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G-Web
·All Speedmasters go to heaven.
Speedmaster Arguments
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Evitzee
·Most people who buy a black dial Speedmaster are attracted to the idea that it LOOKS pretty much like ones from the 60's and the era of the moon race. The whole argument of crystal material, shape, the back, actual case profile and dimensions, bracelet design, clasp and finally, the movement is lost and irrelevant to John Q Public. They buy what is attractive to them. They may walk in thinking they want a hesalite, bare bones model and walk out with a white dial sapphire job. Who really cares, other than Omega? The hesalite v. sapphire argument is just tedious now. Buy and wear what you like, it only matters to you.
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M'Bob
·Don't get obsessed with this issue. It reminds me of some people who are obsessed with the lug to lug. This kind of people don't enjoy horology one hundred percent.
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spacemission
·
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7enderbender
·I frequently see Speedmaster threads arguing the age old Hesalite vs Sapphire preferences with the Hesalite being the more historically "accurate" model.
While I have my own preferences (sapphire), I am beginning to take issue with the historically "accurate" aspect of the argument.
The new 3861s have the new/innovated/revolutionary Co-Axial movements. While I have now doubt that these movements are a great improvement in accuracy/service requirement/ease of manufacturing compared to the old ones (321, 861, 1861), how can they even part of a "historically accurate" argument?
I would argue a sapphire 321/861/1861 is far more historically accurate than a Hesalite 3861.
FWIW I own both a sapphire 3861 and a modern 321. If I had gotten the 321 first, I would not have bought the 3861.
You’re not wrong. Aside from an actual vintage model, there is no “historically accurate” model in the lineup. Each of the many models have their own charm and pros and cons.
My personal journey began back in 1990 with a Speedie reduced which was my daily watch for many years. Certainly not “historically accurate” as a “Moonwatch” in any way. Still a great watch in so many ways. A few years back I scratched that itch for something closer to that. Went with the 1861 around the time when the 3861 was released. I compared them side my side and the new bracelet and the new movement were the deciding factor against “progress”.
Latest addition is a FOIS that I got for my son. That one hits it out of the park in many ways. They finally got the sapphire to look right.
Do I see that I’m done? Nope. The new white dial (with sapphire back and new movement and all) is now high on my list. And yes, I do want a true vintage model at some point. Might even be an 861 as would’ve been used during the shuttle missions.
So I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer on this.
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bsowers34
·You’re not wrong. Aside from an actual vintage model, there is no “historically accurate” model in the lineup. Each of the many models have their own charm and pros and cons.
My personal journey began back in 1990 with a Speedie reduced which was my daily watch for many years. Certainly not “historically accurate” as a “Moonwatch” in any way. Still a great watch in so many ways. A few years back I scratched that itch for something closer to that. Went with the 1861 around the time when the 3861 was released. I compared them side my side and the new bracelet and the new movement were the deciding factor against “progress”.
Latest addition is a FOIS that I got for my son. That one hits it out of the park in many ways. They finally got the sapphire to look right.
Do I see that I’m done? Nope. The new white dial (with sapphire back and new movement and all) is now high on my list. And yes, I do want a true vintage model at some point. Might even be an 861 as would’ve been used during the shuttle missions.
So I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer on this.
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M'Bob
·Don't get obsessed with this issue. It reminds me of some people who are obsessed with the lug to lug. This kind of people don't enjoy horology one hundred percent.
Further, they found very low rates of enjoyment lack to those that, 1), obsess over changing their sapphire crystal to Hesalite, and, 2) obsess over whether a ceramic bezel is better or worse than aluminum. In fact, in a panel debate, they voted unanimously to neither shoot nor otherwise punish anyone on social media caught posting more than five times about a specific obsession.
They are, however, much less lenient towards those that post erroneous statistics. So please be careful…
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ErichPryde
··Seamasters ForeverThey would have used sapphire
From a mechanical standpoint I am not convinced that in the 1960s NASA would have done this because there is a real risk of striking your watch against something and there is a real risk of sapphire fracturing and throwing shards about the cabin in microgravity.
However, I do understand that watches with sapphire crystals have since gone into space.
As a thought experiment, you can argue that the specific references worn by each of the moon walkers were the only authentic watches. But that misses some of the beauty of the speedmaster.
Agreed. For example, the very lovely Apollo-soyuz meteorite dial, which is not at all a genuine moonwatch and I couldn't care less. It's beautiful and I want it.
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bsowers34
·Unknown to many, Omega commissioned a non-profit research project to answer, and deal with the type of questions you raise. It’s the University At Horology (U. A. Ho.)
In addition to the question you raised (found to be .005 for those who don’t enjoy horology, and obsess over lug to lug.).
Further, they found very low rates of enjoyment lack to those that, 1), obsess over changing their sapphire crystal to Hesalite, and, 2) obsess over whether a ceramic bezel is better or worse than aluminum. In fact, in a panel debate, they voted unanimously to neither shoot nor otherwise punish anyone on social media caught posting more than five times about a specific obsession.
They are, however, much less lenient towards those that post erroneous statistics. So please be careful…
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ErichPryde
··Seamasters ForeverYeah, you will get cat bombed here.
Nah, spacemission is pretty much the one that needs to be cat bombed literally everywhere
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pdxleaf
·From a mechanical standpoint I am not convinced that in the 1960s NASA would have done this because there is a real risk of striking your watch against something and there is a real risk of sapphire fracturing and throwing shards about the cabin in microgravity.
However, I do understand that watches with sapphire crystals have since gone into space.
On more than one occasion hesalite crystals got knocked off completely. Lose floating crystals aren't good either.
Hesalite cracks easily, as people including myself have discovered. Once cracked, it's lost integrity and will come apart under pressure. A crystal harder to crack is less risky than one that is easier to crack. But I wasn't there so don't know for sure. I'm in the camp that doesn't accept the belief that hesalite was chosen because it didn't break into little pieces.
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ErichPryde
··Seamasters ForeverThat's a myth that has gone around until it became fact.
On more than one occasion hesalite crystals got knocked off completely. Lose floating crystals aren't good either.
Hesalite cracks easily, as people including myself have discovered. Once cracked, it's lost integrity and will come apart under pressure. A crystal harder to crack is less risky than one that is easier to crack. But I wasn't there so don't know for sure. I'm in the camp that doesn't accept the belief that hesalite was chosen because it didn't break into little pieces.
Could be, and it's good to have the additional information.
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NotJackson
·If this thread is to have any enduring value whatsoever, it will likely be the continued infiltration of the phrase “cat bombing” into the general lexicon. 😸
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ahlgringo
·If you want a Moonwatch that is historically accurate- buy a 105.012. There's plenty of them out there. Then buy whatever you want/like after that and don't worry about it. Seems easy to my simple brain.
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ErichPryde
··Seamasters ForeverIf this thread is to have any enduring value whatsoever, it will likely be the continued infiltration of the phrase “cat bombing” into the general lexicon. 😸
Now see here, young sir
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spacemission
·Unknown to many, Omega commissioned a non-profit research project to answer, and deal with the type of questions you raise. It’s the University At Horology (U. A. Ho.)
In addition to the question you raised (found to be .005 for those who don’t enjoy horology, and obsess over lug to lug.).
Further, they found very low rates of enjoyment lack to those that, 1), obsess over changing their sapphire crystal to Hesalite, and, 2) obsess over whether a ceramic bezel is better or worse than aluminum. In fact, in a panel debate, they voted unanimously to neither shoot nor otherwise punish anyone on social media caught posting more than five times about a specific obsession.
They are, however, much less lenient towards those that post erroneous statistics. So please be careful…
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spacemission
·That's a myth that has gone around until it became fact.
On more than one occasion hesalite crystals got knocked off completely. Lose floating crystals aren't good either.
Hesalite cracks easily, as people including myself have discovered. Once cracked, it's lost integrity and will come apart under pressure. A crystal harder to crack is less risky than one that is easier to crack. But I wasn't there so don't know for sure. I'm in the camp that doesn't accept the belief that hesalite was chosen because it didn't break into little pieces.
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bsowers34
·If this thread is to have any enduring value whatsoever, it will likely be the continued infiltration of the phrase “cat bombing” into the general lexicon. 😸
