OW EARLY BIRD 'NUMBERED EDITION'

The Intelsat I, or ‘Early Bird’ as it is better known, was the world’s first geosynchronous communications satellite, and handled all commercial telecommunications transmissions between Europe and North America between 1965 and 1969. This included the live transoceanic TV coverage of the Gemini 6 splashdown; footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing; and the first ever performance of ‘All You Need Is Love’ by The Beatles, live to a global audience of 700 million people. Early Bird changed humanity’s relationship with distance. It made the Atlantic feel smaller by enabling near-instantaneous communications between continents. Before Early Bird, the world was connected by cables. After Early Bird, it was connected through space. It became one of the defining technological milestones of the twentieth century. The Early Bird satellite was decommissioned in 1969, but it remains in silent in orbit today, more than half a century after its launch.

Albert Wajs wanted to pay tribute to this landmark moment of modern engineering by creating a watch in its honour. The 24-hour ‘military-time’ dial reflects the time taken for the satellite to complete one orbit of the Earth. The blue-and-red metallic bezel echoed the colours of the satellite itself.

However, unlike its namesake, the Ollech & Wajs Early Bird was not made for outer space. It was created specifically for military personnel, particularly pilots and radio operators, for whom a 24-hour ‘military-time’ dial would be invaluable. Most of the original Early Birds were ordered direct from Zurich via adverts in black-and-white newspapers like the Army Times. The new owners were pleasantly surprised when the watch arrived to see that it had a blue-and-red bezel, not grey tone as the ads suggested.

Of all the watches that carried the OW monogram, the Early Bird is said to be Albert Wajs’s personal favourite. Despite being one of our best-known watches, it is also one of the rarest - no more than 500 Early Birds were made.

Name
OW 'Early Bird' EB-24

Year
2026 (original 1965)

Dimensions
39.5 mm × 12.5 mm; 48 mm lug to lug

Case
Brushed 316L stainless steel, screwed bottom, screwed crown, rotating aluminium bezel; made in the Swiss Jura

Glass
Sapphire with anti-glare treatment

Bezel
Aluminium anodised bi colour 24-hour worldtime bidirectional friction bezel

Dial
Hands and indexes in white Super-LumiNova®

Water resistance
300 m/ 30ATM

Movement
Automatic, bespoke Soprod C-125; stop seconds; 4Hz 28,800 vibrations per hour; 25 jewels; 42-hour power reserve; Incabloc. Bespoke OW Zurich 1956 rotor, custom screws, assembled for OW and adjusted in three positions. Accuracy: -7/+7 seconds per day

Strap
Black Italian leather strap
20 mm Italian leather and natural linen, finished in Switzerland; with a brushed stainless steel thorn buckle, signed ‘OWZ 1956’

Bracelet
M-Link stainless steel bracelet (optional extra)
20 mm medium gauge, stainless steel links, hand-brushed, with an OW-engraved adjustable deployant clasp

Origin
Handmade in the Swiss Jura

Free shipping by FedEx, which includes all import taxes, customs duties, customs clearance fees, VAT and handling fees.

For shipment to countries beyond  the European Community, Great Britain and Canada, where the prepaid tax service cannot  always be offered, we offer customers a special  15% discount, corresponding to the average import duty and tax percentages in the countries listed above. This amount will serve as compensation for any such charges by local tax authorities. We regret we are temporarily unable to sell direct to customers in the United States, but watches may be purchased via one of our authorised US dealers.

Please note that the stainless steel bracelet should always be adjusted by a competent watchmaker.

Swiss made percentage is calculated according to Swiss regulations and may vary, depending on the exact configuration of the watch. This percentage does not include straps or packaging.