Horological Meandering

This example sports a ten-minute regatta timer, which represents the second iteration of the world's first regatta yacht timer.  The first version had a five-minute regatta timer.

The movement was developed by Frederic Robert, an experienced diver, who later worked for Omega and was instrumental in the development of the Seamaster series of watches.

The complication utilizes a flyback mechanism, with a pusher at 2:00 that starts and/or resets the countdown function.  This particular version uses a Felsa 4000n movement with the added Aquastar 'Regatta Module'.

When activated, five blue dots appear in the moons between 10:00 and 2:00 and the seconds hand flies back to zero.  The seconds hand starts to sweep and the blue moons represent the first five minutes ("heat") of the Regatta (essentially the interval when racers get their boats into position for the start of the race).  The moons go from blue to orange, with the orange moons representing the "second heat" of the starting position lineup.

Originally, Aquastar was a division of JeanRichard SA, and some of the earlier examples of this watch carried both the Aquastar and JeanRichard namesakes on the dial.

Ultimately, Heuer and Tissot used the very same movement (and watch design) for the models released by each respective brand.  Even Omega got into the game...

Almost the exact same watch as the original Aquastar Regate, only Omega chose to use the actual spelling of "Regatta" on their dial.

Here's a modern example...

My watchmaker, Josh (from Kroman Watchworks in San Jose, CA), did a masterful job of taking my Aquastar treasure back to its original showroom glory.  Thanks, my friend - she's a beauty.

I am often drawn to watches that sport an unusual seconds hand, and this piece is no exception.  Would love to see other examples of yacht timers and I'm always interested to understand why watch manufacturers choose to go after such niche complications.  Have a great Wednesday, everyone.

- Scott

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