Woah! I like the look of the normal stick hand for the running seconds!

 

Reading this thread I was getting severe FOMO so decided to take the plunge. Have always loved the look of those hands. Not surprisingly, has the highest number I've seen #15469

 

#13299 Apologies for not being a first time poster with a newie on the roll call but took some inspiration from another thread and ordered myself a Forstner flat link, just wanted to show it off...and here it is!

 

Finally, I can post in this thread! I could not justify adding another Omega Chronograph, so I sold my 2015 Speedy Pro to make room for the FOIS. Very pleased that I did, after hesitating for some time. I have a Forstner flat link on order and looking forward to trying that out.

 

Just made it into the club before the doors close !! Loving my new FOIS, delivered today, No. 15547.
I've only been contemplating it since it was launched
I thought i had better bite the bullet and buy the FOIS as my first Speedmaster before it was too late to compliment my five Seamasters! I don't think it will be my last Speedy

 

Congrats, and welcome to the most discerning club on the forum. You’ve got the watch, now prepare to invest in the hundreds of strap and bracelet combinations that will help you realize it’s full potential.

Think of it as preparation for all the Speedies yet to come...

 

Haha, so true. So far I've purchased 1 Omega bracelet, 1 Omega rubber strap with deployant clasp, and 2 US bracelets. Total cost was probably close to $1300.

 

Hello guys! Just showing off my fist mechanical Omega! Got a great deal from an AD. FOIS is beeeeeautiful!!! The Forstner flat link is also very nice. CHEERS!

 

FOIS with Omega’s NATO Napa leather strap.

 

I’ve got the same one but on an all brushed strap. Welcome to the club.

 

I really can't understand why people like the "hesalite" but perhaps that's because I'm a polymer chemist. Hesalite is just polymethyl methacrylate, better known as perspex and is one of the cheapest plastics going. There is nothing "space age" or advance about it. Your kids
toys are made from it and so are their watches, like this beautiful mingrui available from amazon for £15.59 next day delivery.

I get the reasons for using it on the first watch in space and so keeping it as close to possible as the original for collectors is important but for real world use sapphire is a much better choice. And if collectors want it to be hesalite as thats closer to the original, surely just buy the original and enjoy the watches that it inspires for what they are?

 

IMO, cheaper does not necessarily mean worse or less desired, it depends on your desired outcome.

Using your argument, we should want all our watches to be made out of titanium, but most people don't and prefer stainless steel.

I like the warmth of hesalite and its connection to older days when watches were tools, I like how you can polish hesalite to make it brand new, or that it's cheaper to replace when damaged. I've also owned cheap watches with Chinese movements that had Sapphire crystals, which doesn't make it seem that special.

I don't just "buy the original" vintage watch because sometimes you want something that you are confident to wear outdoors, but which hasn't lost it's connection to the past.

But in the end, it's just a preference, which I guess is why Omega lets you buy either

 

And why don't we get rid of all those last century tech mechanical watches while we're at it and move on to smartwatches like any sensible person would?

 

Thank you for your reply. Love the comment about being confident to wear outdoors, certainly made me think about it differently! Certainly hadn't considered the warmth aspect, I think i just love the cleanliness of the sapphire and being a polymer chemist methyl methacrylate is thought of as cheap, you add it as a kind of filler to performance products and I suspect that prevents me from warming to it!

Technically Titanium is not stronger than stainless steel, its just has a very good strength to weight ratio. It scratches more easily than stainless steel, so my argument would not be to use titanium instead of stainless steel. Practically stainless steel is a better choice, but heavier to wear. Ceramic is most definitely better for scratch resistance but obviously as its more brittle you run the risk of complete failure. So you've got pros and cons.

PMMA vs Sapphire purely from a technical perspective, PMMA is inferior in every performance characteristic. Yes you can polish out light scratches but with sapphire you wouldn't have got those scratches in the first place. Yes you can scratch sapphire but the same force required to scratch sapphire applied to PMMA would leave such a deep gash that it would be irreparable. If enough force is applied, sapphire will crack and potentially splinter and its those splinters they didn't want in space. PMMA is better at absorbing shock than sapphire but would still crack when the same force is applied, it just wouldn't be such a dramatic failure.

I'm really not trying to start an argument with anyone, everyone is entitled to their own views, I was genuinely interested in peoples reasons for wanting the hesalite and just trying to explain why I don't understand it.

 

For me the beauty in a mechanical watch is the magnificence of the engineering, i just don't see that in a quartz watch, it probably is just the scientist in me! I've never understood smart watches, I have a phone in my pocket, the screen is too small on a smart watch, they are ugly.

I don't really see the parallel between this and my question over sapphire vs plastic.

 

We're all on this forum because of the emotional value that watches provide us. Functional or practical aspects are not what drives watch enthousiasts. You for one admire the movement and engineering (as do many others), others take pleasure in the fact that their watch has the same glass as was originally used in the early Speedmasters + it actually makes the dial look different (better?).

That aside, there is some practical value to the cheap hesalite glass. I know some people who abuse their Speedmasters heavily. Having sapphire glass would make that a very costly thing as replacing sapphire glass is expensive plus due the shattering micro pieces of glass can get to unwanted places. Hesalite just breaks in large pieces and replacing it is very cheap.

 

Thank you!

 

Except one - the PMMA looks better (to me). That is the only reason I choose it personally, and also because the watch I own wasn't available with anything else when it was made.

If you don't like it, that's fine. No one is forcing their preferences on others here on this from what I see.

 

Having re-read my first post on the topic it doesn't come across with the whit that was intended!

Genuinely interested to hear advocates of Hesalites opinions.

 

My only Speedy is the Apollo 11 50SS, but if it had the hesalite that would have been more attractive because of the visual aspect which trumps the sapphire crystal with the milky ring.