I must admit – I am one of those people who believe it was better in the past. What does “the past” mean? Sometimes, when I am very disappointed with what is happening today, I go as far back as the Middle Ages. Most of the time, however, when I am at my ordinary level of dissatisfaction with these strange times in which we live, “the past” is the period between the Belle Epoque and the ’50s. That is where I firmly stop.

Obviously, I am a passéist. What is interesting, however, is that more and more people appreciate the things of the past, while companies also take this trend into consideration. If I were to judge by some of the beautiful models I saw at the Baselworld fair this year, I would have thought I was visiting the 1950 or 1957 edition, by no means the 2017 edition. Which, in my opinion, is really great, considering that 60-70 years ago the design of watches (and not exclusively watches) saw an exceptional period.

Let’s take Omega, for example. The brand launched a three-model pack, which they subtly called Omega 1957 Trilogy Limited-Edition. As the name shows, it is a reedit of three classic timepieces which proved really successful for the brand, namely: Seamaster 300, Railmaster and Speedmaster. The anniversary editions can be purchased either separately or together, in an excellent box which also includes a set of watchmaking tools. What I found interesting was that this year’s launch marked a first for Omega – the first time the brand used the digital scanning technology to obtain an as accurate reedit of the original models as possible. The new watches were recreated starting from these scans, as well as from the original drawings.

The three watches are made of steel, the dials are black, the steel bracelets were slightly updated for better comfort, and the buckle features a retro-style Omega logo. Actually, the three watches have different logos, as a reference to how individual suppliers of the ’50s used to interpret the Omega logo. Each model is limited to 3,557 pieces. The new Seamaster preserves its original water resistance, the arrow-shaped hour indicator, and the special diving bezel – this time in aluminium; the model comes with a four-year warranty period and is equipped with the 8806 calibre. Railmaster, a double-case anti-magnetic watch, was designed for scientists, technicians and everybody working close to electrical fields.

The new edition is as simple and beautiful as the original, and the movement can resist to magnetic fields of up to 15,000 Gauss. Speedmaster (a.k.a. Broad Arrow) was the first watch with a tachymeter scale on the bezel instead of the dial (as designed for race car drivers). The new model preserves the characteristics of the original one and features the 1861 calibre.

Now I’m getting to one of my favourite watch brands – Seiko. And, of course, I was very determined to write about Grand Seiko, the watch I had in my heart and mind when I left Baselworld. The watch I have tried on at the presentation and then refused to take off my wrist until I became aware that I might have been suspected of dubious intentions, considering how admiringly and yearningly I looked at it. But I realized that I really wanted to write more about Grand Seiko, an article which I invite you to read in the next issue of Lifetime magazine. So I turned my attention to another Seiko vintage model, which the Japanese brand reedited this year – the famous, legendary 62Mas, a diving watch created by Seiko in 1965, to which many of the today’s models from other brands still owe a lot. The Seiko 62Mas Reedition Ref. SLA017 was launched this year, a faithful and intelligently modernized version of the original. The official name of the original was Seiko 6217-800/1 and it was considered a benchmark on its own segment, for many reasons: the automatic calibre (6217A), the mono-bloc case with a generous diameter at the time (37mm) and the very readable grey dial, with large indicators and hands. The 1965 model was used by the Japanese for the expeditions in Antarctica, for 3 or 4 years.

I like the new 62Mas for several reasons: they preserved the strong visual codes, the case has the same shape and the same finishing, and the diameter is 39.9mm – the perfect dimension for diving watches, in my opinion. I really like the big, solid crown, as well as the dial with its 3D-embossed rectangular indexes, the luminous paint which ensures maximum readability, and the date aperture encircled by a metal ring. Of course, the Plexiglas was replaced by a vintage-looking sapphire crystal and the water resistance increased from 150m to 200m. The 8L35 calibre was especially designed for diving watches.