameter it has the largest acrylic crystal of the watches in my collection, and that makes it a good subject for experiments.
Taking pictures early in the morning is always tricky due to the angle of the sun. However, acrylic is very clear and usually free of reflections and that allowed me to capture the special hue of early lights without having the Airman dial turn into a glittery mess.
And strapping it on my wrist for a final wrist shot is also a good opportunity to show why it's the only watch that I own that is getting noticed by non watch enthusiasts, despite not looking particularly expensive. The Original Airmans had very distinctive 24 Hour dials and bezels and this vintage re-creation managed to capture it perfectly.
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Claude
@Catskinner
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Hod Hasharon
Member since
Last active: 13 min ago
Personally I prefer the crystals on my Vostok's to my sapphire ones. Any scratch on a Vostok buffs out easily. Not the case with other crystal types at all in my experience.
It is a lovely watch you have.
Your photography is excellent. To avoid being shunned by polite society in my town, I never mention that none of my watches has been to the moon. 😕
Your photography is excellent. To avoid being shunned by polite society in my town, I never mention that none of my watches has been to the moon. 😕
Actually now that I think about it, the Airman didn't made it to the moon but it was worn by astronauts of the Gemini space program.