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Speedmaster professional moonwatch Vs First omega in space.

Owlsu
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The sapphire with it's white ringed edge is one of those things where once you've seen it and you know what you're looking for you can't un-see it in my opinion.

When I watch a Speedmaster video of any sort I can usually tell in the first few seconds if it's sapphire or not. They have a really distinctive and kind of unpleasant milkyness to them that no other regular sapphire watch has.
 
sn0wman72
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The deciding factor for me between the Standard Pro and the FOIS is the shape of the lugs, I like the straight lugs of the FOIS.

From a purchasing standpoint I would really encourage you to purchase from one of the trusted sellers on Omega Forums or other watch forms. mdgrwl (Matt) and kringkily (George) come to mind. As you seem to be aware of the financial implication of buying a watch (swift depreciation if purchased new from a Omega dealer). Buying via the reseller route will reduce the initial depreciation
 
amiriqbal
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I feel your pain. I was in the same position at the start of the year and read through all the threads here.

What did I do? Went off piste and bought a 3594 Broad arrow instead !!

Would reiterate what others have said. If you can only have one for now, then go with your first impression/instinct, as this is the best measure of your true unfiltered desire.

I plan to add a speedy pro 3572 with tritium lume, FOIS and vintage pro to my collection (once I'm more knowledgeable) at some point.

If buying new, I would try and secure a discount. Think some have said that the Omega Boutique maybe don't do this, but at an AD you should be able to get about 5-10%

Or as above, buy from a trusted seller. I made my first 3-4 watch purchases from OF and the goodwill amongst the members here is exemplary.
 
ChrisChadwick
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amiriqbal amiriqbal
@ChrisChadwick

Don't leave us hanging!!

How did you get on 😀


Ha ha, how rude of me! Sorry!

Well, I went, I looked and I have not pulled the trigger (yet).

It wasn’t obvious immediately which one I prefer, it didn’t just hit me like I’d hoped. They are both great.

However the FOIS is more “me” I feel it suits me better, fits my style etc and really does it for me.

I like the moonwatch greatly. The bracelet looks quality and I did think it would be nice to have that and also have a leather strap made as an alternative. And the box it comes with is amazing.

I preferred the dial markings being slightly longer on the FOIS, it looks less busy some how and more refined but that is very subtle.

The straighter, slimmer lugs were actually one of the main things I preferred about the FOIS believe it or not. It’s cool as hell with no crown guards in my opinion.

The sapphire vs hesalite thing..... I can see pros and cons in both. But I’m not sure I have strong feelings either way.
The hesalite crystal on the watch in the boutique was already slightly scratched, and because I noticed that straight away, it did make me think maybe I’m more a sapphire type of guy

So as stated, the FOIS won.
The reason I didn’t buy yesterday was because they wouldn’t discount at all from the retail price.
Also, the person who dealt with me was awful. Not offensive, just very little knowledge, didn’t look me in the eye and if I’m honest didn’t help me have a good experience in the place at all. They just not the kind of person who I wanted to spend that kind of money with.

I have another retailer (AD) offering me some discount and also there’s a local shop who have one in stock offering me 20% off. They are not an AD so that one would be considered “grey market”.

I’ll have a think and buy from one of those two places in the next few days.

Thank you so much to everyone for your help.

Chris
 
vbrad26
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Sounds like your mind is made up!
I would be more inclined to buy from the AD unless the other places offers you a substantial discount.
You more than likely won't have a warranty if you buy from the non-AD so keep in mind that an out of warranty service from Omega is $750 if something were to go wrong.
 
ChrisChadwick
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vbrad26 vbrad26
Sounds like your mind is made up!
I would be more inclined to buy from the AD unless the other places offers you a substantial discount.
You more than likely won't have a warranty if you buy from the non-AD so keep in mind that an out of warranty service from Omega is $750 if something were to go wrong.


The grey market one is £720 cheaper. (Is that around $1000?) and they said it has full international warranty minus about 1 month as this is when it was stamped in the dealer in Italy.

Still not 100% sure what price the AD is going to offer me. Still waiting for them to confirm that
 
Foo2rama
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@ChrisChadwick fyi OB’s very very rarely discount and then only on discontinued models.
 
JSal16
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ChrisChadwick ChrisChadwick
I have an appointment on Sunday at an Omega boutique to view the two watches I have narrowed my choice down to after 6 or so months of research.

I’m fairly new to watch collecting and the most expensive watch I have owned previously is a Tag Aquaracer.
So this is a jump up in quality and something I would like to be “reasonable” investment.

So the two watches are the 42mm speedmaster professional man on the moon, mechanical wind hesilte crystal etc etc

And the “First Omega in space”, 39.7mm, same movement, sapphire glass, no crown guards, leather strap.

My heart is saying get the FOIS, it really suits my style being slightly more retro looking and smaller, I also like leather straps.

BUT is it a watered down version not having the hesalite crystal? Is it bad value because it’s a leather strap which will no doubt need replacing at some point?

Would I be better getting the 42mm professional moonwatch and buying a brown leather strap to give it a similar look whilst having the bracelet as an option to fall back on occasionally?

Any opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. I’ll probably end up pulling the trigger on one of them on Sunday.

All the best

Chris Chadwick
Once you try both on your decision will most likely be an easy one. One will feel right and one with feel wrong. The Professional will either feel big or the FOIS will feel small on your wrist. I opted for the Professional and wear it on an OEM blue crocodile strap with the deployant buckle. I love the look of it. I love the concept of the FOIS but always am let down when I try it on. I guess I'm just so used to the 42mm sizing of modern day wrist watches.
 
Tbar
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The FOIS comes across a bit dressier, the Pro more of a toolwatch. I haven’t had a hesalite/plexi watch as a daily driver, but how often/where you will wear it could determine whether sapphire may be the smarter (maintenance-free) choice.

I have compared and contrasted these two many times over the past few months...very difficult choice. In the end, the overall package with the Pro (box, bracelet etc) sold it for me...until my head was turned by the ST2 Ultraman...the classic moonwatch remains an itch that needs to be scratched at some point though.
 
Neek
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Can't really go wrong with either, both are beautiful. But once you have decided, definitely stick with it.
 
Ssunnylee24
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Here are some pictures of my FOIS. When I first bought the watch (actually a gift but I picked it out), I regreted that I didn't get the professional (42mm) but I was far wrong. This watch fits me better and is closest thing(2998) to the REAL Speedmaster without spending lots of $$ in my opinion.
Good luck!
 
Foo2rama
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Ssunnylee24 Ssunnylee24
Here are some pictures of my FOIS. When I first bought the watch (actually a gift but I picked it out), I regreted that I didn't get the professional (42mm) but I was far wrong. This watch fits me better and is closest thing(2998) to the REAL Speedmaster without spending lots of $$ in my opinion.
Good luck!

Um you know the 145.022 did go around the moon and was worn on shuttle flights? Yours is but a representation of a watch that went to space, with parts on it that preclude it from space use.

Dem der is fightin words son.

😉
 
Ssunnylee24
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
Um you know the 145.022 did go around the moon and was worn on shuttle flights? Yours is but a representation of a watch that went to space, with parts on it that preclude it from space use.

Dem der is fightin words son.

😉
Maybe I need to learn more 😁
 
padders
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
Um you know the 145.022 did go around the moon and was worn on shuttle flights? Yours is but a representation of a watch that went to space, with parts on it that preclude it from space use.

Dem der is fightin words son.

😉

I thought all the Omega watches worn on the Apollo missions had the 321 Calibre. Was that not the case? The 145.012 certainly went to (or around) the moon, not so sure about the 145.022...
 
Foo2rama
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padders padders
I thought all the Omega watches worn on the Apollo missions had the 321 Calibre. Was that not the case? The 145.012 certainly went to (or around) the moon, not so sure about the 145.022...
ck77 ck77
Went but not landed,
https://www.christies.com/lotfinder...5140&sid=989a10ba-69c9-4d10-8086-d323495247ea

Ahh a second one, went around the moon.


It was sorta co discovered on the forum last year that one was used in an experiment that stayed in the orbiter. The documents from NASA archives clearly stated a 145.022 was used for time keeping in the experiment, and was included in the experiment package. No other data. I forget the mission.
 
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