Looking for a Speedmaster. Found a couple on the bay that seem to be cheap. Wondering if they are worth looking at. They are both in Japan, one is from elady the other I don't recognize. http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Polished-OMEGA-Speedmaster-Automatic-Steel-Mens-Watch-3510-50-BF109222-/322293726574?hash=item4b0a33fd6e:g:~WEAAOSwPCVYANfO http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Omega-Speedm...389286?hash=item23742444a6:g:-IsAAOSwOyJX-f40Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
These are Speedmaster reduced. Price should stay under $1700 USD maybe more with box and papers. May I recommend http://www.watchvaultnyc.com/Omega-Speedmaster-Reduced-351050_p_739.html Known good seller. ..Edited.. Removed note about seller history.
Que? Both sellers are well known and have decent history and feedback. I suspect the user id algorithm got a bit FU on 04 January 2016.
My mistake both showed 4 sales each, or so I thought. I must be losing my mind. The site was displaying weird when I looked, I mistakenly thought the review was the seller review with 5 stars and 4 sales each.
Being a noob. Why the major price gap between the auto and professional speedmasters? Auto not desirable or something?
If you want an automatic Speedmaster instead of a professional moonwatch, may I recommend a Speedmaster Date instead of a Reduced? It's got a proper chrono movement (Valjoux 7750) instead of a cumbersome piggyback chrono module that misalignes the crown with the pushers, it's similarly priced, and to my eyes it looks better. Happy hunting!
It's mostly about history: the handwound Professional is the watch that went to the moon. It has strong ties to NASA and the space program. People enjoy that heritage. I would say it's also the design: it's (god I hate this word in the context of watches but it's true) timeless and superbly balanced. To some extent it's about quality also: the 861 is known as a reliable and robust movement (more so, anyway, than the Reduced movement). In the end, price is about supply and demand, and (for the reasons above and likely more) demand is huge. In terms of wearing it daily, I actually prefer the Date because it has a date window, because an automatic moment is convenient, and because I don't have to cry like a little girl when I scratch the bezel. But in terms of aesthetics, history, and collectibility, I prefer the Professional all day long.
Also, my understanding is the automatics with the piggyback chrono, they are very expensive to service. I've heard the service runs between $750 -1000. A lot of times the movement is replaced with a brand new one than to service the old one. Probably the main reason you see so many for sale. Owners get sticker shock when they take them in for a service and decide to just dump them on the open market. General rule of thumb buying any watch that old is expect having it serviced when you purchase one.