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Speedmaster Popularity?

mzinski
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I read somewhere that Speedmaster’s are only really popular in the US due to their association with NASA. Outside of the US, they’re just another watch. Not the main question but an aside, is there a Russian equivalent watch made popular by Cosmonauts?
Anyways, I figured rather than trust some random thing I read somewhere or other I’d ask a forum of enthusiasts from around the world what they think.
Is the Speedmaster popular in your country (and what country is that)?
I’m in Seattle, WA, USA. While I get the impression it’s a popular watch here, I’ve only ever run into two people with the watch.
And just to head off the inevitable “don’t worry what people think.” - I’m not. I really like my Speedy. I’m simply curious for impressions on the question.
Oh, and what would this thread be without a picture? Crisp fall day here.
516CC1A6-1A01-4AC3-817C-12EB2DCE0340.jpeg
 
gbesq
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I’ve always understood it to be one of the most iconic watches of all time and a must for any serious collector. As such, I would think that it would be just as popular outside of the US, but I wouldn’t begin to know how to quantify that.
 
STANDY
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Quiet popular in all watch circles.
I have had many comments by Australian’s and Singaporean’s
Also plenty of EU and UK members have vast collections ( just look at Fratello being a Dutch website that released the #Speedy Tuesday hashtag and Speedy Tuesday watches )

This is a Australian website your on asking this question 😎
 
Shabbaz
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mzinski mzinski
Not the main question but an aside, is there a Russian equivalent watch made popular

The Okeah 3133 chrono. This one was used by the cosmonaut Razhdestvensky during the heroic rescue of himself and fellow cosmonaut Zudov on the ill-fated Soyuz-23 mission. Originally it was destined to naval officers.
 
Screenshot_20191104-065804_Chrome.jpg
Bille
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On behalf of a Scandinavian and European country (Denmark), I can say that Omega Speedmaster is a very popular watch. And from a personal perspective - it´s THE most beautiful watch😉
 
Risto
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Where I live (Estonia, EU) there's even no Omega authorized dealer nor you can buy it here.
It's small country, former USSR member, so perhaps people here are still too poor to buy Omegas 😀
Anyway, still, there are people who love watches and some have Speedmasters. I've actually sold both of my modern hesalite and FOIS locally. Didn't make a profit, but didn't lose much, too.
I guess amongst watch nerds this is definitely a popular watch.

"Normal" people rather have Daniel Wellington, Guess or whatever sub 200 EUR they sell in our shops.
For most people, a 100+ EUR watch is a luxury accessory. We just have 1.4 million people in the country and avg income is net 1000 EUR monthly. And about 50% of the population can barely afford any watch at all. The minimum wage is 500 EUR.
https://www.stat.ee/stat-average-monthly-gross-wages-salaries

So, perhaps less than 3% of the population can afford to buy Speedmasters.

My Speed with custom bund strap.

DSCF7732_1.JPG
 
Martin_F
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The soviet equivalent would either be this Sturmanskie worn by Gagarin:
sturmanskie_gagarin_old-600x614.jpg

Or the Poljot Strela worn by Alexei Leonov RIP and others:
5d94b17b15e9f977167b83db.jpg
 
S.H.
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Speaking of Cosmonauts, apart the Flightmaster 😉, I'd say any iteration of the column wheel poljot 3017 (sekonda, strela, ...) would be the most known space related watch :
DSC_4439_.jpeg DSC_6267.jpeg


I agree that the Okeah is quite popular but I'm not sure many people know that it was worn by cosmonauts.

DSC_4434_.jpg


The poljot 31659 may have been too btw.

DSC_4667.jpg
 
RI Omega Fan
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STANDY STANDY
This is a Australian website your on asking this question 😎
Wait, what? The Omega Forum is an Australian website? How did I not know that?

I realize I’m kind of new here, but I do follow a lot of threads pretty closely. I guess I never thought about where this forum originated. Well, you learn something new every day!

Knowing that now, I’ll just say “G’day, mates!”
 
RI Omega Fan
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image.jpg

One thing I have learned is that watch photos and wrist shots are highly encouraged, so here’s my Speedmaster.
 
3nicewatches
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RI Omega Fan RI Omega Fan
Wait, what? The Omega Forum is an Australian website? How did I not know that?

I realize I’m kind of new here, but I do follow a lot of threads pretty closely. I guess I never thought about where this forum originated. Well, you learn something new every day!

Knowing that now, I’ll just say “G’day, mates!”
All the best things come from Down Under - I am not one of them, but it certainly seemed that way growing up in the UK watching Rugby (League and Union) and cricket!
 
mzinski
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S.H. S.H.
The poljot 31659 may have been too btw.

Wow! This is a neat watch. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one. Thanks for the info!
 
mzinski
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Shabbaz Shabbaz
The Okeah 3133 chrono. This one was used by the cosmonaut Razhdestvensky during the heroic rescue of himself and fellow cosmonaut Zudov on the ill-fated Soyuz-23 mission. Originally it was destined to naval officers.
Thanks!
 
vbrad26
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Australia huh?
I wouldn't have bet any amount of dollarydoos on that.
 
S.H.
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mzinski mzinski
Wow! This is a neat watch. I'll have to keep my eyes open for one. Thanks for the info!

Beware, lots of franken and fake dials and handsets...

Three main variants (the dial color) afaik for those late sturmanskie, all 3 with the hacking 31659:

DSC_4778.jpeg
 
DaveCollins
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mzinski mzinski
I read somewhere that Speedmaster’s are only really popular in the US due to their association with NASA. Outside of the US, they’re just another watch. Not the main question but an aside, is there a Russian equivalent watch made popular by Cosmonauts?

Yes, the Fortis Official Cosmonauts Chronograph is issued to cosmonauts and used on the ISS. I work with a Russian engineer who spoke with his friends in Russia and it was confirmed that in fact this is what is done. The watches sold to the public are the same as used by the cosmonauts today. I have one of these watches. It is impressive to look at. It makes me feel like an engineer when I look at the dial. Great watch.

Fortis is a small manufacturer compared to Omega and Rolex. Their watches are priced well in my opinion.
 
SpeedyPhill
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I have given talks about spacefarers' wristwatches in 33 countries and spaceflight aficionados only knew about two watches:
Scott Carpenter's Breitling Navitimer and Aldrin's Omega Speedmaster
...
Here're a few slides about these wristwatches from the MoonwatchUniverse lecture 📖
.
MoonwatchUniverse48.jpg MoonwatchUniverse50.jpg MoonwatchUniverse85.jpg
 
STANDY
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Australia huh?
I wouldn't have bet any amount of dollarydoos on that.

C,mon we did broadcast the moon landing for everyone else remember 😉
(Would have been fuzzy and upside down if we didn’t)

And we did see it before the rest of the world 😎

The signals received by Parkes were sent to Sydney. From there the TV signal was split. One signal went to the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the other to Houston for the international telecast. The international signal had to travel halfway around the world from Sydney to Houston, adding a delay. So Australian audiences saw Neil Armstrong's historic first step 0.3 seconds before the rest of the world.
Edited:
 
SpeedyPhill
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Apollo 11 TV images Fuzzy and upside down it was ... via the 64m Parkes dish radio telescope
A few years ago I toured most CSIRO radio facilities (Parkes, Narrabri, Tidbinbilla-Canberra, Murchison ... ) and had the opportunity to walk on the amazing 64m Parkes radio dish and strike the cricket pose as in the famous movie '" The Dish '" ... footpad on the dish as it was parked in flat position with thanks to NASA engineer John Sarkissian 👍
.
.
Walking to the center of the 64m Parkes radio dish, a radio telescope which was instrumental in getting Apollo lunar landing TV images...
Note the heavy steel manhole cover just left of the end of the rubber footpad.
.
64_Parkes_MoonwatchUniverse.jpg
 
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