Completely agree, the later sapphire sandwich is clearly more box shaped. The early ones are better looking...

 

Nice pictures! Where'd you get the blue gray strap from?

 

http://www.haveston.com/

 

You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. Thanks for the quality pics, really appreciate it. So it seems Omega can and has created a nicer-looking sapphire glass.

It also occurred to me there might be variance of sapphire curvature (even within the same model)? I said earlier that I'm fine with how the sapphire on my FOIS looks, but now looking at other pics maybe even the FOIS are not consistent. The milkiness (and boxiness) of mine seems to split the difference between your 3573 and 311..006 model. Granted there's difference with lighting/camera, but plopped mine in between your pic for reference.



Sure the milkiness is still there, but not as much as I feared. I remember when researching that Hodinkee's pic of the milky ring on their FOIS scared me.

 

Thank you for the kind words. I think the light condition does affect the appearance, but your FOIS seems to have a lighter ring than the Hodinkee picture. My 311...006 is the worst kind I guess.. But I'm getting over it, since I have the other versions and could appreciate its unique look.

 

Just a random shot today... I’ve got to say sometimes I admire the effect of the milky ring.

 

Hesalite all the way. The sapphire version never looks like this ...

 

How about this sapphire one?

 

Pretty good, but that ring is still there. I’ll concede that the sapphire version wins for durability though.

 

Wow. Thanks so much for this post. I am/WAS in the process of going with the Sapphire, but now seeing the "Milky" Ring, I can't unsee it.
I was supposed to pick it up Tuesday. Since they have both versions, I will do one more "real world on the wrist look"- but... I will most likely be (saving money) and going Hesalite based on this post.

 

I had convinced myself that the Sapphire was for me as im slighty clumbsy but having seen both in an AD and then considered that i wouldnt be wearing my watch for my manual labour job...i went for Hesalite and so glad i did .The distortion and domed effect is a sight to behold ...ohh and its cheaper!

 

I've been debating this very issue for months, But ultimately the sapphire gets my vote, the case back alone being the deciding factor for me, then there's the extra durability with less maintenance (buffing scratches out) Ill take the milky ring and quite happily live with it

 

Thank you for sharing, I was going to purchase the sapphire and now I think the traditional Hesalite is the way to go. Happy I waited.

 

Is it possible to replace the sapphire front with hesalite at a later date? Just a thought. I really like the 1863 movement at the back.. Thanks for the article

 

This is great. And the synchronised-to-the-second time on both is fab

 

Yes, I have seen this done (and also the inverse, a hesalite Speedmaster with a sapphire back fitted).

 

Contrary to what many will say, not easily no and there’s a good chance you’ll compromise your watches water resistance if you do. It’s not a direct swap as the apertures are a different size. A certain amount of bodging is needed. It has been done but I wouldn’t wear such a watch in the rain.

 

For those who may already be paralyzed under the decision-making between hesalite vs sapphire (as if the merits of the different crystal designs isn't enough to ponder!!): Beyond the aesthetics and pragmatism of the crystal options, other considerations to factor into one's choice of hesalite pro vs sapphire sandwich are (1) magnetism and (2) wrist comfort.

1) The solid caseback offers increased resistance to magnetism. Fortunately, this will be moot in the next generation of cal 3861 motivated Speedmasters. But until then, depending on how prevalent magnetic force are in your life (ipad covers, laptops, speakers, etc), and whether you have a de-magnetizer at home, the incremental resistance that the solid caseback offers could make a difference in your satisfaction with the watch.

Speaking from personal experience, I couldn't endure the frustration of a Reverso Duo I used own that would get magnetized every few days. Working on laptop during a transcon flight? Magnetized upon arrival, regardless of whether my wrist rested over a Macbook or Thinkpad. Carrying an iPad in between my arm and torso? 25% chance it'll be magnetized in the short 10-minute walk between the office to a coffee shop. Then again, that was a delicate JLC Reverso duo face. Our Omegas have much more robust & durable movements and I personally wouldn't shy away from a sapphire sandwich on the basis of the incremental magnetic resistance a solid caseback offers.

2) On the hesalite's solid caseback, the hippocampus and its perimeter ring protrudes further out than the rest of the flat caseback surface. Depending on your wrist shape, you might find this creates a raised, focus point that digs into your skin because the weight of the watch gets centered on that protruding hippocampus instead of being even spread across the whole of the caseback surface.

Coupled with the weight of the current-generation bracelets, that protruding hiccocampus ring never fails to irritate my wrist and imprint red seahorse circles on my arm regardless of how tight/loose the bracelet is adjusted. I've mitigated this somewhat by wearing my hesalite speedy only on leather straps now. But imo, this is a design flaw that's very unique to the hesalite pro. Across all of the other Omegas I've owned that has a 'sculpted' caseback design (2541, 2220, Globemaster, 1950's pie pan connie), none of those leave seahorse or observatory imprints on my wrist. The shapes on those watches are well-recessed into a lower elevation compared to the rest of the caseback surface. Result is the full weight of the watch is more evenly spread out, and not concentrated into a raised focus point.

The warm distortion of the hesalite still won out for me in the end But my ideal speedy would be a modernized 3572 with a hesalite crystal, sapphire back, 3861 movement, and a bracelet no heavier than the one issued with the 3570.00 generation.

 

Picked my Speedy up in Dec. Went to the AD to purchase a sapphire model but left with a hesalite model. The milky ring really caught my eye and I could not stop fixating on it. The hesalite looked so much better in person than I expected. I really wanted the clear caseback of the sapphire but went with the hesalite instead. It really is a personal choice...It's a Speedy, you can't go wrong

 

Great photos! I still prefer the hesalite