Interview With Sam Hewitt, Passionate OMEGA Watch Collector

Sam Hewitt’s OMEGA Watch Collection

Sam Hewitt is a watch collector, specifically an OMEGA watch collector. Hewitt began collecting watches when he turned 40 and decided that he wanted to buy himself a “real” watch. He bought himself an OMEGA Speedmaster automatic from the early 1990s. After purchasing this watch, he became fascinated with the brand and learned as much as possible about the brand. He admires OMEGA watches because the brand has done just about everything for over 100 years and is not just a “one trick pony.” Hewitt describes his love for OMEGA watches as a passion for which he cannot justify. He claims that one can find a cheap quartz watch for a fraction of the price that will keep time just as well, if not better, as a mechanical watch. BUT, these quartz watches do not tick. Hewitt is drawn to the ticking of these masterpieces, as well as the history of the watch. One can own a mechanical watch that is decades old, yet can still keep accurate time.

 

Another reason that Hewitt was drawn to OMEGA watches was because the brand makes it easy to research its watches. It has an online database that has quite a bit of information on its different calibers. Another reason that OMEGA is Hewitt’s watch brand of choice is because of its customer service. Hewitt has had countless positive experiences with OMEGA customer service. In Hewitt’s early collecting days, he purchased an OMEGA Museum watch, which was a limited edition of the 1954 Cosmic watch. The watch did not come with a manual, so Hewitt reached out to Maria at OMEGA to ask for an instruction manual. Maria replied that she would be happy to send one and would also send a few other things as well. A few days later, Hewitt received a package from OMEGA that not only included the asked for instruction manual, but also included a box that this watch would have originally come it. As Hewitt says, “OMEGA had me at that point because I have never heard of any other watch brand doing that for their customers.”

 

Hewitt has already purchased the watch that he plans to give his grandson. It is a watch from his own birth year, a 1959 OMEGA Seamaster watch. This is a watch that he can pass down to his grandson who can then pass it on to his son.

 

For the most part, Hewitt purchases watches that are unique and characteristic of their era. He does not want the watch that everyone else owns. This collecting approach is evident when looking at his watch collection. One of the rarest watches that Hewitt owns is a Louie Bront watch. Louie Bront founded OMEGA in 1948. The OMEGA watch has a gilded movement that can be seen through the sapphire window on the dial. It also has 9 diamonds on the crown of the watch.

 

The year 2007 was the 50^th anniversary of the OMEGA Speedmaster. To celebrate, OMEGA released a 50^th anniversary watch. Because Hewitt was such an OMEGA collector, many people gifted him with some 50^th anniversary memorabilia, including a jacket, a hat, pins, and a book describing each of the pins.

 

In 1948, OMEGA produced the Centennary to celebrate its 100 year anniversary. This OMEGA watch was the first automatic watch to get a chronometer status. It is rose gold and is one of only 4000 pieces.

 

When Hewitt was just beginning to collect OMEGA watches, he purchased “OMEGA Designs” by Anton Kreuzer and fell in love with the OMEGA Chronodiver that was on the cover of the book. The watch won the “Watch of the Year” in Germany in 1994. One of the things that Hewitt loves about it is the fact that it has three metals, titanium, tantalum, and rose gold. It was also the first watch that had a chronograph that could be operated under water. After looking for 10 years, Hewitt finally found the watch and it has been one of his favorite watches ever since.

 

The OMEGA Speedmaster watch played an important role in the moon mission with Apollo 13. The rocket had an explosion which cut out all of the power on the ship. The only timing device that they had was the OMEGA Speedmaster. They used these watches to do a successful retro burn, which allowed them to return safely to earth. There is an award that astronauts can receive, known as the Snoopy Award. In 2003, OMEGA issued a watch that has the Snoopy Award design on the dial and on the caseback. This model was released in a limited edition based on the number of minutes between the explosion on Apollo 13 and the astronauts’ safe return to earth.

 

Hewitt says that every morning, he gets up and makes a decision on which watch to wear. He enjoys collecting watches that no one else owns. He claims that watch collecting “is my passion. I can’t make it make sense… but I love it.”