I liked @ac106's suggestion enough to try it out.

Following the German Tank problem logic (details here: http://www.statisticshowto.com/german-tank-problem), we would get to an approximate total production figure well below 10k.

This would be based on:



where
N = the maximum number we are looking for (i.e. the number of FOiS produced to date)
m = highest number found so far
n = number of serials witnessed

Concerning m: the highest number I have witnessed so far was 8110, n can be estimated at about 45
(This thread alone, a quick search turned up at least: 8110, 81XX, 72XX, 6991, 67XX, 640X, 630X, 62XX, 6283, 6224, 6176, 60XX, 605X, 6052, 6047, 6004, 58XX, 56XX, 5150, 5123, 5104, 5043, 478X, 45XX, 4423, 41XX, 4118, 390X, 3865, 3732, 3480, 3226, 3193, 3090, 2527, 2067, 1586, 1440, 1242, 123X, 1101, 995, 595, 482, 16) I have been quite conservative and eliminated any potential double count due to partially disclosed numbers.

Leading to an N of 8110 + (8110 / 45) - 1 = 8289

So, based on this I would conclude that:
- The total number produced to date is likely around 8300
- The number is highly influenced by the highest number found so far (m = 8110),
- If, however, Omega still produces new FOiS (which according to Watchbase it doesn't do anymore since 2016), the number could still go up as all observations made so far are by nature skewed towards the lower end of the scale as numbers are assigned - more or less - chronologically)

Bring on those (higher) serial numbers!

 

Whilst it's nice to have mathematical validation, I think anybody could have guessed that answer just by reading the thread

 

Just to add to this, here is mine; no. 63xx

 

New "Vintage old" and JPO (Just Plain Old)

 

Dad handed down triple date to me(my 1st watch;and again the MuDu, my 1st automatic when I was a teenager. My 1st new purchase in 1973 was the Seamaster 751 (daily duty still). Pocket watch from wife's great grandmother, & Railroad watch from great grandfather. All are serviced and work well, except the date on the MuDu which stopped changing a couple of months ago, and needs a repair. Newest "vintage" is two weeks old. Back to winding watches. Everything old is new again-except me

 

That’s what Allied intelligence thought too:

Intelligence estimate: 1,000
Statistical estimate: 169
German records: 122

 

If i am a manufacturer, i will not be stopping at 8,300. It will be to the nearest thousands or 10K. Just my 2 cents.

 

Higher number found: 851X; which means we would now be looking at a total of approximately 8700.

 

Hi
I was in an Omega Boutique yesterday and was offered a FOIS. It was interesting to note that it is a numbered edition and upon inspection it was around 86XX, if I remember correctly.

Do you think it would be redundant to have his one together with a Moonwatch Hesalite?

TIA!

 

Chiming in with mine, which is 45xx. Bought it back in summer 2016. It is definitely amongst my favourites!
Cheers
K

 

I would say "no". When I got mine it was going to be my Speedmaster and out. Well a Speedy 60th and Speedy Tuesday later and I'm still not out. I'm even considering a Speedy Pro at some point. Anyway, I think there are enough differences when you consider the crystal, the size, the lugs and the hand set that you get a different enough watch. FOIS can be a "dressier" Speedy if you will.

 

Totally agree- also have the Pro and they are quite different. Actually, they share only the bezel, two subregister hands and the movement. Everything else is different - case, lugs, caseback, dial, crystal and most hands. The most notable differences are the sleeker case of the FOIS, its main handset and its pitch-black dial (compared to the matte black dial of the Pro).

 

Thanks for your inputs!

 

Is it certain that the FOIS has been discontinued (as watchbase seems to suggest)? Wonder what this would mean for its value. My impression is that this model does not receive the praise it deserves from afficionados, the main argument being the crystal and caseback. Which seems strange to me given this is the closest production model to the 2998, and there are other praised ltd editions with saphire and other non-original features (think of the speedy italy or the edition with meteorite dial; not to mention the snoopy)

 

What strap is that? Looks real cool!

 

I had no idea that people are saying this is discontinued. It certainly wasn’t made in large quantities each year if it took this long to get to 10,000 pieces.

 

An interesting point. Production seems to have accelerated if we are now into the 9,000s. It was launched in 2012 and I acquired my example from an OB at the very end of 2016 which is in the middle 5,000s...so four years to get to around 6,000 and less than two to get toward 10,000.

 

It is still listed on the Omega website with the note to contact a boutique for purchase. I suspect this means that they are now built when ordered. If it was not available, they would have a note that it was discontinued and no longer available. Of course, this all assumes they regularly update these pages.

 

I got mine in late October 2017 and it was around 7800. Omega accelerated production then in the last 5 months to produce nearly 2200 watches in half a year for this reference.