Is this the new Speedmaster?

Pazzo

The 1861's poor accuracy?

DNX

Would the 5 Tokyo 2020 Speedmasters not also be counted here as recent releases with the 1861?

Alfista88

So is your point that quartz watches are more accurate than mechanical watches? I 100% agree with the accuracy of your claim. But pray tell, how is that germane to the discussion of a 3861 Speedy Pro being an upgrade over the 1861?

We enjoy our moonwatches for many reasons. But timekeeping accuracy has never been a premier selling point of any 1861-powered watch, in the contemporary marketplace in which the Speedy competes for buyers. Before the big-box price increases in the 2010's, a 3570.50 was an exceptional value for getting a Lemania-based manual-wind chronograph. A movement that would've been otherwise accessible for 5x the price when modified & cased-up in its various iterations found in Breguet, PP, or VC manual wind chronographs.

Movement technology has advanced in the last 2 decades, and the 1861 has been left behind. I purchased my Speedmasters in spite of their poor accuracy (not because I was drawn to their timekeeping prowess), because I liked their other features. For me, the purchasing decision for each Speedmaster has included weighing: "does the pleasure I get from all of the other features and design cues on this watch outweigh the displeasure of having to reset the watch every 4-5 days because of its movement's poor accuracy?"

The answer's always been 'Yes', but therein lies the excellence of the new 3861. I'll never even have to contemplate this question again on future Speedy Pros because the 3861 will have better timekeeping accuracy, plus other upgrades like magnetic resistance.

Anecdotally, here how my 1861 ownership experience has compared to other movements:
- 8900 Planet Ocean: +1 second every 4 days
- 8900 Globemaster: +1 second every 2 days
- 8800 SM 60th: +1 / day
- 2500C SMP 300: +3 / day
- 2500C Deville: +6 / day
- 3130 OP: +3 / day
- 3135 Sub: +1 / day

As for my 1861's:
- FOIS: +11 seconds / day
- Hesalite Pro (big box generation): +10 / day

The only modern watch I've owned that were less accurate than the 1861 was a Reverso Duo with 854, which ran +25 / day. That Reverso also got magnetized every Monday morning when I went through the airport security, and every Thursday afternoon on my return flight, whenever I took it with me on weekly work trips.

Note I didn't include my 3291.50 X-33 that I had in the late 2000's above, because I don't consider the accuracy of a quartz movement relevant to a discussion why some of us consider a 3861 movement to be a welcome upgrade over the 1861.

Alfista88

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.