Serious question...

Scooterino36 · Jun 2, 2023

Rogerg
Fair enough! Mostly Seamasters here too but if one asks the question "what is the best Omega?" the majority answer (not necessarily here) would be the Moonwatch and it wouldn't be close. Just like if you asked generally (again not just experts) what is the "best" watch brand I think the majority answer would be Rolex because they've been (again my opinion) hyped so most people think they must be the best.

I watch a lot of (too many) YouTube watch channels and the ones that are dealer focused (so mostly Rolex) pretty much only reference the Moonwatch for Omega. And the investor collector types, if they have an Omega at all, it is almost certainly going to be a Speedmaster.

But there's no rules to fandom, as far as I know. This Omega club is open to the public

Rogerg · Jun 2, 2023

"But there's no rules to fandom, as far as I know. This Omega club is open to the public"
Absolutely, but I wanted to (see above emoji as I don't know where to find it) to see for myself how open.

STANDY · Jun 2, 2023

Rogerg
"But there's no rules to fandom, as far as I know. This Omega club is open to the public"
Absolutely, but I wanted to (see above emoji as I don't know where to find it) to see for myself how open.

10 years ago there was about 3-4 Speedmaster collectors/enthusiasts. We were a happy vintage Geneve, Constellation and Seamaster bunch that watched the occasional Speedmaster fan show his nice 321 Speedmaster he bought off eBay for $900. (That had probably sat there for 3 weeks)

dsio · Jun 3, 2023

STANDY
10 years ago there was about 3-4 Speedmaster collectors/enthusiasts. We were a happy vintage Geneve, Constellation and Seamaster bunch that watched the occasional Speedmaster fan show his nice 321 Speedmaster he bought off eBay for $900. (That had probably sat there for 3 weeks)

This is 100% true. The only early Speedmaster guy was @MSNWatch here, it took a few years for that to gain a critical mass and dress pieces were the focus in those early days.

Togri v. 2.0 · Jun 3, 2023

Is that kind of like asking: can you be a Star Wars fan even though you hate Jar Jar Binks?

Archer · Jun 4, 2023

STANDY
10 years ago there was about 3-4 Speedmaster collectors/enthusiasts. We were a happy vintage Geneve, Constellation and Seamaster bunch that watched the occasional Speedmaster fan show his nice 321 Speedmaster he bought off eBay for $900. (That had probably sat there for 3 weeks)

Yes, it was the Tiny Gold Dress Watch era of OF...😉

Archer · Jun 4, 2023

Rogerg
I realize that I may (no will) take some heat for asking this here but here I go anyway...
Can one be considered an Omega fan without being a particular admirer of the "traditional" Moonwatch? I mean can one understand the history and technical genius of the watch but not actually want to own one?

Yes. Some people have had issues accepting/dealing with the popularity of the Speedmaster on this forum, but it’s an entirely self inflicted problem. No one forces anyone here to like or dislike any watch, so any issues in that regard are in the heads of those who have the issues...

Mouse_at_Large · Jun 4, 2023

Is it iconic? By general acclamation I'd say yes. However, and as my avatar text states, at a personal level it leaves me pretty much unimpressed. The only Speedmasters I find vaguely interesting are those that stray away from the standard "Moonwatch" colourway. In fact, the only one I have ever considered hunting down is the roulette dial 3210.52.

Still, as long as the Speedy crowd enjoy their watches, good luck to them. Just don't try and tell me I'm horologically deficient if I don't share their enthusiasm 😜

Rogerg · Jun 4, 2023

Mouse_at_Large
Is it iconic? By general acclamation I'd say yes. However, and as my avatar text states, at a personal level it leaves me pretty much unimpressed. The only Speedmasters I find vaguely interesting are those that stray away from the standard "Moonwatch" colourway. In fact, the only one I have ever considered hunting down is the roulette dial 3210.52.

Still, as long as the Speedy crowd enjoy their watches, good luck to them. Just don't try and tell me I'm horologically deficient if I don't share their enthusiasm 😜

Agreed on all counts and well said! Like you were speaking for me (and more succinctly)!

Duckie · Jun 4, 2023

Rogerg
I realize that I may (no will) take some heat for asking this here but here I go anyway...
Can one be considered an Omega fan without being a particular admirer of the "traditional" Moonwatch? I mean can one understand the history and technical genius of the watch but not actually want to own one?

I've been an Omega fan in general for decades but it took me until 2005 before I bought my first one with the Co-axial.
After that I had the odd vintage Omega that I enjoyed.
It wasn't until 2018 that I bought my first Speedy Pro Hesalite. There's a whole suite of reasons for that but there you go.
My next watch is possibly going to be a 3861 Saphire sandwich which I never thought I would ever consider.
Make of that what you will.

pdxleaf · Jun 4, 2023

On the flip side, I am primarily a Speedmaster fan. While I own two vintage Seamasters, I don't like the Seamaster dive watches. I have tried, but the wave dial and helium escape value are hard to digest.

I think I'm an Omega fan but others may not agree. (Maybe I should have started a new thread but I thought it'd be easier to sneak this in here.)

ras47 · Jun 4, 2023

I am a big Omega fan. Started with the Seamaster line because of my past connection to diving, both commercial and recreational. I've made peace with the idea that I am NOT leaving this planet for anything more than an airline flight for a vacation. So while I admire and respect the heck out of astronauts, I'm not one of them. Now, having said that, I am also a huge Speedmaster fan. I wasn't always though. A 39mm watch is too small on my 7 3/4" wrist, and the idea of a manual wind movement in this day and age doesn't make sense to me. Sure, I understand the history of manual wind movements on the Speedy and why NASA didn't trust automatic winding movements back in the day. That was over 60 years ago and nobody was sure how self-winding would work in zero-g environments. Physics tells us it should work just fine, but you know how NASA feels about anything untested in the real world. I can't see myself doing a manual daily wind when Omega has a superb co-axial self-winging movement available. When they created the Speedmaster Co-Axial Moonwatch in a 44mm case it was like the stars aligned for me. And that's what I chose to strap on my earthbound wrist. The biggest sacrifice, and one with which I still struggle, is losing the third sub-dial for a date window. I prefer date windows on all my watches as it's something I use daily.

Rogerg · Jun 4, 2023

pdxleaf
On the flip side, I am primarily a Speedmaster fan. While I own two vintage Seamasters, I don't like the Seamaster dive watches. I have tried, but the wave dial and helium escape value are hard to digest.

I think I'm an Omega fan but others may not agree. (Maybe I should have started a new thread but I thought it'd be easier to sneak this in here.)

I've owned a few Speedy's of the non "Moon" variety and still do have one of them. I've just started down the "vintage" road as well! I agree about the wave dial (at least the new one) so I feel that the "Broad Church/Big Tent" applies, don't you?

Serious question...

Scooterino36

Rogerg

STANDY

dsio

Togri v. 2.0

Archer

Archer

Mouse_at_Large

Rogerg

Duckie

pdxleaf

ras47

Rogerg

Similar threads

Planet Ocean click spring question

Spiralwinder casebacks on 1861 question

New FOIS owners question

Question on Speedmaster NASA Velcro Strap

Help with serial number question

Question re: Servicing Bond SMP and Crown