Three recent auctions show exactly why the Speedmaster X-33 matters, yet it is still relatively unloved by many Speedmaster enthusiasts. The good thing about this? For starters, you can find a great bargain on the Speedmaster X-33. A watch with proven and significant space history, but under-appreciated because of the quartz crystal and digital display. […]

Visit Why The Speedmaster X-33 Matters to read the full article.

 

I like them and may have picked on up at some point but I cant do anything over 40mm

*Edit - Read your article - well done.

 

I did recently bid on the one that spent time in space that Artcurial put on auction... but I came a "bit" short!!

 

i've been looking for one for a while i might have got cheap.... but i fear i wont get one cheap after your write up..

 

Certainly starting to appreciate these for a practical daily, nice article.

 

An X33 is on my list, I just need to buckle down and get my head into them properly to understand whats what.
But then if the right one appears...

 

I've always enjoyed the X-33! One day, I'll purchase one. For now, I will enjoy my new purchase!

 

Not my cup of tea, really.

Its modern design didn't age well, plus unlike it's older siblings, probably can't be easily serviced by a regular watchmaker.

 

Shhh... nothing to see here... no one needs an X-33... move along...

 

Ohhhh yeah

Ended up with 2 in the end

Great daily, my only issue with the watch is I'm slightly nervous of the 50m, unnecessarily so, but 50m and old I tend to be cautious with.

The alarm, the tz options and the lightness make it a great travel watch

 

Very polarizing watch, but certainly respectable.

 

I bought a 1st gen., sold it. Missed it, so I bought a 2nd gen.

It is an awesome watch and the accuracy is freaking amazing. It matches exactly with time.gov any time I check.

 

Actually, five years ago, May 28, 2014, German ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was the first to fly an Omega X-33 Skywalker to the ISS on the Soyuz TMA-13M mission... one of 3 wristwatches he wore for his 165 days long mission.
Here are the slides in our MoonwatchUniverse Spacefarers' wristwatches lecture
.

 

Nice read. I learned something new, which is always nice:

 

I don't just like them, I love them. <flame suit on>I think they are the best Speedmaster (for me). I have had and sold my (multiple) Speedmaster Pro and Speedmaster 9300.</flame suit on>

Currenly they are my only Speedmasters. I have 3 of them, a Gen 1, a Gen 2 and a Gen 1 from F-15E military purchase. And I had a X-33 Skywalker at one point but sold it for the Z-33.

They wear well on the wrist (no problem even with the 45mm Skywalker), great function set, nice lume, oh-so-accurate, (relatively) easy to do DIY battery change.

And the alarm is LOUD. Once I was in a crowded science center once with tons of people talking and lots of noise. I needed a time reminder and I trusted the X-33 alarm rather than my phone (even with ring and vibrate). And when the alarm goes off, I (and some people around me) had no problem catching the alarm. haha

Now I need to be on the hunt for a ESA "certified" X-33 Skywalker and a X-33 Skywalker Regatta timer.

Gen 1


Gen 2


My *ex* Skywalker

 

Thank you for sharing! How would you compare the X and Z-33?
Would you also care sharing why you got rid of the Skywalker?

 

Z-33 is just awesome, in a way that photo wouldn't do justice.

The Z-33 built like a titanium tank, you have to hold it to feel the quality. BTW, the built quality for Skywalker is also noticeably better than Gen 1 and Gen 2, Skywalker just feels like a higher quality watch than the previous 2 X-33 in hand. But the Z-33 control (buttons clicks and crown turns) is top notch, bested all X-33s. The case finish on Z-33 is definitely a step ahead of the X-33s as well.

The function that I frequent (chrono, timer, alarm) are working fine in all X and Z-33. But one thing that's oh-so-cool is the red LED on Z-33. It will automatically lights up every time you interact with the control. And it automatically adjust the brightness depends on ambient lighting. That still puts a smile on my face every time I use the watch.



Sure, its not a looker, and its tall, close to 20mm in fact. But there is also nothing like it on the market. I love it and I am pretty sure Omega knew that this watch is not for every one when they design it. Its really only for the very small segment of the enthusiasts market that loves highly functional analog-digital watch with high accuracy (it has a thermo-compensated 5666 super quartz movement inside, and not shared by any other models), who also would appreciate quality in watches, and don't mind the price tag. (of course buy used and save thousands)

Why I got rid of the Skywalker in the first place? The main reason is "I don't have a printer than prints money". So I need to let go of something in order to get something else. haha.

At the same time, there are design issue with Skywalker that make me prefer Gen 1 and 2 over it. I would say these are just my personal preference, it may or may not apply to every one.

- The bezel markers are confusing. I use the timing bezel all the times. In some lighting condition, on the Skywalker, I can't tell which marker is the 12 o'clock marker at a glance. So I had to turn my wrist, look closer, do whatever and try to confirm the position of the 12 o'clock marker for my timing purposes.
- The date format is DD/MM/YYYY (instead of what we are using in the US as in MM/DD/YYYY), and its not configurable (interesting enough, this is configurable in the Z-33). This is not a problem for every one but its a medium annoyance for me.
- I would prefer the "simple" Mission Timer over the more complicated Phase Timer, which I still don't understand how it works. But in reality, I used neither.
- I can't turn off the LCD on the Skywalker on command, sometimes I just prefer to have the LCD off for that clean looks. The LCD screen will turn off by itself after 4-5 days of no button pressed. But I use the watch function all the times, that means the LCD would never turn off for me when I wear it. (All Gen 1, Gen 2 X-33 and Z-33 can have the LCD screen turned off via control. And both Skywalker and Z-33 can go into sleep mode to park all hands at 12 to save battery when not wearing)

 

Thanks a lot @stockae92 for your comments and “review”.

Super helpful for me as I am considering adding a Z-33 in hommage to my Flightmaster (love this ‘70s case shape!!).
I was just on the Omega website and the version with bracelet doesn’t seem to be available... will have to call the OB to find out more about this...

 

I come back to this every few months.
I like the idea of an everything watch. Using the alarm and having date is really nice.
I'd try to wear it 23.5 hrs a day.
Not including shower.

 

That is a long shower