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RubenDhae
·Hi everybody,
I hope you're all doing great!
I'd love to share some pictures with you of my newly purchased watch. It's a milestone watch, one that I've wanted for many years, and have looked at for many hundreds of hours: the Omega Speedmaster.
Some backstory of my watch collection first, which has led to me purchasing the watch!
I'm a three watch kind of guy. I have always loved that idea, because it's aimed at really thinking through what you want (and not hording a redundant amount watches that don't get any wrist time), but still being able to cover all the bases in terms of watch situations.
And the latter is the reason why I have aspired the following watch collection:
- 1: a dress watch. This seems like a "must have" for any watch nerd, as wearing a classic dresspiece while suited-up at an important meeting or a wedding feels so great and in character. Hallmarks of the dresswatch include being thin (so it fits under a shirts' cuff) and small (under 40mm to look classically proportioned), as well as being on a leather strap. In my quest to fulfil this watch "need", I purchased about a year ago my first Omega watch; the Deville 424.13.40.20.02.002:
I really liked the watch, and the brand OMEGA as well. So, for my second piece of my three watch puzzle, I was quickly looking at OMEGA again!
- 2: a tool/outdoor watch. This seems like a no-brainer. What's one of the most well-known, historically important and overall respected watch in the industry that is made by Omega, a brand I came to love? When looking at a watch of this category, a Speedmaster came to mind instantly.
However, the issue is that there are literally hundreds of different references produced within the last decades alone. In my mind, I have split the Speedmaster into two big groups: historical models (such as the Broad Arrows and Moonwatches) and the more sporty models (such as the older racing models). The latter can be found at an introduction price when bought on the used market. However, the design drifts away from (in my honest opinion) what makes a Speedmaster the Speedmaster. They are often more bulky and the bezel is less my style, though I liked the 326 30 40 50 01 002 I must say.
While I considered the non-historical models in my search for a speedy because of their prices, I decided to save-up for longer, and to pursue a true classic Speedmaster. While doing research, both the moonwatch and broad arrows peaked my interest.
As you can see on the pictures below, the broad arrow has won the face-off!
I settled on the 3594.50, a watch that features both the case and movement (Cal. 1861) from the moonwatch along with the broad arrow bezel and hands from the first Speedmaster from 1957! It also features a grey dial instead of a black dial, making it a more soft watch to wear.
I'm currently in the honeymoon phase (the watch arrived yesterday), so I cant really tell any downsides yet!
However, I know for a fact that the watch is hesalite, meaning that I have to be careful with the crystal...
And what's next?
- 3: a fun summer watch. Well I'll be looking at OMEGA again! While my 2 current pieces are black and white, I'll be aiming something with a pop of colour. I'm already thinking in the direction of the Seamaster collection! Perhaps a Seamaster 300 in blue? Here is a simulation how that would look, pieced together in Photoshop:
What would your pick be to finalize the 3 watch collection?
The Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow 3594.50
So, here we are. Stage two out of three completed. I acquired a holy grail watch for me! However, since I'm still very much a noob on the topic of Speedmasters, I'm still very much learining the traits of the watch.
It's my first manual watch, so I'm having some questions to all of you.
- I noticed that it's quite hard to wind the watch. I don't know if it's due to the design or placement of the crown guards that make the crown very difficult to grasp/hold, or the design of the crown itself, but I can't seem to wind it easily. Is this something that's common with Speedmasters in general?
When I do grab it between my thumb and my index finger, I need to use quite some force to hold the crown tightly enough in order to make the crown rotate. This starts to hurt my fingers quite rapidly. Using a piece of cloth or something to hold/grasp the crown, I have a much better grip and it goes better. But even then, I can only do small pieces of winding (less that 1/4th of a full crown rotation per winding action)?
- how many full "rounds" of rotation does this watch need per day?
Also I have some questions regarding the movements' maintenance interval
- The reference was made between 1998 - 2003, with watches after the year 2000 featuring push-buttons on the clasp.
My watch has this, so it's a more recent model (see picture below). However, it's still 20+ years old. When do you know if it's time to bring it in for maintenance? There is no service history known. How easy is it to get a manual Cal. 1861 serviced at a normal local watchmaker, or do you need to go the official AD route? How much would one or another set me back?
- The hesalite crystal on my watch does not seem to feature the edged omega logo, which I have noticed in some pictures of other peoples' 3594.50:
Does this mean that the crystal on my watch has been replaced or is it fake?
- I also noticed that the crystal reflects a lot of light, more than I'd love to. Like there is no AR coating on the watch. Is this normal? Do you guys notice this also with your 3594.50 or other Speedmaster reference?
Even with no direct light source above me
Anyway, thank you for reading through my ramble and helping me out with those beginners' questions.
One last final shot of my new watch:
I hope you're all doing great!
I'd love to share some pictures with you of my newly purchased watch. It's a milestone watch, one that I've wanted for many years, and have looked at for many hundreds of hours: the Omega Speedmaster.
Some backstory of my watch collection first, which has led to me purchasing the watch!
I'm a three watch kind of guy. I have always loved that idea, because it's aimed at really thinking through what you want (and not hording a redundant amount watches that don't get any wrist time), but still being able to cover all the bases in terms of watch situations.
And the latter is the reason why I have aspired the following watch collection:
- 1: a dress watch. This seems like a "must have" for any watch nerd, as wearing a classic dresspiece while suited-up at an important meeting or a wedding feels so great and in character. Hallmarks of the dresswatch include being thin (so it fits under a shirts' cuff) and small (under 40mm to look classically proportioned), as well as being on a leather strap. In my quest to fulfil this watch "need", I purchased about a year ago my first Omega watch; the Deville 424.13.40.20.02.002:
I really liked the watch, and the brand OMEGA as well. So, for my second piece of my three watch puzzle, I was quickly looking at OMEGA again!
- 2: a tool/outdoor watch. This seems like a no-brainer. What's one of the most well-known, historically important and overall respected watch in the industry that is made by Omega, a brand I came to love? When looking at a watch of this category, a Speedmaster came to mind instantly.
However, the issue is that there are literally hundreds of different references produced within the last decades alone. In my mind, I have split the Speedmaster into two big groups: historical models (such as the Broad Arrows and Moonwatches) and the more sporty models (such as the older racing models). The latter can be found at an introduction price when bought on the used market. However, the design drifts away from (in my honest opinion) what makes a Speedmaster the Speedmaster. They are often more bulky and the bezel is less my style, though I liked the 326 30 40 50 01 002 I must say.
While I considered the non-historical models in my search for a speedy because of their prices, I decided to save-up for longer, and to pursue a true classic Speedmaster. While doing research, both the moonwatch and broad arrows peaked my interest.
As you can see on the pictures below, the broad arrow has won the face-off!
I settled on the 3594.50, a watch that features both the case and movement (Cal. 1861) from the moonwatch along with the broad arrow bezel and hands from the first Speedmaster from 1957! It also features a grey dial instead of a black dial, making it a more soft watch to wear.
I'm currently in the honeymoon phase (the watch arrived yesterday), so I cant really tell any downsides yet!
However, I know for a fact that the watch is hesalite, meaning that I have to be careful with the crystal...
And what's next?
- 3: a fun summer watch. Well I'll be looking at OMEGA again! While my 2 current pieces are black and white, I'll be aiming something with a pop of colour. I'm already thinking in the direction of the Seamaster collection! Perhaps a Seamaster 300 in blue? Here is a simulation how that would look, pieced together in Photoshop:
What would your pick be to finalize the 3 watch collection?
The Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow 3594.50
So, here we are. Stage two out of three completed. I acquired a holy grail watch for me! However, since I'm still very much a noob on the topic of Speedmasters, I'm still very much learining the traits of the watch.
It's my first manual watch, so I'm having some questions to all of you.
- I noticed that it's quite hard to wind the watch. I don't know if it's due to the design or placement of the crown guards that make the crown very difficult to grasp/hold, or the design of the crown itself, but I can't seem to wind it easily. Is this something that's common with Speedmasters in general?
When I do grab it between my thumb and my index finger, I need to use quite some force to hold the crown tightly enough in order to make the crown rotate. This starts to hurt my fingers quite rapidly. Using a piece of cloth or something to hold/grasp the crown, I have a much better grip and it goes better. But even then, I can only do small pieces of winding (less that 1/4th of a full crown rotation per winding action)?
- how many full "rounds" of rotation does this watch need per day?
Also I have some questions regarding the movements' maintenance interval
- The reference was made between 1998 - 2003, with watches after the year 2000 featuring push-buttons on the clasp.
My watch has this, so it's a more recent model (see picture below). However, it's still 20+ years old. When do you know if it's time to bring it in for maintenance? There is no service history known. How easy is it to get a manual Cal. 1861 serviced at a normal local watchmaker, or do you need to go the official AD route? How much would one or another set me back?
- The hesalite crystal on my watch does not seem to feature the edged omega logo, which I have noticed in some pictures of other peoples' 3594.50:
Does this mean that the crystal on my watch has been replaced or is it fake?
- I also noticed that the crystal reflects a lot of light, more than I'd love to. Like there is no AR coating on the watch. Is this normal? Do you guys notice this also with your 3594.50 or other Speedmaster reference?
Even with no direct light source above me
Anyway, thank you for reading through my ramble and helping me out with those beginners' questions.
One last final shot of my new watch:
