I'm a space geek, not a watch collector, and the Apollo 8 is the first and only luxury watch I've ever owned. I really like it, but the hands are hard for me to see at a glance - I have to stare at the watch to see where they are because they blend into the face so well. (That would be okay, but then I get mesmerized by the intricate details all over again, and forget what I was doing, or walk into a wall, or just stand there ogling it for an hour )

I know from other postings that the hands can be replaced by a competent watchmaker, but I don't know which hands would fit. Do all Speedmaster hands fit all Speedmasters? From surfing Omega's site, I see one of the other DSOTMs has white hands, which would be much more visible. Are there other hands that would also work? Yellow to match the chrono second hand might be a good choice also.

Thanks for any help/advice!

 

Each to their own, but I wouldn't dick about with a watch costing that much. A new set of Gregory Pecks might be the way to go.

 

I think white would be a better choice. But if you do, do change the running seconds hand as well to respect the functional codes. (Hour-minute-running seconds : time // sweeping hand and sub counters at 3 and 6 : chronograph)

I wouldn’t put yellow hands on it as yellow belongs to the chronograph function.

I am not sure the hands from a DSOTM would work as the caliber is different (co-axial) and the case/dial size is bigger. To check with a watchmaker before ordering...

 

I haven’t had a problem reading it at all. In fact, I was thinking yesterday how legible it was.

Maybe it’s just me, but I have seen others say the same in that it’s hard to read.

Like above though, i personally would not be messing about with it. I did wear mine non stop basically for 3 weeks so maybe my eyes got used to the hands??

 

On the other side, you have to think about voiding the five year warranty. Assuming that you bought it through an AD or boutique.

 

No. Omega has made a ton of different watches with the name Speedmaster, using many different movements (Lemania based, Valjoux 7750 based, F. Piguet based, plus the current Omega movements, etc.) so not all hands will fit all models.

It's unclear at this point if the hands from say a Cal. 1861 will fit on the Cal. 1869. Omega doesn't provide hole sizes for hands so the only way to tell is to look at the parts that the hands mount to, and of the 6 posts that hands mount to, only two are the same part number as a typical Speedmaster Pro movement, so the cannon pinion where the minute hand would fit, and the hour recording wheel where the hour recorder hand would mount. The hour wheel, fourth wheel, minute counter, and seconds counter are all specific parts to the 1869, and may have different diameters for the hand mounting.

I'm assuming you would be primarily interested in the hour and minute hands, right?

What I can say is that hour/minute hands from a regular Speedmaster Pro would be short. The hands on your watch are 10.15 mm long for the hour hand, and 14.6 mm for the minute hand. The regular Speedmaster hour and minute hands are 9.5 and 14 mm's respectively.

Cheers, Al

 

Thanks everyone for the replies!

@stevec14 I've been wearing mine each day since I got it 2 weeks ago. Maybe I should just give myself more time to adapt to it.

@kov Why would it be necessary to change the seconds hand as well? It's already white and visible.

@Pepe Lucas Good point! I hadn't even considered that.

@Archer Thanks for the detailed response. Yes, it's the hour and minute hands.

There's obviously more to this than I thought. Maybe my best course of action is just to wait and see if I get used to it.

Peter

 

Good Day,
I’ve had My Apollo 8 now for several weeks. Yes, the dial is certainly beautiful and
Completely mesmerizing. Almost like a shiny object to a Crow. The second hand
Is blindingly yellow which visually steals the show - I think. Combined with the
Lunar surface detail makes for a visually busy watch face to say the least.
But, even Cinderella had her flaws.
I do notice that Yes I do have to concentrate just a little bit more when glancing
at the hour and minute hands. Perhaps the thinner profile may be a factor here,
As well as the choice of color treatment applied.
Or...Perhaps It is the fact that I am slightly (Just so!) past 60 years young.
Hmmm... maybe in the end it’s a mixed buffet of both.
I don’t think however I would change the hands. Would the Mona Lisa
Look better blonde?