Starting to grow the bug for an Omega. What model of speedmaster would you recommend to buy on the second hand market. A model that would be considered a classic speedmaster. P_
Great, thanks ! I guess 3750.50 is what I should look for . Any series/year different or more sought after than another ? Anyone to avoid ? Why , from a quick look on Ebay ( I am not planning to purchase it there ) I see so many of them sold from Japan ?!?!
The population of Japan is currently at 126.240 million & Tokyo ~14 million. There's a humongous market for Speedmasters , new & pre owned watches. Below is a photo of just Omega pre owned watches on sale in a second hand dealer in Tokyo. Don''t worry .The glass display cabinet runs for another " 1 ATM "
I'd say tritium dial 3570.50's are nice. They're usually still available in pretty good conditions. Plus the nice cream lumes of the tritium are just nice with these pieces. It's a fresh case-and-bezel look with beautiful yellowish lumes. Look for T SWISS MADE T at the bottom of the dial for tritium indication. Example: https://omegaforums.net/threads/omega-speedmaster-professional-3570-50-tritium.40562/
Nice but you won't find many tritium models like that. The 3570 was introduced in 96/97 and only the very first few were tritium dials as these were transitionals, the rest to this day have S-L dials. If you want a tritium dial Speedy it will be much easier to find an earlier 3590.50 or earlier still nonPIC coded 145.0022/145.022. If you do go pre 3570, you gain a faded tritium dial but lose the lume glow and nicer (IMO) 3570 bracelet.
Agree completely with this. Nice vintage look without the inflated price, wear, enjoy and lose no sleep...
For all intents and purposes the watch has been the same since 69. A few different case backs up until 70/72 74 lost the step dial 76 minor font change Mid 70's a part changed from metal to a better plastic part in the movement (Delrin brake) Late 90 (98?) went to superluminova instead of tritium lume A 3 bezels I think that are basically identical with minor font changes that do not change the look. There was another minor dial change or 2 at some point and some have a slightly different finish on the movement. More recently you have the option of a sapphire crystal and a display back. Most people prefer the non sapphire crystal. As noted a few year old 3570 is a good choice or perhaps a birth year watch.
311.30.42.30.01.005 a little more difficult to remember The 005 at the end is the hesalite model and 006 is the sapphire
Hmm, the tritium dial is very intriguing , thanks for the suggestion , I think I found my candidate . What's the difference between the 3572 and the 3570 ?
Its whether it has a see through sapphire case back or not. Purists say that the watch should be as original to NASA spec as possible so a steel case back and hesalite crystal is preferable a la 3570. Less purist (or more practical) types go for the sapphire sandwich 3573 which has advantages in scratch resistance but changes the dial look a little. The 3572 falls in between and has a breakable plastic front and strong sapphire glass rear. This option possibly satisfies neither requirement fully though has aesthetic advantages. Omega in fact discontinued it a few years ago and replaced it with the sandwich model so now you only get the first 2 options (all or nothing) I described above. I get why being able to see the movement is nice though, since a lot of the money has gone on it! I solved this problem and squared the circle by getting the purist 3570 but then also the more modern and practical automatic sapphire sandwich 1957 edition Broad Arrow with the 3313 movement. The Speedmaster for every occasion is our there, but it may be a combination of 2 or more watches!
As someone who literally went through this process over the last half year mos, my advice is this: - Go to the Omega Boutique (OB) or an Authorized dealer. Try on different watches. High-res pics of a watch is not a substitute for you it will look/feel on your wrist. I was convinced that the 3570.50 was the right size, but when i tried it on, I immediately thought it was too big. I wore both the FOIS and the regular moon for an hour thinking. Then i left dead set on getting an FOIS. - The second trip to the OB, and the moon watch was growing on me. Still felt the 3570.50 was big (I have a 7.5" wrist btw). I put on a PO and a 57 co-ax. The moon suddenly seemed smaller and manageable. The OB brought out the moon on a strap, and I was convinced i would be - Deal hunted on ebay for 3 months. Lost 6 auctions but I was completely dead-set on a budget. Then, the right 3592.50 showed up (same as the 3570.50 but with a sapphire back) when i wasn't expecting it and I won it. - My next watch is a straight lug speedy. If i can't find a vintage in my price range, a FOIS will do.
Why not a 3590.50 for the modernish watch but tritium dial and 861 movement? The 3950 feels more historic being basically 1969 design vs a newer model. If I'm buying a Speedy, and can't afford a 105.012, I still want it as historic as possible. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There is certainly an element of truth to this but bear in mind that the 3950 is much closer to the current model than it is to the cal 321 models which the NASA guys actually used in the 60s. I wouldn't personally kid myself that, for example, a 1986 Speedmaster was dramatically different from a 1996 or for that matter, lume excepted, a 2016. As Foo2rama said above, you need to go back to pre 1976 before it gets noticeable at which point the watch was simply known as 145.022 (no PIC). Even then the differences are pretty small until you hit 1973.