My question today is about another unusual cal. 1040 dial. I refer to it as "Spam" due to the order of the text: SPeedmaster Automatic Mark III. It is pictured several times in A Journey Through Time and in the manual, but like the Speedmaster 125 dial discussed here, it is not common in the wild. It seems that other non-professional Mark III dials have "AUTOMATIC" above "Speedmaster".

My question, does anyone own or has anyone seen the following dial in the wild? Or is it also a pre-production dial that only the Omega Museum owns? Thanks!

Spam dial, notable for unique text order and blue/grey day/night indicator not seen on other black-dialed Mark IIIs:




Compare to the typical non-pro dial (same text order for black, blue or silver non-professional dials):

 

Nope.

I've got the ASPM...

 

Same here...ASPM.

 

I don't have one but a quick image search has the 'Automatic' by the date window, rather than at the Omega symbol.

Is this another type of MkIII?

 

Yes. Some Mark IIIs were "Professionals" while others were not. The Professional dials had the word "AUTOMATIC" moved to 3:00. There were professional and non-professional versions of the black, blue, and silver dials.

 

I am afraid that it's the infamous Terrorist Cell special edition, the "OSAMA"

Omega Speedmaster Automatic Mark II

 

yes, some years ago. My watchmaker had one for service.

 

Interesting, thanks. Was it the same configuration as the one in AJTT with the blue/grey 24h indicator?

 

That probably means there's one in a fortified compound in Pakistan!

 

yes, it was exactly the same dial

 

Ah right, many thanks.

What makes them 'professional'? Asking for my wife

 

Braces.

 

Years ago Chuck Maddox had an email exchange with the curator at the Omega Museum (click here, the scroll roughly halfway down the page) about that question. It seems the Professionals came later, though no reason why was given.

 

Thanks for that. It's an interesting read

 

I sense something big in the making...

 

Alas, no. I tried a few alleys and trails, but they were all dead ends.