Michael Schumacher – Considered by Many the Very Best Racer – in Critical Condition after Skiing Accident

Michael Schumacher’s Formula One driving record made him a living legend. We pay a somber ‘Speedy-Tuesday’ tribute to the man for whom limited edition watches became something of a cottage industry. Let’s take a look at some of the Omega Speedmasters produced to commemorate his career.

At the time of publication, Racing legend and 7-time Formula 1 Champion Michael Schumacher is in critical condition in a Grenoble, France hospital after sustaining a major head trauma while skiing with his family in the French Alps. Because it is Tuesday, we join our friends of Fratellowatches with a special version of “Speedy Tuesday”, dedicated to Michael Schumacher.

The 44 year old, German racked-up 91 wins in his career racing with Benetton, Ferrari and most recently a 2010 comeback with Mercedes. Though not as widely heralded as his race-track heroics, ‘Schumi’ has given tens of millions of Euros to charities and relief efforts around the world.

Schumacher has also been the privileged recipient of several major worldwide endorsements with the likes of Omega and most recently Audemars Piguet. Schuey’s history making career made him the quintessential spokesman to underscore the link between speed and time: between racing and timekeeping.

Schumacher’s endorsement with Omega spawned a string of Speedmasters Special Edition watches. Beginning in 1996, Schumachers name and face were regularly seen next to Ref. No 3810 ‘Racing’ Speedmasters – with red, blue and yellow dials. These ‘Reduced’ automatic chronographs “roughly” shared the same basic visual themes as the Speedmaster Professional. On further inspection we can see all of the subtle differences, like the color contrasts of the second hands, or it’s placement at 3 instead of 6 o’clock (due to an automatic movement instead of the well known manually wound movement on the Professional) and a smaller diameter.

The relationship culminated with Ref. No 321.30.44.50.01.001, a Co-Axial driven automatic chronograph movement caliber reference 3313. The watch stands as a testament to Schumacher’s legacy as the most successful driver in F1 history by highlighting all of his career achievements around the bezel.

In 2003 Omega dedicated an 18-carat red gold Broad Arrow, with Michael Schumacher’s name on the dial, and a Speedmaster Day-Date Racing, to Schumi. Two years later, in 2005, the brand introduced an entire collection, called the Legend collection, dedicated to the racing phenomenon. The Legend collection comprised three similar models with different color schemes: one with a black dial, one with a silver dial a third version with a red dial.

Former teammates and rivals alike are sat around the world, waiting and praying for his recovery. We here at Monochrome-Watches.com would like to extend our thoughts and prayers to Michael Schumacher and to his family.

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