Speedmaster FOIS - what to look out for?

[CDW]

Hi all, I'm new to more expensive watches and I'm looking for some helpful advice. I've narrowed my search for a daily wearer to a Speedmaster FOIS and I've found one in the UK. It's a 311.32.40.30.01.001 from 2019 with box and paperwork for sale for just under £4000.
I'd like to find out what I should look out for when I go to see it, and if it would be a reasonable price to pay if it's in a good condition? This is a large amount of money for me and although I'm not interested in it as an investment, I don't want to pay more money that it's worth.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[thatone]

Buy the seller. Finding the cheapest option isn't always necessarily the best one, you may have more headaches down the road.

I'd also suggest wearing the watch first before buying or having a solid return policy. The case size and straight lugs make it wear differently than your current gen moon watch.

 

[zedlebowski]

That doesn't sound like an unreasonable price but I've seen cheaper sell recently. I bought mine a year ago for $3800 but with a tiny nick in the bezel.

And agree with @thatone - I have a small wrist and the FOIS looks better on it than the moon - but your mileage may certainly vary.

 

[scapa]

Price looks reasonable for an excellent-but-perhaps-not-quite-mint FOIS w/ papers and warranty in this market. Prices on these have been creeping up and given their unique properties, modability and production numbers, I'm not sure the FOIS will be a cheap find anytime soon.

I much prefer the FOIS to the standard Speedy on my smaller wrists, though the difference isn't profound. It's also a slightly dressier variant, and wears beautifully across straps and bracelets.

As others have said -- buy the buyer. I've owned two, and ended up buying the second from an AD with warranty, etc. It did require regulating early on, so the warranty came in useful, though it's been absolutely bulletproof ever since.

It's a stunner, and still my favourite Speedy. Good luck!

Edited: May 14, 2024

 

[padders]

@CDW Is the one on offer from a private or commercial seller? £4k is the top of the private market unless it’s near mint. The presense or otherwise of any warranty and how much DNA is on the leather strap have an impact also on fair value.

Edited: May 15, 2024

 

[Donn Chambers]

C CDW

Hi all, I'm new to more expensive watches and I'm looking for some helpful advice. I've narrowed my search for a daily wearer to a Speedmaster FOIS and I've found one in the UK. It's a 311.32.40.30.01.001 from 2019 with box and paperwork for sale for just under £4000.
I'd like to find out what I should look out for when I go to see it, and if it would be a reasonable price to pay if it's in a good condition? This is a large amount of money for me and although I'm not interested in it as an investment, I don't want to pay more money that it's worth.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Things to look for:

Make sure serial number on watch matches paperwork
Make sure the edition number on the caseback matches the paperwork
Check the chrono functions, especially to see if the hands reset to the proper position.

 

[jjjones]

It pains me to say this as a current FOIS owner but skip the FOIS and get the standard moonwatch.
Dont make the mistake of getting a watch that does not come standard on a bracelet or have an actual OEM bracelet for it.

While i was able to put mine on a bracelet with aftermarket end links and the oem 321 flat link, it still irks me that its not all OEM parts and that its not how the watch came officailly.

The problem with the FIOS is also the 19mm lugs. Which means you cant even purchase all the cool 20mm OEM straps from omega like the rubber straps, codura straps etc. Theres a few OEM that will work on the FOIS, but you are very limited.

 

[padders]

There are several OEM* and aftermarket bracelets that fit just fine and you only have to look at Omega’s on line store to realise there are dozens of nice 19mm strap options too so I don’t see the complaint above as valid personally. The straight lug shape is how the Speedmaster was designed. If you want this look you either pay £13k for a 321 (if you can find one) or around a third of that for the FOIS. It sure makes sense to me.

*The 1125, 1565, 020stz006704 bracelet all fit. The Trilogy bracelet too with thinner bars.

Edited: May 15, 2024

 

[Eve]

I agree with @padders never really had a problem of fitting a strap on my FOIS, even a 20mm strap. also enough options for 19mm straps. A lot of bracelet options are available for this watch, modern and vintage. Altough sometimes requires finding aftermarket Endlinks, but that really is not an issue for me. There are far larger issues i have with a FOIS than finding a strap.

The things i would look out for.
FOIS was produced for long time, the later sales date will most likely correlate with later production date, but not necessarily. But since its a numbered edition, you could ask for the approximate number. Personally i would prefer the newer one in order to avoid immediate service costs.
The original straps a often worn to hell, and are not cheap to replace, but if it is reflected in a price than its fine, since they are still availabe if you need one.
Also i would try to find an example that has not been polished and still has its original facets.

 

[scapa]

J jjjones

It pains me to say this as a current FOIS owner but skip the FOIS and get the standard moonwatch.
Dont make the mistake of getting a watch that does not come standard on a bracelet or have an actual OEM bracelet for it.

While i was able to put mine on a bracelet with aftermarket end links and the oem 321 flat link, it still irks me that its not all OEM parts and that its not how the watch came officailly.

The problem with the FIOS is also the 19mm lugs. Which means you cant even purchase all the cool 20mm OEM straps from omega like the rubber straps, codura straps etc. Theres a few OEM that will work on the FOIS, but you are very limited.

The 19mm lugs require a bit of creativity for sure, but I have quite a few 20mm straps -- like the Bulang & Sons pictured in my post above -- that work well on the FOIS, and various Chevrons and NATOs also. Also have an Artem sailcloth that I tend to use in summer, though I bought that in 19mm, and a Jean Rousseau cordura strap (IIRC, Omega's OEM manufacturer) also in 19mm.

But then I don't tend to buy Omega aftermarket straps. Agree that if you do your choices likely narrow quite a bit.

 

[CDW]

T thatone

Buy the seller. Finding the cheapest option isn't always necessarily the best one, you may have more headaches down the road.

I'd also suggest wearing the watch first before buying or having a solid return policy. The case size and straight lugs make it wear differently than your current gen moon watch.

Thanks @thatone, Useful advice about the seller, and I'll definitely wear it before I buy.

 

[CDW]

scapa

Price looks reasonable for an excellent-but-perhaps-not-quite-mint FOIS w/ papers and warranty in this market. Prices on these have been creeping up and given their unique properties, modability and production numbers, I'm not sure the FOIS will be a cheap find anytime soon.

I much prefer the FOIS to the standard Speedy on my smaller wrists, though the difference isn't profound. It's also a slightly dressier variant, and wears beautifully across straps and bracelets.

As others have said -- buy the buyer. I've owned two, and ended up buying the second from an AD with warranty, etc. It did require regulating early on, so the warranty came in useful, though it's been absolutely bulletproof ever since.

It's a stunner, and still my favourite Speedy. Good luck!

Thanks for the info @scapa and I do like the strap in the photo.

 

[CDW]

padders

@CDW Is the one on offer from a private or commercial seller? £4k is the top of the private market unless it’s near mint. The presense or otherwise of any warranty and how much DNA is on the leather strap have an impact also on fair value.

@padders it's a commercial seller with good customer feedback (but it's not an AD). Others also mentioned the strap usage as something to look at, so I'll put that on my list to check for.
I've now also found out that the outside of the box has some minor damage, I'll need to check that in person to see if that's an issue.
Thanks!

 

[CDW]

Donn Chambers

Things to look for:

Make sure serial number on watch matches paperwork
Make sure the edition number on the caseback matches the paperwork
Check the chrono functions, especially to see if the hands reset to the proper position.

@Donn Chambers Thanks added to the list!

 

[CDW]

J jjjones

It pains me to say this as a current FOIS owner but skip the FOIS and get the standard moonwatch.
Dont make the mistake of getting a watch that does not come standard on a bracelet or have an actual OEM bracelet for it.

While i was able to put mine on a bracelet with aftermarket end links and the oem 321 flat link, it still irks me that its not all OEM parts and that its not how the watch came officailly.

The problem with the FIOS is also the 19mm lugs. Which means you cant even purchase all the cool 20mm OEM straps from omega like the rubber straps, codura straps etc. Theres a few OEM that will work on the FOIS, but you are very limited.

@jjjones I'm not a massive bracelet fan, so not sure if this is an issue for me. I will keep it in mind though, together with the replies from others on the strap/bracelet points. Thanks for highlighting it!

 

[CDW]

Eve

I agree with @padders never really had a problem of fitting a strap on my FOIS, even a 20mm strap. also enough options for 19mm straps. A lot of bracelet options are available for this watch, modern and vintage. Altough sometimes requires finding aftermarket Endlinks, but that really is not an issue for me. There are far larger issues i have with a FOIS than finding a strap.

The things i would look out for.
FOIS was produced for long time, the later sales date will most likely correlate with later production date, but not necessarily. But since its a numbered edition, you could ask for the approximate number. Personally i would prefer the newer one in order to avoid immediate service costs.
The original straps a often worn to hell, and are not cheap to replace, but if it is reflected in a price than its fine, since they are still availabe if you need one.
Also i would try to find an example that has not been polished and still has its original facets.

@Eve Thanks for the strap and bracelet info, seems like it is manageable. your info on what to look out for will also come in handy when I go to see the watch. Thank you.