Hello everyone- I am new to Omega but I am close to purchasing my first (vintage) Speedmaster. I have two questions that I would appreciate guidance on.

- The current owner told me that it needs to be serviced. Can anyone recommend a good place in the San Francisco Bay Area? I looked on yelp at the service center and the reviews aren't great.

- Has anyone purchased a GasGasBones NASA strap? If so, which version would you recommend? Can you post pictures? I really like this strip but am having trouble deciding between the SPV4 and SPV1.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

I know of two places on the West Coast that have excellent reputations but neither are in the Bay area. One is Nesbits in Seattle and the other is ABC Watchworks / Dalton Toledo in LA.

 

I may be misreading your post, but are you after a NASA strap, or the best GGB strap? The SPV1 is a great looking strap, and very popular. The SPV4 (Earth-bound NASA strap) appeal is I think that it is a short (wearable) version of the V207 NASA strap. Before you decide, you must know an open secret. These NASA straps from GGB are nothing like either of the ones NASA used for the moon missions.

I should mention I run a bit of sideline making reproduction NASA straps myself. But I'm not trying to put you off buying one, only saying what is unarguably true. Check out this pic of Wally Schirra wearing configuration -207 of blueprint drawing SEB12100030 to get an idea of the differences. There also seems to be some "blending" going on between references to the -207 and the simpler -202 strap here (a great resource, as you can zoom right up close to the detail). This was the type worn for Gemini and all the moon landings.

Let me repeat, I think the SPV1 is great strap, and you will almost certainly be please with it by all accounts. Ultimately, there's lots of factors influencing a purchasing decision, and I'm only saying what I would think and why, given the choice between the two.

best