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 Omega Men's Speedmaster Professional Watch #3570.50 By: Omega Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 11 More Information Good Size Watch  On: 2008-05-08Ive never seen this watch up close before so all the descriptions about how big and heavy the watch was really had me concerned. After receiving this I find it to be a perfectly sized mens watch. My day to day watch was a Suunto Vector. The Omega has the same size face but the case of the watch is thinner and smaller than the Vector so it looks just right to me. The weight is solid and I got used to it quickly. The links werent too difficult to adjust but you may want to take this to a watchsmith or purchase a pin extract tool to go with this (I popped the pins out with a thumbtack and then used a leatherman to pull it the rest of the way out - be careful not to scratch the band). All in all a solid purchase with no regrets. 30 Year Review On: 2007-12-08After much research, I purchased an Omega Speedmaster in 1968 as an 18th birthday present to myself. There were not many chronographs available at that time (Rolex, Breitling, Omega and probably others I no longer remember). To my surprise, that summer (or next), Omega began agressive advertising that its watch was the official timepiece of the Apollo Astronauts. It reaffirmed my choice. Thirty years later, it is still the best watch I own (including my Submariner). My only complaint is that I have gone through three or four bracelets/straps. Ironically, a new metal bracelet costs more than the original cost of my Speedmaster ($185). Interestingly, no Rolex owner has ever commented on my Submariner, but fellow Speedmaster owners always start up a conversation with each other. I cannot comment on the new Speedmasters, but mine has been dropped, thrown, drowned, frozen, heated, shaken and abused for 30 years and still runs great. I recommend factory cleaning, vacuum sealing and a new crystal every 10 years or so, just to be safe. My last watch On: 2007-12-04When I graduated from college in 1966, my parents gave me a fine very slim gold Swiss watch. It didnt last a month in the Amazon. The stainless automatic Seiko I bought at the PX in Vietnam was stolen out of my car. Then I bought my last watch, the Omega Speedmaster Professional. I was half way through law school when I bought it at Als Pawn Shop in Nashville in 1974 for about $125, the most I could afford. A year later my wife gave me a tooled silver bracelet watch band for my birthday. Its the only watch I have worn since. It has always been amazingly accurate. When it quits because I forgot to wind it, that means I have been too busy and I try to slow down. As a litigator, I use the stop watch function frequently to time my work. When it finally wore out after some 25 years, I sent it to an expert near Seattle I located online and he put it back into like new shape...for five times what I had paid for it. In 1997 I saw the same watch in a store window in Geneva. I made a note of the price in Swiss francs and later calculated it cost around $3500 in US dollars. Thats when I realized my treasured watch had probably been stolen and fenced at Als Pawn Shop all those years before. Until then I had thought I was merely the beneficiary of a man down on his luck who needed money to get home. To see the exact same watch on the wrist of the space suit at the Huntsville Space Museum and playing a critical role in the movie, Apollo 13, gives me a funny sense of pride at my uncanny good luck to have a watch I will never replace at such a low price. On a subconscious level I hope the satisfaction the watch has given me for these past 30+ years is somehow sensed by the owner from whom it was stolen and he is pleased. Especially since he had it adequately insured. Since 1983... On: 2007-11-30Bought in 1983 for about 800 bucks. Its a little heavy, but it is so beautiful. I wear it 5 - 10 times / month. One new crystal needed in 1998. No work on the mechanical movement, ever. Worn by Michael Schumacher and Michael Crichton, to name a few. An old Swiss friend told me (back in 1983) that you look at your watch 30 - 100 times a day--why not have a beauty (he had a Patek Phillipe). Consider it a 20 year investment. Since 1983... On: 2007-11-29Bought in 1983 for about 800 bucks. Its a little heavy, but it is so beautiful. I wear it 5 - 10 times / month. One new crystal needed in 1998. No work on the mechanical movement, ever. Worn by Michael Schumacher and Michael Crichton, to name a few. An old Swiss friend told me (back in 1983) that you look at your watch 30 - 100 times a day--why not have a beauty (he had a Patek Phillipe). Consider it a 20 year investment. A real classic On: 2007-11-05This watch is a true classic. Ive owned mine for over 30 years, Ive worn it almost everyday and it still works like the day I got it. Yes, its been in for repair a few times (after awhile the buttons stick), but this watch will outlast me. It keeps perfect time, or as close as a mechanical watch can get, its extremely easy to read and the chronograph funtions work better than any other chronograph I own. I charge by the hour, and this watch has been very handy for me, especially given the fact that it will time things up to 12 hours, a movement thats very hard to find or very expensive. Its only downfall is the fact that you have to wind it. Forget to do this and youll be late for everything, but you soon get used to it. Omegas "Moon Watch" looks as good in the boardroom as it does on the tennis court, and its a hell of a deal for a great timepiece. A real classic On: 2007-11-04This watch is a true classic. Ive owned mine for over 30 years, Ive worn it almost everyday and it still works like the day I got it. Yes, its been in for repair a few times (after awhile the buttons stick), but this watch will outlast me. It keeps perfect time, or as close as a mechanical watch can get, its extremely easy to read and the chronograph funtions work better than any other chronograph I own. I charge by the hour, and this watch has been very handy for me, especially given the fact that it will time things up to 12 hours, a movement thats very hard to find or very expensive. Its only downfall is the fact that you have to wind it. Forget to do this and youll be late for everything, but you soon get used to it. Omegas "Moon Watch" looks as good in the boardroom as it does on the tennis court, and its a hell of a deal for a great timepiece. A Magnificent Legacy from the Analog Era On: 2007-09-24The Omega Speedmaster is one of the very few watches that have gone orbiting the Earth and the only one landed on the Moon. It is a pleasure to wind it manually and its feats are legendary (like when one timed the exact moment to ignite the engines of the failed Apollo 13 Mission). Therefore I recommend it to anyone who enjoys fine craftsmanship, tradition and value, since it is one of the most affordable high-end watches on the market. 90 seconds a day is 99.9% accurate On: 2006-12-05For all the people complaining about their wristwatch being a minute and a half off in 24 hours: At 86,400 seconds in a day a watch that is 99.9% accurate will lose 86.4 seconds in a day. If you need timing accuracy greater than 99.9% you are either working for a scientific organization (and therefore using timing devices more accurate than any wristwatch made) or you are over-caffeinated and obsessive compulsive. These mechanical watches create an emotional response in some that a few thousands of a percent increase in accuracy cannot outweigh. Attempting to quantify the purchase of an Omega Speedmaster by attacking its relative accuracy is like saying Porsches are a poor choice of car because theyre less fuel efficient than a Honda Civic. If you dont marvel at the fine craftsmanship and tradition included in an item like the Omega Speedmaster thats fine. There are plenty of $25 wristwatches that keep good time. 90 seconds a day is 99.9% accurate On: 2006-12-04For all the people complaining about their wristwatch being a minute and a half off in 24 hours: At 86,400 seconds in a day a watch that is 99.9% accurate will lose 86.4 seconds in a day. If you need timing accuracy greater than 99.9% you are either working for a scientific organization (and therefore using timing devices more accurate than any wristwatch made) or you are over-caffeinated and obsessive compulsive. These mechanical watches create an emotional response in some that a few thousands of a percent increase in accuracy cannot outweigh. Attempting to quantify the purchase of an Omega Speedmaster by attacking its relative accuracy is like saying Porsches are a poor choice of car because theyre less fuel efficient than a Honda Civic. If you dont marvel at the fine craftsmanship and tradition included in an item like the Omega Speedmaster thats fine. There are plenty of $25 wristwatches that keep good time. Always wanted one - Disappointed by what I got...  On: 2006-07-28Since I was a boy, I wanted one of these watches. When I spent 6 weeks in Switzerland in 1972, I hucked my Mom crazy to buy me this watch. Instead, she did get me an Omega deVille stainless design chronograph which reminded me of the Moon watch and cost only a fraction as much. This watch needed multiple repairs during the 1970s and cost more in repairs by several fold than the original purchase. I retired it and it sits in a jewelry box for the last 25 years, unworn. Fast forward to the late 1990s with the stock market boom and I finally got what I had wanted for so long - this Moon watch! I wore it with enormous pride for about a year and a half until it broke, while winding it, and that lead to the revelation that repair was expensive and inconvenient. It had kept such poor time, losing two or more minutes a day, that I boxed it on my dresser and it sits there to this day unworn, broken. A deep disappointment... Oddly, I spied a Wenger Swiss Army chonograph in stainless at a large retailer that had style and substance and was electronic to keep perfect time and cost $100! I still wear that today after 6 years and one battery change. Watch out what you wish for - it may be more desirable in the mind than on the wrist! What time is it??? On: 2006-02-23Ive had this watch for 4 years. It looks great, but mechanically its been a disappointment. It has never kept good time. Plus, I had to have it "fixed" twice. The first time it was 4 days out of the 1 year warranty, it cost me $85 to get it "unfrozen". A few years later, the stem got bound up and wouldnt turn. Another trip to my authorized Omega dealer costs me $200. The watch is working fine, but still loses about 2 minutes a day. Imagine, $1,800 for a watch you have to set everyday. Buy yourself the entire Timex collection for that price. Youll have 150 watches that work! What time is it??? On: 2006-02-22Ive had this watch for 4 years. It looks great, but mechanically its been a disappointment. It has never kept good time. Plus, I had to have it "fixed" twice. The first time it was 4 days out of the 1 year warranty, it cost me $85 to get it "unfrozen". A few years later, the stem got bound up and wouldnt turn. Another trip to my authorized Omega dealer costs me $200. The watch is working fine, but still loses about 2 minutes a day. Imagine, $1,800 for a watch you have to set everyday. Buy yourself the entire Timex collection for that price. Youll have 150 watches that work! I would buy it even if it cost $6000.00!!!!!!!!!!! On: 2006-02-14I have owned mine since 1980, I have had it serviced and it still works and looks great. I have worn it every single day since buying it! In the time I have owned this watch I have seen people go through dozens of watches. The best part is, like all quality products, it can be serviced! This will be the last watch you will ever own! I would buy it even if it cost $6000.00!!!!!!!!!!! On: 2006-02-13I have owned mine since 1980, I have had it serviced and it still works and looks great. I have worn it every single day since buying it! In the time I have owned this watch I have seen people go through dozens of watches. The best part is, like all quality products, it can be serviced! This will be the last watch you will ever own! The best watch for years and years On: 2005-05-11Ive owned this watch for over 2 years now and have worn it every single day since the day I bought it. I intend to keep it for years (probably for the rest of my life) as it remains the most swanky and stylish (elegant yet functional) watch Ive ever owned (and Ive owned and sold quite a few). The Speedmaster has all the appeal and extreme accruracy of a Rolex, yet none of the gaudiness-its understated, cool but not too cool. Looking at it evokes a sense of faith in exploration and the adrenaline rush of speed and the force of Gs or zero gravity. With its black dial and white hands, and brushed silver bracelet and casing, the Speedmaster is one of the best executed designs to come out of the last 100 years and certainly one of the most classic timepieces ever. There are other models that offer things since as a day/date, or a slightly smaller size, or a glass crystal instead of the sturdy Hesalite plastic one, but these are not the original "Moon Watch" and are not worth buying. If you are going to go Speedmaster, get the original. Technically this is a mens watch, but Ive seen it worn by a woman with great success (the actor Daniel Day-Lewiss wife wears one). Its Swiss made and Nasa spacewalk certified. This very watch model was worn on the Moon (on the outside of the space suit!) by Neil Armstrong in the Apollo missions back in the late 1960s. The build quality and styling has not changed much since then (it hasnt needed to). This is a manual watch, which means you have to wind it up. I like that, it becomes part of your daily routine like sleeping and eating. The back is engraved with a cool logo and a Nasa approval insignia. When your mate picks it up off the nightstand in the morning and reads what it says on the back, she will probably ask you about it. This is the stuff of legends, and its a pretty good watch too. The best watch for years and years On: 2005-05-10Ive owned this watch for over 2 years now and have worn it every single day since the day I bought it. I intend to keep it for years (probably for the rest of my life) as it remains the most swanky and stylish (elegant yet functional) watch Ive ever owned (and Ive owned and sold quite a few). The Speedmaster has all the appeal and extreme accruracy of a Rolex, yet none of the gaudiness-its understated, cool but not too cool. Looking at it evokes a sense of faith in exploration and the adrenaline rush of speed and the force of Gs or zero gravity. With its black dial and white hands, and brushed silver bracelet and casing, the Speedmaster is one of the best executed designs to come out of the last 100 years and certainly one of the most classic timepieces ever. There are other models that offer things since as a day/date, or a slightly smaller size, or a glass crystal instead of the sturdy Hesalite plastic one, but these are not the original "Moon Watch" and are not worth buying. If you are going to go Speedmaster, get the original. Technically this is a mens watch, but Ive seen it worn by a woman with great success (the actor Daniel Day-Lewiss wife wears one). Its Swiss made and Nasa spacewalk certified. This very watch model was worn on the Moon (on the outside of the space suit!) by Neil Armstrong in the Apollo missions back in the late 1960s. The build quality and styling has not changed much since then (it hasnt needed to). This is a manual watch, which means you have to wind it up. I like that, it becomes part of your daily routine like sleeping and eating. The back is engraved with a cool logo and a Nasa approval insignia. When your mate picks it up off the nightstand in the morning and reads what it says on the back, she will probably ask you about it. This is the stuff of legends, and its a pretty good watch too. |