A while ago, I wrote a comparison article between the Omega Speedmaster Professional and the so-called Omega Speedmaster Reduced (officially it was just called Speedmaster Automatic). I’ve noticed that over the last couple of years, the interest in the Omega Speedmaster Reduced increased quite a bit. Actually, when I retrieved all the information on the interest in Omega Speedmaster watches over 2015 on Chrono24, the classifieds offering the reference 3510/3810 (Speedmaster Reduced and its Schumacher editions) for sale received over 270.000 unique visits. When I just started collecting (and focussing on Speedmasters) in the mid-1990s, the Speedmaster Reduced was actually considered […] The post Speedy Tuesday – The Rise of the Speedmaster Reduced appeared first on Fratello Watches.
Actually, it was called the reduced... WATCH SP RED. AUTOM. GENTS | 35105000 "Red." above isn't the colour - it stands for "reduced" The Speedmaster Automatics are the watches with the 7750 base movements, like this one: WATCH SP AUTOM GENTS | 35205000 Cheers, Al
I have no idea if it's true, but I read an article somewhere by someone well regarded in the world of watches, that "reduced" actually means lack of the date feature, rather than the smaller size.
That doesn't make a lot of sense - if it were true than all Speedmaster Professionals with the 321, 861, 1861 would be "reduced" as they don't have a date...
But they aren't automatics with a date function, there were a lot of autos with a date function before the reduced was introduced.
But your post didn't say automatic without date, so I was responding to what you wrote, not what you meant, apparently... Okay, so I suspect you will further refine the terms, but the new Seamaster 300 is a reduced under your theory... W SE 300 41 ST/ST BLACK | 23330412101001 But it's not.
I can see you've got your argumentative cap on today Al. Just read what I said again. I read somewhere an article by someone well respected in the world of watches that " reduced refers to the lack of the date feature, rather than the smaller size" Perhaps I should have added "Compared to all the other automatic speedmasters available at the time"
Nooo.....just trying to understand this theory....maybe.... So we started with no date being the reason for the reduced name, then automatic with no date, and now automatic chronograph with no date. Okay that clears things up - can you name another Omega automatic chronograph with no date from the same time period that is called a reduced, other than the reduced? I don't think there is one, but I don't have time to research it. Now if there isn't I suppose you could conclude that the Speedmaster Reduced is called the reduced because it has no date, but for me it just makes sense that the watch they called the Reduced just happens to not have a date. That old "coincidence is not causation" thing...okay I'll take that cap off now...you got me on that one... Cheers, Al
Good article. As the reduced to date to racing line has moved from casual dress to casual sport do you see the later ones having less collectibility?
So can I now admit to having s speedie reduced now!! i think it's an underrated watch, it's small and thin so works very well when wearing a suit to work.. Similar dimensions to a datejust (just a tad wider). I have had mine for 15 years and have started to wear it regularly again.
Wanted to love the Reduced so much but something just felt a little off by it. Ended up with the Speedmaster Racing, which feels just right, but I still look longingly at the Reduced from time to time.
I've had mine for a few years now, got it cheap on eBay when nobody was interested. Great watch, ideal for smaller wrists.
Keep em coming everybody! This is our chance! Like a broken record: 26yrs reg on wrist loving every moment. I wore this in a tropical rainforest (off the map Indian subcon) for a long time (15 yrs); daylong mango wood dugout journeys upon chocolate brown monsoon swollen sacred rivers all night temple drumming fire spitting effigies lightning bugs king cobras, this thing saw it all. I once lost a chrono plunger, likely yanked off by the edge of my unhemmed Khadicloth dhoti, didn't realize it, only noticed it on the overnight train back from Thrissur Pooram (I was clinging to the outside bars of a window, getting scraped by branches. Helpful people inside kept a lit beedi in my mouth so as to not fall asleep and fall off). Anyways, I like my reduced. Tough enough and not too big.
I'm beginning to get the impression that Speedmaster reduced owners LOVE their watches, and that those who don't love them are those who DON'T own one! Speedmaster reduced owners UNITE! (I've owned mine for 25 years, and I didn't even know these ere known as "reduced" prior to finding the Omega Message Board!) Had I read about them before I knew what they were, and before I acquired one, I might have been discouraged from acquiring one by what I've read here! I acquired my Speedmaster Apollo II commemorative at the time I acquired my reduced, and i like them equally.