It's a Homage

Let’s face it. Realistically, some things we can never have – at least, not in this lifetime. Yes, positive thinking is powerful stuff. But even positive thinking has its limits.

Take the Rolex Milsub (reference numbers 5513 and 5517), for example. To say the Milsub is a nice watch is not much different from saying that Angelina Jolie is only a so-so girl. No one ought to be able to say things like that and not deserve to die by the delivery of a well-timed Steven Seagal iriminage to the throat. Yes, Milsubs (military Submariner) are unbelievably beautiful watches.

But there’s more to the Milsub than just a pretty face, though. For instance, let’s look at the 5513 (the rarer of the two) which made its debut in 1976. Though both the 5513 and the 5517 were made exclusively for the British Royal Navy, only 1,200 units of the 5513 were ever produced. On top of all that, if one ever surfaced for sale on the market today, the asking price would be a mind-blowing, dream-crushing, ego-destroying USD150,000 - or more.

The Rolex Milsub (Military Submariner)

Now, what’s the likelihood of someone like me finding USD150,000 lying idle around the house in this lifetime? To anyone who thinks this is a realistic possibility, please search Youtube to see what a Steven Seagal iriminage looks like. Now, ponder effect of this technique being applied on you.

But let’s say – for argument’s sake – that by some miracle I do find USD150,000 lying idly about. Would I blow it all on a Rolex Milsub? I suppose I could. But then again, I’d probably be immediately struck down by lightning for committing such an obscene extravagance. What good would the Milsub be to me then?

This is where homage watches come in. Homage watches are watches that are created as a tribute to the original. They stay as true to the spirit of the original as religiously as possible, but at the same time making it a point to retain an identity all their own.

At this point you might be asking, just how is that different from a fake/counterfeit/knock-off watch? Personally, I think it all boils down to intent. The homage watch doesn’t seek to fool anybody into thinking it’s the real thing. Its intent is solely to be a tribute to the original. The fake, on the other hand, goes all out from the get-go to make anyone and everyone believe that it is the real thing. Thus, in my books, homage watches are fine. Fake watches, on the other hand, are the horologic equivalents of silicone boobs: nice to see and (probably) hold, but after the novelty wears off, nobody ever really wants them anymore.

This brings us to a German company that produces Swiss made watches: Steinhart. Steinhart has made a niche for itself by creating homages to some of the most iconic watches in the world. In our case, the Steinhart Ocean Vintage Military Version 2 (OVM2) is a homage to the mind-blowing, dream-crushing and ego-destroying USD150,000 Rolex Milsub (specifically, the 5517 version).

The Steinhart OVM2 stays true to the spirit of the Rolex 5517 Milsub – right down to slightly domed sapphire crystal, the radium-coloured lume and minute-markers that go all the way around the rotating bezel. However, it departs from the original in that it proudly (and unmistakably) presents the Steinhart logo just below the watch’s 12 o’clock index marker. The Steinhart also sports a more modern 42mm case diameter as opposed to the 40mm of the Milsub. Finally, the Steinhart OVM2 has removable lug-pins rather that the fixed ones as found on the Milsub.

The Steinhart OVM 2

Naturally, the Steinhart OVM is powered by a more modern movement: the ETA2824-2. One feature of this movement is that it allows for hand-winding. This is a major nostalgic plus for me as it harks back to the days when I used to watch my grandfather wind his Rolex Oysterdate every morning. The ETA 2824-2 movement is also hackable. This means that when we adjust the time, the seconds hand stops. This allows us to synchronise the time with other watches much more easily. For a borderline OCD like me, this is a Godsend.

Close up of the OVM 2

In the end, the Steinhart OVM2 is NOT the Rolex Milsub. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in that. The trouble begins when we start thinking (and start wanting others to also think) that the OVM is actually a Milsub. That’s when all sorts of bad things happen. Getting the OVM2 is like finally finding a girl who is just like the girl we’ve always wanted – the one we’ve been pining for all our lives, but who has always been, and will always be out of reach. As long as we know (and accept) they are not the same people, we’re going to do just fine.

Once again, the OVM is NOT the Milsub. The aesthetic cues and (more importantly) the spirit of the OVM2 may point to the Milsub. But they are still different watches. The OVM2 is a homage to the Milsub; it does not pretend to be the Milsub.

It is what it is.

At a mere 0.29% of the price of a Milsub, the OVM2 is looking like a pretty good proposition to me. Even so, I accept that not everybody will see it this way – especially not those with USD150,000 to spend on a watch.