New Speedy '57 -- Arrived

Been waiting on this one since the 2022 Novelties were announced. Came in today and couldn't be more pleased. I went with blue on the steel bracelet. The black sandwich is cool, as are the red and green, but I'm definitely on team blue. I'll try to put together a more detailed review over the next few days. But here are some photos and quick takes.

Colors/Dial -- It's really tough to describe. It's a sunburst style, but not an overly shiny/showy sunburst. It's closer to almost a matte or satin sunburst, and it definitely changes in the light. I'd almost compare it to some of the 'frozen' colors you see on newer high end cars. The lume coloring is interesting as well. It's definitely not fautina, but I think it's closer to an off-white or cream as compared to a bright white; and in some light, it's almost beige. Finally, and this must be in my head, but I swear it's there, the polished surfaces are not quite as reflective as some polished steel watches I have owned. I think you can actually see it in looking at the bracelet and case as compared to the pushers and the crown. The pushers and crown are definitely 'shinier'. Finally, the date wheel is black (and not blue matched to the dial), but it actually kind of works well because of the other black accents/rings on the dial.



Bracelet -- Wow. Best Omega bracelet I've ever had. Super comfortable, and I love the taper (all the way down to 14.8 at the clasp). And again, the polished outer and brushed inner for some reason just isn't 'blingy' in real life. The built-in extension in the clasp isn't the simplest one I've ever used (Glashutte Original makes the best extension ever created), but it works.



Size -- I do not have a giant wrist; flat 6.75. I think it wears great. I took out the calipers and got exactly 40.5 case width, exactly 12.9 case-back-to-crystal-top height, and only 49.3 lug-to-lug. The lugs are definitely longer proportionally to other watches I own, but I think that's just the vintage styling. Pure personal opinion here, but on balance, I think it wears a hair smaller than a 3861 or 1861 Moonwatch. I've a got direct wrist shot below, as well as an in-the-mirror shot (thanks to whoever figured that out; great way to more accurately judge size).



Mechanism/Movement -- Not much to say here yet. It winds a little stiffer than a 3861, but that can be so variable per individual watch; still pretty darn smooth. The chronograph 'feel' is very interesting. I've had several Speedies, many different 7750 variations (IWC 3706 is my personal favorite, then Speedy date in second place), and some others, and this is the first I would ever say the pushers feel different. There is no mush. There is a clear firm 'break' on the pushers, definitely more so than any Omega I've ever had. That's ultimately meaningless as long as the chrono works, but it still feels cool. I'll do some accuracy and power reserve tests, but this was a very excited hot take.

👍

Awesome!! Congratulations on a great piece. I picked up the sandwich-dial and agree with all points, particularly regarding the bracelet (though yes, the micro adjustment is a bit finicky/tricky).

Very beautiful , enjoy

Good enough!

It’s a vertical clutch right? Maybe that is responsible for the “no mush” pusher action compared to the horizontal clutches of the aforementioned models?

Good point. I’ve had some vertical / column wheel chronos over the years, and they do have a little different feel. I guess I would analogize this to closing the car door on a Kia versus a Mercedes. It’s all 100% subjective (and in my head…), but something on the pusher actuation on this Speedy just felt more solid / crisp and well built out.

Thanks for the informative write-up -- for such an interesting and beautiful watch it seems to have had relatively little attention and I've found it a hard one to locate in person, so it's lovely to see such a detailed appraisal that covers areas of interest to real-world wearers.

Also a fan of the 3706, but Omega really seems to have nailed the proportions on this 57. Reminds me (in that respect only) of what Sinn were able to achieve with the U50, a watch that seems to look and wear like it was custom-sized.

Re. the pusher action -- I quite like the crisp/hard action on my FOIS, but using the Longines BigEye was kind of a revelation in just how much difference a fine pusher action could make on a watch.

I like it. Does it bother you which side the crown is on since you are right handed?

Thanks! Not sure I follow on the question. I am right-handed, and the watch has a very traditional 2:00 and 4:00 chrono pusher set up with the crown at 3:00? The pushers and crown all seem pretty standard in terms of shape and size. So, feels traditional/normal and all good to me.

Agree with everything you said about the bracelet. I purchased one for use with my 3861 Speedy Pro and absolutely love it. As you say, the adjustment is a bit difficult but as I don’t expect to use it often it’s certainly fine.

Great looking watch!

Looks like a picture taken in the mirror.

It’s a mirror shot. Not sure who on here showed me that for the first time, but whereas a direct wrist shot photo tends to increase the visual size of a watch and decrease the size of a wrist, an “in the mirror” shot tends to cancel out the visual distorted size effect. So… wears/feels just like any other chrono.

A great looking watch!
The dial color seem much more subdued than Omega’s photos online. Is this also how you experience it in real life?

Feels like Omega has finally gotten this model right.
Thinner, better bracelet, lovely size and colours.
Maybe 100m water resistant is all it needs to be perfect, for me anyway

There’s some fluctuation based on lighting, but on balance - totally agree. Both the dial color and the ‘shiny-ness’ of the polished surfaces are more subdued than in the press/website photos at Omega.

Seconded. A lot of it is the desaturated hue they used for the blue, makes it blend into the steel case/bezel a lot more than, say, the blue jlc uses, and is very subtle. I know blue is sooooo 2018 but having tried on every variant but the red the blue would be my pick.