Hey all,

I have benefitted greatly from the advice and recommendations on this forum in the past, so I figured I would post another question!

I have been saving up and eyeing a modern Speedmaster for awhile. My wife is also pregnant with my first child (a son). He is due in early 2020. I thought it would be nice to buy a Speedmaster in 2020 -- a gift for myself. Eventually, when my son achieved some significant milestone - graduating college, getting married, getting drafted in the first round of the MLB draft, getting elected to Congress (you know, the usual accomplishments), I would gift him the Speedmaster made the year he was born.

My question: Would it even be possible in 2020 to purchase a Speedmaster that was made that year? I would assume the boutiques would have stock with watches dating back a bit... Are the serial numbers such that if I went into a boutique, say, halfway through the year they could locate a 2020-produced Speedy? If it is not something that can be done, I would see no reason to delay the purchase until 2020.

Thanks for any info you all may have!

 

Not sure. Don't see any particular reason why it would not be possible - the best place to ask is the boutique (they all have e-mail addresses on the Omega site).

Alternatively, if the rumours of a new 3861 Caliber Speedmaster release in 2020 are true, then that also solves your problem - provided you'd be interested in a 3861.

 

You can run to the AD the day your son is born and buy the Speedy then. It may or may not be made in 2020, but the purchase date will be your son's birthday. Now you'll just have to convince your wife that its OK for you to run out and get one, once he's born. In the alternative maybe have one of your relatives or close friends pick your's up that day.

 

That’s a great idea! I like that better than a random 2020 manufacture date.... thanks!

 

Or Pay for it in advance , have the date of the birth of your son pre printed on the nice Omega warranty card

 

Please do not wait until he's elected to Congress. By that time he will have already acquired a dozen or so Rolexes bough with all the graft money earned in politics up until that point.

Maybe consider buying a Speedy from your birthyear instead. That way it will likely have tritium, so the lume will look much nicer in 20 years that superlume. Plus the watch will be more special for your son due to it's link to you.

 

About how much do Speedys from 1983 go for? I just have been operating under the assumption that a new one would be dramatically more affordable...

 

1983 is within a period where the prices have been rising a little, but are still much more affordable than the earlier watches. Chances are you can get one for about the same price you would pay for a new Speedy bought through a 'trusted seller' (i.e., a bit less than MSRP on a new Speedy).

 

Do you happen to know the general serial number range I would be looking at for a 1983 Speedy?

 

roughly around 44,xxx,xxx from what I have seen searching.

From ILoveMySpeedmaster: For 1983, 43725840 to 46298948

 

Thanks for your help, everyone!

 

What about one of the Olympic speedmasters for next year? They have some nice '20' accents on them which would be a nice birth year reminder for your child?

 

Just buy one now.

“ I was wearing it the day you came into this world, timed your mother’s contractions on it son “

Money slows up the minute babies are born ( actually a few months before )

 

Tell me about it! Our fifth child is now 12 so we are slowly emerging from the other side of that financial downturn (just a few years to go). That said, children add so much to your life that money can't buy (and continue to do so).

 

Next year is the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13. If you can save up to buy that LE Speedmaster, by the time your son runs for Congress he can probably finance his campaign by simply selling that watch .

 

By the looks of today’s snoopy , the A13 50A is going to cost a lot of pennies

 

If you haven't been through the drill, there are a few things to consider prior to making a life time choice.

Before that, my two cents is to respectfully skip the (not so) limited editions mentioned by some on this thread. Omega puts them out far too often and they charge quite a premium. From your OP, I take it that you are not looking for a collector's item. You want to buy a watch you will wear every day. A watch your son will identify with you as he grows up so when it comes time to present it to him he will forever refer to it as "my father's watch". My advice would be to first identify a watch both you, and hopefully your son, will be comfortable wearing. The Speedmaster Professional is a large-ish watch (42mm). Try one on before you commit to it. after all, you plan to wear it for about a quarter of a century before you pass it on so make sure you like the way it looks and feels on your wrist.

Once you have established that you like the fit, you can then move on to the type of Speedy you will buy. I vote for the standard Speedy Pro. The traditional moonwatch is the iconic Speedmaster. It is also a watch that was meant to be worn, not put away in a safe somewhere. One caveat on this is that most Speedmasters do not have very good water resistance. At 50mm WR, they will handle casual contact with water and even an occasional swim just fine as long as you have the seals checked during service, and as long as you don't operate the pushers underwater (Note: you will get some very harsh pushback on this issue from some people, but experts agree and will set you straight). The point is, if your lifestyle includes frequent rigourous water sports or activities like boating or diving know that your Speedy may have to sit it out some parts of your life on shore.

Now to the crystal issue. If you are a purist, hesalite is the way to go. However, make sure you can deal with plenty of scratches that you may, or may not be able to polish out with polywatch. The hesalite version is a scratch magnet. Some of the more anal types can't deal with that. Omega makes a slightly more expensive sapphire version which in my opinion is more suited for daily driver wear. You will get many very emotional opinions on this issue, but in the end it is your watch so do your research and listen to your heart. For whatever it is worth I wear the sapphire version daily and I feel it was a good choice for me.

As a final thought, if the watch fits your wrist and your lifestyle, the Speedmaster is an awesome choice. There are few watches that have such a history. Explain it to your son along the way. Teach him about the watch and what has meant to the space program. This will enrich his understanding of his father's watch and make it that much more special when it becomes his.

Congratulations and good luck!

 

Great advice. I thought my hesalite '69 speedy was a once in a lifetime choice but, happily, I've been proved wrong on that assumption over the last few years! It is a great (and expensive) bug to catch.

 

Great advice -- I am going to head over to an AD in a couple of days to try on a Speedy, to make sure I like the fit. I do not believe any water resistance limitation will be an issue. Oceans and large bodies of water are not my thing.

Also, while I am a total Apollo program nerd (especially Apollo XIII -- I have a copy of Jim Lovell's book signed next to a large Saturn V and lunar lander model), I suspect any XIII limited edition watch will be far, far outside my limited public servant salary, haha.