Is it weird that I wish the Speedmaster movement still had the traditional Swiss lever escapement?

josiahg52 · Fri. 1:52pm

sheepdoll
I have yet to see any co-axial rust rats. Will stick with lever and Quartz for the time being.

I have Daniels book, and most of the HJ magazines from 1954 to around 2003. So there was a lot of ink spilled back in the day.

Henry in his last years wanted me to make an animated model of a co-axial Tourbion. The tech was a bit early for that. Then Henry and the other old guys passed away.

Now it would not be too much trouble fo make an acrylic model with a laser. I find playing with my Avatar incabloc model to be fun, So one could use that design to model the jewel pivots.

Priorities what seem interesting when one is in their mid 30s, Do not seem as important when one is in their mid 60s

Curios I never see much mention of cylinder escapements. Those were pretty popular back in the day. I took a bunch of photos of the manufacturing equipment in one of the museums. I have a whole tray of them somewhere. Also the remains of a repeater I was going to use CAD to model and restore ...

Makes me think, no one has drawn a 3D print of any of these yet? Thatd be cool.

sheepdoll · Fri. 2:03pm

This one is pretty neat; Came up when I viewed the one above.

I suspect others have drawn this stuff up. Probably in house or the tech schools.

I still have the CAD program Tissot was using in the mid 1990s (has not been bettered.) Have to run it on a vintage mac.

ErichKeane · Fri. 2:30pm

josiahg52
Makes me think, no one has drawn a 3D print of any of these yet? Thatd be cool.

There is a guy in the UK who has a couple of different coax escapement that he has for sale as 3d prints. Tempting if it wasn't for the shipping troubles.

Jan Dietrich · Fri. 2:31pm

@Archer
Do you think that there is a reliability difference between theese to styles of co axial wheels?

Archer · Fri. 2:51pm

Jan Dietrich
@Archer
Do you think that there is a reliability difference between theese to styles of co axial wheels?

No

padders · Fri. 3:12pm

Davidt
I feel kinda the same. I know most people love it but but I’ve said previously I think the coaxial escapement (at least in its current form) is the answer to a problem no one had. It’s just a marketing ploy.

It offers little/no benefits and hugely restricts who can service your watch now (coupled with potential parts issues in the future?).

No upside for me and a genuine downside and it’s one of the reasons I don’t have a modern Omega in my collection.

I understand your view and I have read enough of your posts to realise I respect your taste enormously but I do think you are missing out. Some of the modern stuff is really appealing. By modern I mean within the past 25 years. All things are relative of course. I have a recent FOIS which I really like, two 3313 Speedmasters I think streets ahead of the Lemania based stuff.

And then you have things like the sapphire cased DeVille, the 2201 Planet Ocean, the Railmaster AT, the Trilogy watches, etc etc. All are coax, all are great despite the marketing-led tech.

Don't cut your nose off etc. Omega didn’t stop making great watches in 1970, they just took a 20 year hiatus.

ninman · Fri. 8:36pm

Yes, while I currently own a FOIS, and I had a 3861 Speedmaster Professional for 4 years before recently selling it, my long term plan is to try and get a 321 Ed White Speedmaster. It's not just because it's a fantastic watch, it's also because it uses the original 321 movement.

Yes, the movement is the legendary movement that went to the Moon, but I also just prefer the older more traditional mechanical watches.

As an aside, I'm really not too bothered about a cam vs column wheel operated chronograph. I just think that the beauty of mechanical watches is the fact they're meant to last a long time and be relatively easy to maintain and service.

I don't think a coaxial fits into the latter.

pdxleaf · Fri. 10:12pm

padders
Don't cut your nose off etc. Omega didn’t stop making great watches in 1970, they just took a 20 year hiatus.

Good opening for pics.

CalgaryJim · Sat. 1:27am

I love that watch!

Davidt · Sat. 3:09am

padders
I understand your view and I have read enough of your posts to realise I respect your taste enormously but I do think you are missing out. Some of the modern stuff is really appealing. By modern I mean within the past 25 years. All things are relative of course. I have a recent FOIS which I really like, two 3313 Speedmasters I think streets ahead of the Lemania based stuff.

And then you have things like the sapphire cased DeVille, the 2201 Planet Ocean, the Railmaster AT, the Trilogy watches, etc etc. All are coax, all are great despite the marketing-led tech.

Don't cut your nose off etc. Omega didn’t stop making great watches in 1970, they just took a 20 year hiatus.

I think you make a fair point.

I’ve been very close to buying several new Omegas; the original Seamaster 300 heritage master coaxial, a 42mm PO, the Railmaster trilogy reissue and the recent SM300 diver no date with aluminium bezel.
I do tend to favour the 1120 Omegas over the current ones though, 2531.80 and 2254.50 Seamasters as an example.

We’ll see, I want a modern Omega, they’re pushing against an open door with me, they just haven’t done something that’s really grabbed me over the last few years.

padders · Sat. 4:55am

Davidt
I think you make a fair point.

I’ve been very close to buying several new Omegas; the original Seamaster 300 heritage master coaxial, a 42mm PO, the Railmaster trilogy reissue and the recent SM300 diver no date with aluminium bezel.
I do tend to favour the 1120 Omegas over the current ones though, 2531.80 and 2254.50 Seamasters as an example.

We’ll see, I want a modern Omega, they’re pushing against an open door with me, they just haven’t done something that’s really grabbed me over the last few years.

Oh I didn't even mention the 1120 SMPs since it must be a given those are great!

For me, the biggest drag on acquiring models from the current catalogue is the price which seems to have crept up to silly levels. A base model Bond Seamaster for approaching £6K? Basic Moonwatch above that figure? Insane. If losing the coax fairy dust knocked £2-3K off the price, I'd be all in favour!

josiahg52 · Sat. 2:07pm

padders
Oh I didn't even mention the 1120 SMPs since it must be a given those are great!

For me, the biggest drag on acquiring models from the current catalogue is the price which seems to have crept up to silly levels. A base model Bond Seamaster for approaching £6K? Basic Moonwatch above that figure? Insane. If losing the coax fairy dust knocked £2-3K off the price, I'd be all in favour!

I tried and looked back at historical prices in the US from 2000 and while there was a marked increase in 2020 to 2021 for the Hesalite Moonwatch, if you annualize the percentage increase, it falls within 4.5-5% anyway. Despite the technology, the increased testing and certification, the taxes, tariffs, everything else, we'd probably still be at US$7800 for this watch in 2025. It'll probably go up in 2026 by a similar amount. It's still a large damn amount for a watch, no doubt.

Is it weird that I wish the Speedmaster movement still had the traditional Swiss lever escapement?

josiahg52

sheepdoll

ErichKeane

Jan Dietrich

Archer

padders

ninman

pdxleaf

CalgaryJim

Davidt

padders

josiahg52

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