My first Speedmaster Professional: Hesalite for Sapphire Crystal?

As forum member 4011021 previously stated the following:

......."However, to have a strong, bright and clear piece of glass instead of plastic in your watch does make it look and feel more premium. The Speedmaster is not a cheap watch and is more expensive now than it was just a few years ago. It's not by chance that every special edition of the Speedmaster comes with sapphire."

I could not agree more with that statement!

I've seen both in person and the choice I went with was with the "Sapphire Sandwich" with it's case back movement display....hands down.

As for others indicating that it really is not important for them to be able to see the movement, etc. well to each their own because I can understand that.....though for me it is (as I have other timepieces with see case back movements).....and as others who have inquired about my watch, when wearing it and some get really stunned (to say the least) when they can see the actual movement can be seen, etc. Though again to each their own.

Go with what "you want", either way, whatever choice you decide to go with you won't go wrong.

Another vote for Hesalite. I find it has less glare, and the molded Omega symbol in the crystal is nice.

I also wanted a display caseback so opted for an older Hesalite sandwich -- love it.

And yes, Polywatch works surprisingly well!

I personally prefer hesalite.
That being said, sapphire
When provided by reputable companies, I consider sapphire to basically be scratch proof. There’s always a slim possibility, but most people encounter few things in their lives that will scratch a good sapphire crystal

One of my tissot sapphire watches is worn while wrenching regularly. Metal shows plenty of signs of this. The crystal is perfect

I struggled with this. The delta in price of ~$1k is not small, so that weighed in on my choice to go Hesalite. I actually wanted the case back with the seahorse and the homage to NASA…but I would prefer a sapphire for the scratch resistance and that raised Omega logo looked better than the printed logo also. Reading and watching videos on how Polywatch works put me at ease. I suppose the Hesalite version is also closer to the “real thing” if there really was such a thing. I love wearing it but still wonder if I made the right choice. I can’t say I have no regrets in my choice. If it was the same price, I probably would have bought the sapphire version.

This is the beautiful Hesalite sandwich I alluded to earlier. Best of both worlds and a nicely aged tritium lume. Located in the EU and cheaper than new. If I had got myself on OF before buying my Speedy something like this would be a strong contender.
https://omegaforums.net/threads/ome...ium-box-papers-1997-1998.153967/#post-2099461

Since this is a great thread on the merits of hesalite vs. sapphire, I thought I’d tack onto it instead of creating a new one…

Has anyone with the 3861 sapphire Speedy experienced chips on the edge of their sapphire crystal? I saw this routinely on sapphire 1861s when I worked at a grey years ago, and I recall the sapphire crystals cost $500+ to replace (vs. a few dollars for a new hesalite crystal). People talk about how hardy sapphire is, but for sapphire crystals that protrude from the case (like on a Speedy), chips/dings seem to happen at the edges. I feel a scratch on hesalite adds character, but a scratch on sapphire is an eyesore.

I suspect the old 1861 sapphire protruded more than the 3861 sapphire and was more liable to catch a doorframe, door handle, etc. and result in a dinged/chipped the crystal.

Owning both, I feel qualified to share my thoughts. First, when you go to AD/OB, the lights there are so terrible you won't see much difference between them, unless you focus on details. The polished parts of the cases will shine bright in those conditions, making it hard to decide. So read on.

Hesalite has a warmer presentation of the dial but distorts the dial indexes when looking at an angle (so not straight onto the dial). However, the distortion does not obscure the indexes like the sapphire crystal does. In addition, hesalite does not have any antireflexive coating, which makes reading time more difficult than from the sapphire. And hesalite scratches way more easily. Sure, you can polish most scratches, but will you do it on a weekly basis? Probably no, so expect to have the hesalite scratched most of the time. For someone who dislikes seeing dust and water stains on a dial, hesalite gives an impression of being of lower quality. And you don't want to have that feeling after you spend 7k on a new watch. The metal caseback tends to slide on the wrist whereas the sapphire tends to stick (glue itself) to the skin. So if you like to adjust the case position by shaking or twisting your wrist, hesalite is better as you need to lift the sapphire to adjust the watch position. Don't worry about the closed caseback for hesalite, there are at least two high quality aftermarket options for purchasing a sapphire caseback and hence allowing you to modify the hesalite watch, if you need to look at the movement. But trust me, you will do it only a couple of times in the first week and then you'll forget you have the see-through caseback.

The sapphire version adds more bling and premium feel, albeit being more sterile and offering a colder presentation of the dial. When looking at an angle, you may spot a thin whitish ring at the edge of the crystal, which obscurs a thin part of dial. But the rest of the dial is clear thanks to the antireflexive coating on the sapphire crystal.Some people exagerate and make a big thing out of the milky ring, but I barely notice it while appreciating the clear reading from the dial. What I like, and would make me cover the price difference between hesalite and sapphire, is the applied logo. That is a feature I appreciate most. It is a small detail, but for me, it carries the biggest weight. The bracelet is subjectively nicer on the sapphire version, but you can always sell your current bracelet and buy the other you like for ~1k, so no big issue here.

Some people tend to think that hesalite is more heritage-oriented. For me, I don't buy that storytelling. The watch heart, the movement 3861, is a supermodern caliber. If you want to get the vintage vibes, then buy a true vintage Speedy with, e.g., tritium and long indexes on the dial, with 321 or 86x variants of the movement. Those come with hesalite and always look fantastic. The modern hesalite 3861 fakes the heritage vibes, having a modern movement and has a scratchy crystal for 7k... I own and like both crystals, having a hesalite 1861 and a sapphire 1863. But I first bought the sapphire sandwich for daily wear while the hesalite is a LE from the past, so I wear it rarely.

I will weigh-in as the owner of a sapphire 3861. First, it was gifted to me by my wife. A beautiful present that I wear most days. I tell you that only to say I never had to make the decision myself between sapphire or hesalite. With that, it is very practical as both a new watch and a daily wearer. I have enough vintage watches with hesalite I feel l need to be cautious when I wear. I also appreciate the caseback and look fondly at the movement more than I expected I would. I have many other exposed casebacks on automatic watches and the rotor really does ruin the appeal for me. I won't argue the warmth of the hesalite, however. Its's real. I would have been happy with either, but in the end I think the sapphire is a generally better product as a daily sports watch and if I want a warm hesalite Speedy I'll buy a vintage one.

When I was shopping for my Speedy back in 2012-ish, I really preferred the look of hesalite and the solid caseback. I also replaced the metal bracelet with a leather band. I don't wear this watch very often and I am gentle with my watches. So scratches haven't been an issue. Also, happy that 1861 is the Swiss lever escapement and not the co-axial. Can service it myself.

Hesalite for me - at least on more traditional Speedies. In my view it looks nicer and is actually easy to keep maintained. Little scratches polish out easily and during service you’ll get a new one without additional cost. The sapphire on the new Speedie Pro models, while improved, still suffers from a bit of a halo.
That said, on the FOIS model they fixed that and it looks fantastic with the modern curved sapphire.