The Porsche Club of America got started in a very modest way – it was the brainchild of a gentleman named Bill Sholar, who bought a 356 in 1953 and held the first Owner’s Club meeting in his home, in 1955. (At the Club’s first business meeting, 13 people showed up, one of whom was a Volkswagen owner; the Club asked him “politely” to leave.) The Club grew quickly – by 1957 there were 550 members, and today the Club has over 100,000 members, with a whole host of activities on its annual calendar, and it’s the largest single-marque car club in the world. (Of course, 1957 was also the year the Omega Speedmaster replica watches UK debuted).
The Porsche Club Of America Limited Edition is essentially a variation on the existing, regular production Grey Side Of The Moon, which launched in 2014 with a platinum dial, and in a ceramic case. The movement is Omega’s co-axial caliber 9300 fake watches, which is an automatic column wheel chronograph movement with a co-axial escapement and silicon balance spring, running in 54 jewels at 28,800 vph, with a sixty hour power reserve (an excellent movement and at this point a bit of a modern classic). A very nice extra with this movement is the ability to set the hour hand in one-hour increments, in both directions; a very handy thing for frequent fliers.
The color scheme is derived from the yellow brake calipers used on some 911 models, but it works just as well as an abstract design element; bright primaries on chronographs seem to have a more automotive than aerospace/aeronautic feel and of course, the Speedmaster was originally intended for drivers anyway.
There are several differences between the stock Grey Side Of The Moon and the PCA Limited Edition copy watches (other than the limited production of the latter). The PCA Speedmaster has a “ceramised” titanium dial and while TGSOTM has Luminova in the bezel numerals, the PCA Speedmaster does not. The ceramic case is 44.25mm x 16.24mm and by a pair of calipers in the office, lug tip to lug tip distance is approximately 49mm. The case is water resistant to 5 bar/50 meters, and as is always the case with Omega’s ceramic cases finish is extremely crisp and very attractive, in a crisp, cool, post-modernist way.
