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Introducing: The New Omega Speedmaster X-33 Marstimer

Omegafanman
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padders padders
Not really. Sapphire crystal watches inc the earlier X-33s have been used in space for decades. Sapphire is not considered a red flag anymore. In the 60s when the Speedy was selected, the choice was plastic or brittle mineral glass. Sapphire wasn't widely used on watches and massively expensive so not even considered.

We have been round that loop a few times - and for sure Sapphire watches, laptops etc are common place in Space now.

Shattering the Speedy Hesalite Apollo / NASA selection myth (maybe) | Omega Forums
 
pdxleaf
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Omegafanman Omegafanman
This reminds me of the stories when NASA astronauts were asked to shake down some of the new capsule designs….lots of computer tech and screens of course…. But they insisted on having a manual/mechanical emergency chute release system added. Sometimes cntl-alt-delete is not the best solution :0)

You may like this old joke:

So these four engineers are driving to a conference when their car suddenly quits running. They coast over to the shoulder and discuss what to do next.

The driver is a chemical engineer and says it must be a fuel problem. The front seat passenger is a mechanical engineer and says no, it must be a problem with the pistons or clutch. One of the guys in the back is an electrical engineer and says they are both wrong, it has got to be the spark plugs.

The fourth passenger is a software engineer. He's quiet for a minute and then says, "I've got it! Everybody, out of the car and then get back in!"
 
Butik
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eugeneandresson eugeneandresson
If you want the battery life to go from 2 years to 2 weeks, this is the kind of feature you add to a watch …

Edit : also, a phone can do all of the things this watch can, just much faster and much more. So it would appear totally moot to bluetooth it to the phone if one thinks about it. A companion app to run the watch as an emulation within the phone would likely be a better gimmick. How many astronauts have and use a mobile phone (in space)? People working in control rooms on earth will be sitting behind a computer…

Fully disagree. I am not talking about SMARTWATCH functions. But possibility to connect between watch & phone for a while in order to set up quicker (tiwhout using pushbuttons and trying to remember how they work) the time, alarm etc, change the settings or even... find the watch!!

Believe me, I had this watch for about 2 years and once you really need to set it up you forget which buttons does what. So opening the phone and changing what you want on the watch with a quick app would really make life much easier.

CASIO can do it with their watches and battery life is still about 4-5 years, so c-mon...
 
Omegafanman
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Butik Butik
Fully disagree. I am not talking about SMARTWATCH functions. But possibility to connect between watch & phone for a while in order to set up quicker (tiwhout using pushbuttons and trying to remember how they work) the time, alarm etc, change the settings or even... find the watch!!

Believe me, I had this watch for about 2 years and once you really need to set it up you forget which buttons does what. So opening the phone and changing what you want on the watch with a quick app would really make life much easier.

CASIO can do it with their watches and battery life is still about 4-5 years, so c-mon...

Also makes it more hackable / possible security risk (long shot I know but it is the usual excuse now) a docking station could be another option to changes settings for a mission (PC, App or phone?)
 
rudagger
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This watch really highlights TO ME that expensive watches are for fantasy land!

Kind of like a sporstcar that goes 300 km/hr, but you can only go 140 km/hr before the legal issues are serious, and you never go to a track....

- "But I could go 300 km/hr!"
- "Yeah but you don't and never will".
 
STANDY
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“According to Omega, the Speedmaster X-33 Skywalker will not be discontinued, so the X-33 Marstimer is just an addition to the collection.”

So you want it, you buy it.

It’s cool and plenty will love it. Good on Omega for giving space fans what they want “and Mars time 😎“

95% of watches in the luxury realm under $100k are just a flimsy justification of their worth compared to a Seiko
 
savio.79
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It would be nice if Omega implemented the solar compass function in the Skywalker!
 
D
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STANDY STANDY
“According to Omega, the Speedmaster X-33 Skywalker will not be discontinued, so the X-33 Marstimer is just an addition to the collection.”

So you want it, you buy it.

It’s cool and plenty will love it. Good on Omega for giving space fans what they want “and Mars time 😎“

95% of watches in the luxury realm under $100k are just a flimsy justification of their worth compared to a Seiko

Thems mighty strong words.
But I might be inclined to agree😉
 
Dsloan
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I really like the looks of it, but the price just feels absurd for a quartz movement.

Makes me wonder what the end-game strategy is here for the x-33. Why not just turn the line into a smart watch at this point?
 
spacemission
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STANDY STANDY
“According to Omega, the Speedmaster X-33 Skywalker will not be discontinued, so the X-33 Marstimer is just an addition to the collection.”

So you want it, you buy it.

It’s cool and plenty will love it. Good on Omega for giving space fans what they want “and Mars time 😎“

95% of watches in the luxury realm under $100k are just a flimsy justification of their worth compared to a Seiko

In my opinion seiko is probably one of the best manufacturing brand. I don't forget of course jaeger lecoultre, it's la maison.
 
americanaut
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I really like the MarsTimer design wise, and as a Space Nerd it checks the right boxes for me. Only downside: 6k is steep. So I'll have a look at a real one and decide then and there, if it's worth that money to me.
 
savio.79
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Hey, wait a moment!

Fratello's article says something that everybody is sure of, after seeing the photos: the case of this Marstimer is the same as the Skywalker.

Hence, it's strange that the OMEGA website says otherwise:

-- thickness --

- Skywalker: 14.7
- Marstimer: 14.9
other models:
- Solar Impulse: 14.9
- Regatta: 15.1

I can't understand why 3 different thicknesses for these models, with should share the same case.
 
shoota70
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I agree solar would have made more technical sense for a watch going to and being on Mars
 
jets
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savio.79 savio.79
Hey, wait a moment!

Fratello's article says something that everybody is sure of, after seeing the photos: the case of this Marstimer is the same as the Skywalker.

Hence, it's strange that the OMEGA website says otherwise:

-- thickness --

- Skywalker: 14.7
- Marstimer: 14.9
other models:
- Solar Impulse: 14.9
- Regatta: 15.1

I can't understand why 3 different thicknesses for these models, with should share the same case.

The SI has a sticker like appearance on the case back maybe that adds a slight increase. Don't know about the MT version.

shoota70 shoota70
I agree solar would have made more technical sense for a watch going to and being on Mars

Um, it's not really for people on Mars at this point per se. I mean, how many people have been to Mars to date? It's for people involved in the technical aspect of Mars missions involving timing rover movements on the surface and all that kind of stuff. Also Solar impulse was about energy efficient gliders; nothing to do with space. Hence no bracelet to keep the weight down and glide further.
 
savio.79
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For those who aren’t going to Mars, but appreciate the watch, like I do, it’s good to know that this Marstimer can also be a good companion while drinking a coffee, too.
 
DA724B9A-124E-4C55-AD74-04C7DE869DD8.jpeg 6E60591A-26FC-4CDE-9F44-1B76BD0E23DE.jpeg
savio.79
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Any chance this will have an upgraded clasp with micro-adjustment?
 
duc
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savio.79 savio.79
Any chance this will have an upgraded clasp with micro-adjustment?

Based on all the pictures I've seen and the lack of discussion within all the articles written about it, it sure seems like the answer is "no". In my opinion, an upgrade like that would be highlighted in at least some of the watch world write ups.
 
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