The Breitling Watch Source Forums

So I am getting an early jump on looking for the next addition and I got a bit carried away looking at Rolex Daytona's, which btw is a gorgeous watch.

However this is a bit beyond my pay grade, so I was looking at Omega Speedmasters as a more affordable solution. Obviously Omega has a long track record, and the speedmaster itself has a long history.

Anyhow, a few personal experiences/opinions on this model would be great.

I am leaning towards a broad arrow gmt with the white face steel on steel

Seems a Speedmaster is a must have collection piece. While there is a pricey 44mm model now, I settled for the regular 42mm Speedmaster Professional, Racing edition. It's a comfortable watch and doesn't rely on the half link like most Omega bracelets. Well lumed and quite readable dial. Just right with a suit or a T-shirt. I can't think of a negative thing to say about it.

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SHARKMAN

The Speedmaster Pro is a timeless classic. I've had two of them, still got one and regret selling the other (which incidentally was one of the most accurate watches I've ever had, it ran at +0 per day on the wrist every time I checked it). Occasionally you will hear it referred to as a "poor man's Daytona" but it stands on its own as far as I'm concerned.

In addition to the great movement and the history, it's one of the most legible watches around, and the design of the dial and minute hand is such that you can set it very accurately.

If the history is important to you, you have to go for the Professional (the moon watch). Just my opinion of course, but you'll hear the same from many others, probably more so on Omega and Rolex forums than on this one.

The Broad Arrow GMT is a great sports watch, no question, but it doesn't have the history and it also uses a variant of the 33XX movement, which has had something of a chequered history (I'm not expressing any view about it one way or the other). If you like the look and feel of the Broad Arrow, it's hard to go wrong, but I would always choose the Pro over it.

I read on here that one of the high points of Omega's is their heavy duty bracelets. I prefer straps, and this may be the only ss bracelet I keep in the collection, so this was sort of the whole reason I started the search. Can either of you confirm this?

I think Omega bracelets are very good. They are generally quite substantial, but not so much as Breitling bracelets. They use push pins instead of screws so they lose points with some people because of that.

Speedmaster bracelets are generally a bit lighter in construction than those on the Seamaster and Planet Ocean models.

All the Omega bracelets I've had have been very comfortable. Some models use a half link and have no fine adjustment mechanism, so some people have trouble getting the size exactly right.

The Speedmaster is a fantastic watch!! I wish the regular version where my size! My nearly 8" wrists make it look diminituve unfortunately! That said the watch looks amazing on 7" and smaller wrists.

Plus the history, value, and quality are all spot on IMHO. In fact it was the watch we bought for my nephew when he graduated and it has turned him into a watch nut!

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Certified watch nut.

I actually inherited a Speedy Pro Pre-Moon belonging to my uncle who was a race car driver, who passed away in 1971, the year I was borned.

Now that I am somewhat of a watch enthusiast, I have become very appreciative of the watch (which sits in my safety box for years!) and am interested in finding more information.

But mine is unusual in that it's a 1967 Cal with RED sweep hand. Most opinion is that the RED hand was not original, but I am thinking it was probably very difficult to find watchmaker with oem non-original Omega hands back in the 1970s, in Indonesia. And I am quite certain the watch has never been worked on nor serviced since his passing in 1971.

I was very happy when recently on WUS, a more experienced collector posted an identical watch to mine which he has just acquired, down to the RED hand! He also owns a Mark II, and said that the red hue of our '67 is NOT identical to the Mark II's red hand!

Just goes to show what a fun hobby this watch collecting is, and given the history, I say you can't go wrong with a Speedy! Good luck!

Forgive the iPhone pic (not Omega bracelet):

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a few Pams...

Judging by the signatures and the pics I have seen of all of your gear, the endorsement is pretty strong.

Not much of a decision from here on out. Just gotta decide now between which purchase gets preference for now ....The Speedy or the Navi.

I had to get one of those "pin guns." What a pain. I have the regular Seamaster bracelet and the "Bond" Seamaster. The Bond is much heavier but I prefer the regular bracelet. But the bracelet on the Speedy is my favorite. None are Breitling level but what else is?

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SHARKMAN

Agreed. I used to have the Bond bracelet and quite liked it - it is 20/20 I believe, whereas Speedy bracelets and the older style Seamaster bracelets like the one on your Great White are 20/18. My 22/20 PO bracelet feels heavier again.

I'm a bit late to the party on this one but I agree that the Speedmaster is an absolute icon and I really should own one! The only issue I have is that the only model that comes in a size that I like (44.25mm) comes with the 3313 movement which, as Otto pointed out, has something of a poor reputation. If and when Omega make a full in-house chronograph movement, and stick it inside that size of case with the same classic style dial, then I'll be snapping one up for sure. Until then..............

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Driver8

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