Afternoon all, first post here, but a long time lurker, main forum I'm on is TZ. I know these type of threads are a bit lame, and of course I can make my own choices, but thought worth seeking the advice of those who may know more.

I'm looking shortly to purchase my first Omega and cannot decide between 2 'iconic' watches. My current collection stands with a Panerai 560, Vintage Seiko Arnie (heirloom form my dad) U Boat (birthday present when I was less informed) and a G Shock DiY Sport watch.

Anyways back to my quest. I currently have a Tudor BB58 on order, damn waiting lists and after trying this on is defiantly a great watch, that ticks a lot of boxes do me. The issue is I've been quoted a year until this may come in for me. I'm looking to pick something up in the summer time, belated birthday and even more belated celebration of the birth of my daughter.

My head has now been turned by Omega, and I've narrowed it down to the older Seamster SMPc (not keen on the modern waves) or the iconic Speedy Pro Moonwatch,

I've been to my local AD & Omega boutique and tried both on. They both wear great and both have pro's & cons. As you can see from my above collection I'm mainly drawn to dive watches, their style, robustness and sometimes history. The moonwatch needs no intro and the more I read about it the more I can see it being the one watch you'll ever need. (also looks great on loads of different straps). The 2 biggest concerns of the Moonwatch are I'm generally not a chrono guy, small seconds I find annoying, and I prefer a dive bezel for timing! Plus only 50m WR, now it's not a watch I want to go diving in, but if I am caught in a pool mainly playing around or a small swim, I don't want to have to take my watch off or worry about it.

Now I love the gloss black dial of the SMPc, and a sucker for applied indices and logo! Not a fan off the HE valve but not that noticeable on wrist (& not like the modern Reeces Pieces). Strap isn't an issue, and I may look to change to the rubber/leather combo the PO has, but feel the SMPc has that great dress/ dive combo. Matching date wheel is another plus, (once the U Boat has sold, may be my only watch with a date) big bug bear is non matching date wheels. Also not a fan of the mismatched lume but can live with this. Plus this can now be bought at a great price & still keep the BB58 on order.

Lastly the SMPc is an ever evolving model, in a few years will this model look dated?

Would like some feedback on people's views on both, are there more things I should take into consideration? Should I vary my collection by having a chrono? Will the SMPc make me not want the BB58?

Currently I'm swaying slightly more to the SMPc, but this does change, especially when I see more pics & reviews od the Speedy & it looks great on other peoples wrist.

Anyways enough of my ramblings and thanks for reading this far Brad

 

Buy one and, within months, you'll be buying the other one. I promise.

#itchesthatcantbescratched

 

I predict that you are about to get a slew of people saying "Speedmaster!" because of things like "heritage", "history", and "timelessness"...

I own both a black SMPc and Speedmaster Professional. I like them both, but I would probably pick the SMPc if I could only have one. I really like how its bezel and dial take on different colors depending on the lighting. Not that it matters, but it's also the watch that I've gotten the most compliments on from coworkers and friends.

 

SMPc for me. I have it in black too and it looks great especially dressed down on nylon or rubber. I’m simply not bothered by the standard Speedmaster.

 

Speedmaster and Seamaster are the yin and yang. You need both for balance and to achieve inner peace.

 

Not this again. Why would you have to remove a watch or worry about it when it is rated for 50M? You wouldn't. 50M means 50M. I swim in my Speedy Pro with zero issues.

 

A speedy would make a great addition as a classic chrono, if your prime intent was to balance your watch collection against the incoming BB58 and your existing dive watches.

But seeing that you are not into chronographs and don’t like the small seconds, the speedy would only serve as a compromise which you would likely get over once the novelty wears off. So for all the reasons you mentioned above go with the SMPc.

 

Seamaster.

You have to buy what you like the most. But I'd say give the waves on the new Seamaster Pro another shot. Subtle in the metal. More interesting than a uniform dial, and actually looks like a uniform dial from 3+ feet, so it will offend absolutely no one.

I also like the slight taper of the new hands. I have an older Seamaster 300M ETNZ with the older non-tapered hands, and I prefer the new hands.

But, let's say you go with the older Seamaster Pro. Then I'd recommend black dial for sure. I have the newer blue with waves (and the ETNZ is titanium), but I honestly think the blue looks better with waves, and the black looks better without waves.

So there you go. Good luck with your decision. You can hardly go wrong.

 

I own both a black ( and blue too ) SMPC and a MOTM hesalite 1861. Both are fantastic watches.

I sold all of my vintage pieces to buy a new MOTM. It took my nearly 20 years to get one. They are wonderful watches. For me it is a luxury to own a MOTM.

The SMPC is a more versatile watch. They are well made, accurate and reliable. The SMPC is extremely comfortable and fits under a barrel cuff. They offer great value for the money.

If I had to pick one I would choose the SMPC.

 

You come off as kind of nitpicky, thus over thinking the whole choice thing. Which Omega gets your juices flowing? Based on your comments, you don't like HE valves and afraid the SMP will look dated in a few years. On the other hand, the Speedmaster's second hand bothers you, not to mention it's water resistance. It appears you may be looking to purchase the lesser of the two evils. The whole pre purchase chase, with trying them on and research and fantasizing about ownership....That's the first half of the fun. Get past the negatives.

 

Have you tried on the Tudor pelegos

That’s a very nice dive watch and looks incredible with LHD model and in blue.

I’m a chrono collector so I’ll always say go for the speedmaster and maybe recommend a pelegos plus first omega in speed to give diversity to your collection.

If you love dive watches that much but want diversity in the shape of a chrono why not get the black bay chrono.

It’s incredibly good value and a great breitling movement for the price. Has the black bay diver dna with chrono function.

Above all try everything on and buy what works for you.

 

Most likely wouldn't be able to pick one up for the same price as the SMPc, but have you given the PO LMLE any consideration? They sometimes come up for sale. Still has the He valve, but checks a lot of the boxes you have... diver, gloss dial, applied indices (logo and numerals too!), more WR and some classic looks.

 

Would be interested if possible to see a pictures on the additional straps.

 

That was my thought process, and all watches need to be checked regularly seals ect before usage. In my eyes 50m is more than adequate even Omega say so, unfortunately both sales reps were far from confident of this.

Glad to hear not an issue for you, and this could be a good news for me.

 

Not nitpicky, just cautious when spending to me a lot of cash on something that's let be honest our phones do!

HE valves are better suited as Rolex offer then, flush. Unless you are Bond they are pointless at 11pm it ruins the symmetry. Smalls seconds isn't a nice as a central seconds IMHO. Happy to be guided by people who have the watch and use it swimming with no issues, to me 50m is fine, as mentioned before both sales guys said it's a big nono & just splash proof.

Lesser of the 2 evils when compared to the BB58 in my eyes, but I think both watches shall be in my collection in a few years. It's just which one I purchase first.

 

Thanks for the responses so far guys, forgot to add it would be the black dial SMPC, once I saw the black date wheel on the blue, I couldn't unsee it!

Shame as the blue gloss dial has a lovely deep change of colour depending on the light.

 

Sure. Also, see here:
https://omegaforums.net/threads/my-first-strap-change-smpc.38995/

 

Now I understand why my life has been so one sided as until a few days ago I only had the Seamaster, then the Speedmaster arrived.

My life now has balance

 

Yep

 

Can confirm.