Peter Speake-Marin: The New Thalassa


Marin 2 Mk 1 Thalassa

It is rare for one man to design every component of a watch’s case, dial and movement. Peter Speake-Marin’s new Thalassa is such a watch. The harmonious design incorporates Peter’s trademark elements, and so is instantly recognizable as his. The blued‐steel of the outer dial, hands and seconds wheel create a nautical ambiance which inspired the name “Thalassa”, a sea goddess from Greek mythology and the personification of the Mediterranean Sea.

The case is Peter’s iconic “Piccadilly” design, rendered in 18K white gold. The basic shape was inspired by the cases used to house prototype movements Peter worked with early in his career. The name “Piccadilly” honors the formative years Peter spent working in restoration at Somlo Antiques in Piccadilly, London. The lugs assure a solid connection to the case, with a screwed solid stainless steel bar attaching the strap to the lugs.

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Marin 2 Mk 1 Thalassa

Inside resides the star of the show, Peter’s calibre SM2m manual‐winding movement with 146 parts, all of which are made specifically for this movement. The German silver plates and bridges hold oversize jewels. Timekeeping adjustments are made with an elegant double-ended swan’s neck regulator. Of course each component is hand finished.

Marin 2 Mk 1 Thalassa
Marin Caliber SM2m
Marin Caliber SM2m

The dial is in two parts: the outer dial is laser‐pieced, hardened, blued‐steel that is hand finished. The hand‐applied Super‐LumiNova for the hours and minutes is flush with the surface, rather than the more common and more easily executed method of printing the luminova on the surface. The inner dial is transparent sapphire crystal, allowing appreciation of the hand‐applied circular graining and micro‐mechanics of the top of the movement. Watching the wheels turn as you wind the watch is a rewarding experience.

Three‐dimensional blued‐steel Super‐LumiNova‐filled foundation‐style hands indicate the hours and minutes and impart an instantly recognizable Speake‐Marin element to the dial. The shape of the highly distinctive seconds wheel echoes the mystery winding rotor found on automatic Speake‐Marin movements and is inspired by the wheel found on antique watchmaker’s topping tools. Hand‐beveling the hardened‐steel seconds wheel takes over two hours. While the second wheel is large, opting for small seconds over a central seconds hand allowed the movement to be slimmer, as well as allowing Peter to incorporate this distinctive trademark wheel into a manual winding movement.

Marin 2 Mk 1 Thalassa

The Marin 2 “Thalassa” is a limited edition of 30 pieces in 18K white gold, priced at $56,800.

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