Hi All,


Apologies as this is yet another “which Speedmaster Pro” post, but I’ve been trawling through many posts and seem to be confusing myself more and more!


I’ve always wanted a Pro but I had the opportunity some years back to take a Rolex Explorer 2 instead. I’m not a watch collector or a big spender on these type of things, so I discounted the idea of owning a Speedmaster as well as I didn’t “need” 2 (to me) nice watches.

However I’ve decided to treat myself for my birthday so have started looking at Speedmaster Pros again and am struggling a little with choice to be frank.

I don’t want to go for a limited edition, I want one that is very different to the Explorer, so no stainless straps and want to keep it to around £4k.

The 2 I have my eye on are the “traditional” Moonwatch, black face, black leather strap, undecided on the sapphire crystal or original style.

However I also like the Speedmaster Racing, black face, brown leather strap. But it’s not a Pro...

I want to pick one that will age as well as an Explorer and I think both of those would, the Pro is definitely a classic, the Racing I expect will just become a nice old Omega.


I’d be very interested to hear if anyone has experience of both. Once I make a decision, is there anything wrong about using Swiss Watches Direct?


Cheers

 

Sorry I don't have advice for you, it comes down to personal preference. Just out of curiosity, which version of the Racing are you considering - the cal. 3300 or the cal. 9900? The 9900s are about twice as expensive as the 3300s and the Moonwatch...

 

Thanks.

It’s the cheaper 3300s I’m looking at, approx £3500 in retailers

 

If you're considering the "traditional" Moonwatch, than I would go with hesalite, not sapphire. I think you'd end up regretting the sapphire.

 

Since you are dead set on not having the SS bracelet on the watch and don't think you will ever want to have it just go ahead and get the leather band.
I say this because it is very easy to change the strap to whatever you want so you are not necessarily "stuck" with the black leather band.
As for hesalite vs. sapphire that is all up to you.
Do want the fancy case back? Are you worried about scratches to the crystal? Do you want the most "original" watch that was used for the lunar landings?
What is it about the "racing" that you like? If it is just because it has the brown strap then forget it.
Because like I said it is very easy to change bands.
If you get a new Speedy you will get the spring bar removal tool anyway.

 

Thanks for the responses and the info on the strap, I didn’t consider that, it’s helped me make my mind up, cheers

 

The Pro will become a classic as you expect, but a Cal. 3300 "Racing" will become worth less than 1/3 of that retail price as soon as you leave the store...

 

I was in an Omega store a few weeks ago, and they told me something about the Cal.3300 being made by another manufacturer and then modified by Omega and that's why they have discontinued some of the models, they are not doing this anymore. Did I understand him right?

 

Not sure if you didn't understand them or if they didn't know what they were talking about. The 3330 is based on the ETA 7750, and is heavily modified to incorporate a column wheel, co-axial escapement, and relocation of the minute counter.

The 3330 is still current in Omega's production, and hasn't been discontinued.

In general, I would take the things stated by sales employees with a big grain of salt, in particular when it comes to technical information.

Cheers, Al