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It is Speedy Tuesday In the past, weve shown you a couple of Speedmasters with Moon Phase complications. There was the first Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase from 1985 that weve covered in August, the Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase Replica or Broad Arrow we did in July, the new Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase Aventurine in September and the platinum skeleton Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase we did in October.One of our readers from Germany, who is a serious Omega (Speedmaster) collector, submitted his trio of Moon Phase Speedmasters to us. We briefly mentioned all three of them in our Speedy Tuesday article in August about the Moon Phase watches (click here), but without prope [...]

Speedy Tuesday is here Although we love all the limited edition Speedmasters, mission patch models, X-33s, Flightmasters, Z-33, Moon phase etcetera etcetera models, we are the first ones to admit that some times it is just best to buy the original Moonwatch.The current Moonwatch is in our opinion the ref.3570.50 (as discussed and compared to a vintage Moonwatch in the recent past) but the real Moonwatch that has been used ON the Moon by Buzz Aldrin and other astronauts are the Speedmaster Professional models with reference number 105.012 and 145.012. At least, these are the reference numbers we know of. Perhaps during later missions the caliber 861 models (145.022) also might have seen the [...]

Omega Speedmaster 2915It is Speedy Tuesday today and I realized that we lacked putting the spot light on the very first Speedmaster model. This first Omega Speedmaster 2915, officially reference?CK2915, was designed by Claude Baillod when he was working in the team of Head of Creation Pierre Moinat.The high contrast dial was inspired by Italian race cars of that time, also explaining the very first advertisements of the Omega Speedmaster 2915, showing two sports car enthusiasts and their Speedmaster. As you can see, this Speedmaster is of course close family to the current Speedmaster models, but has some differences. The bezel is stainless steel instead of the black aluminum inlay and the [...]

2011 was the year of the Seamaster Planet Ocean, but 2012 was definitely a year packed with some cool Speedmaster news. Already in 2011, someone from the Omega staff briefly mentioned that a new Flightmaster alike timepiece was in development, but with a quartz movement. As it didnt seem appropriate to ask any further about it during the introduction event of the new Planet Ocean, I didnt even try to find out more.However, it kept me busy for quite some time as the Flightmaster (1969 till somewhere in the 1970s) had an odd shaped case that was very typical for that time period. Would it do well in 2012? It was clear to me that this would probably be the successor of the short-time produced S [...]

Speedy Tuesday is here This time we show you something special that one of our readers sent to us. Chris from Australia sent us photos of his Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase Skeleton. A platinum Speedy Pro that Omega created in 2003 together with master watchmaker Armin Strom.Armin Strom is well-known for his skeleton and engraving work and is responsible for this beautiful hand finished ref. AT145.0058 Speedmaster movement caliber 3604A.This movement, based on the Lemania 1884 is the skeletonized version of the Lemania 1874. A movement weve seen in other Speedmaster Professional Moon Phase watches as well, being Omega caliber 1866.Only 57 pieces have been made of this skeleton Spe [...]

Just recently, I wrote an article for the German WatchTime portal about Omegas Constellation and the uncelebrated anniversaries of both the original 1952 model and the 1982 Manhattan edition. Just now, I noticed this teaser image on Omegas Facebook page (over 200.000 fans today).In case youre not on Facebook or not one of the 200,000 people, below is the image they just released.For those of you who cant read German, I will re-post the English version of the Constellation article I did for WatchTime below. I guess some of the conclusions are old now (already), but it still gives you a nice overview of what happened with the Constellation collection through the years.Omega Constellation Unce [...]

An Astronauts Speedmaster!Fratellowatches is excited and proud to show you one of the actual astronauts Speedmaster Professional watches worn by Reinhard Furrer. Reinhard Furrer was one of ESAs astronauts during the Space Shuttle mission in 1985.On the 30th of October 1985, the Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from Pad A of Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. This mission, a Spacelab mission that was funded and directed by [West] Germany was nicked D-1 besides the official Space Shuttle program code STS-61-A. D-1 stands for Deutschland-1 and a part of this succesful mission was controlled by the German Space Operations Center in Oberpfaffenhofen (near Munich) in Germa [...]

Last Friday, Christies in London was having the 50 years of James Bond auction, where Bond fans could bid on officially used items in the famous 007 movies. We are of course especially interested in the watches that Bond wore in his movies.In Skyfall, 007 is again wearing an OMEGA Seamaster on his wrists. Both an Aqua Terra and a Planet Ocean, two sub collections of the famous Seamaster series. The Planet Ocean that Daniel Craig wore during the movie shoot, has been auctioned for the stunning amount ofe157,250 GBP (?$254,273 USD / CHF 236,473).There was a lot of rumor and gossip around this watch, as OMEGA kept it quiet for a long time which watch would be used in Skyfall. After it appeare [...]

Like every Tuesday, it is Speedy Tuesday If you own a Speedmaster, or a Speedmaster is part of your watch collection, at least wear it on Tuesdays It is also a very good reason (or excuse) to purchase a Speedmaster new, pre-owned or vintage of you dont have one yet.This weeks Speedmaster is the new Speedmaster Racing. Weve seen it during the BaselWorld 2012 show, when OMEGA showed it to us in their press booth. Luckily, every year OMEGA takes the time to give us a private viewing of their new collection. One of the watches that caught our attention was this new Speedmaster Racing.We say new, because there have been Speedmaster Racing models in the past as well. Like this new model, it is b [...]

There seem to be a lot of questions about the watch we are featuring today on Speedy Tuesday. The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonphase with Aventurine dial.Even on our favorite Omega Forum some people started to wonder whether it was a phantom Speedy or that it really exists. Well, weve definitely had it in our hands during our BaselWorld visit and in the meanwhile, weve seen a few photos floating around of this Speedy model for sale at a Californian Omega boutique.Although we like this Speedy Aventurine a lot, there are a few things that keeps us busy. First of all, the wording Professional on the dial seems a bit strange to us. Although it has definitely the same case shape as the Spee [...]

Speedy Tuesday is here I thought it would be nice to zoom in on the differences between a Speedmaster Pro from 1967 and a Speedmaster Pro from the current collection. We get a lot of questions per e-mail (and Facebook) about Speedmasters and which one people should get, so our comparison might help you (or them) to make the right decision.The Speedmasters pictured above are todays subject of Speedy Tuesday. On the left you see a 1967 Speedmaster Professional ref.145.012 and on the right a 2012 Speedmaster Professional ref.3570.50, both on [time correct] stainless steel bracelets and in their original Omega boxes.BackgroundI dont want to do the whole Speedmaster rehearsal here, as weve covere [...]

We know youve been waiting for Speedy Tuesday We know we have This weeks Speedmaster is a very rare model, a white gold 25th Anniversary Speedy that has been chronometer certified.This Speedmaster Professional Chronometer ref. BC 148.0062 (ref. 348.0062 with the white gold bracelet) was introduced in 1994 together with a version in stainless steel and a version in platinum. The white gold version is the only one that has been chronometer certified. It is basically a caliber 861 movement but since it was regulated to become a chronometer (and received chronometer certificates), it has been numbered 864. Omega also did some decorative work on this Lemania based movement.Just like the platinum [...]

Its Speedy Tuesday today and after the recent passing away of Neil Armstrong perhaps the most famous Speedy owner we thought we need to focus on a special Speedy. What would be better than to put a Speedmaster in the spotlight that has a moon and stars on the dial?Picture from Antiquorums Omegamania auction.One of our friends and avid readers of Fratellowatches sent us two pictures of his ref. 345.0809 Speedmaster Professional Moonphase. This particular model has been re-introduced in 1999 with some minor changes to the dial (and a modern bracelet). However, Speedy enthusiasts prefer the original model which has a somewhat cleaner dial and the famous reference 1450 bracelet.The movement in [...]

Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Limited SeriesWhen OMEGA introduced the Speedmaster in 1957, they never could have guessed that it would take off to these great heights. As far as we know from their own documentation and advertisements, it was a watch meant for those who needed to time certain activities. Sports or racing, it didnt matter. In this article we focus on the Speedmaster 50th Anniversary Limited series that Omega introduced 50 years after the original introduction.The brochure above shows a few early Speedmasters and there is no clue or hint about NASA or the Moon race. In all these years, since 1957, only small tweaks and updates were applied to the watch and it evolved to wh [...]

Gold Speedmaster Professional Limited Edition Moonwatch 1969Only 1014 have been made of this gold OMEGA Speedmaster Professional in 1969 of which 28 went to the White House and 26 of them were given to the NASA astronauts of that time. Number 1 was offered to President Nixon, but he declined it. This particular watch is on display in the OMEGA Museum in Biel.Above is a picture that I took of the Presidents watch when I was in Biel last year.Anyway, this weeks Speedy Tuesday is featuring this special gold Speedmaster Professional ref. BA145022 from one of our long-time readers. Originally bought in 1970 as you will see on the receipt. This watch was sitting in my mail box for a long long time [...]

Omega Speedmaster Professional Broad Arrow MoonphaseThis week's Speedy Tuesday pick is a Moonwatch with a Moon complication of one of our Italian fans. It all started in 1987 when Omega decided to put a moonphase Speedmaster on the market. In the end, they started up introducing three different Speedmaster models with a Moonphase: Two teutonic' models (1986) and one Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch' (1985) version with a moonphase complication. All three had the famous caliber 861 as a base movement and a moonphase module added to it, also known as the caliber 866 movement.As you can see, a beautiful composition of stainless steel, a silver dial and an 18 carat white gold bezel.Later on, i [...]

Omega Speedmaster Pro Gemini IVSpeedy Tuesday is here and this time with a Speedmaster Gemini IV limited edition of 2005 that commemorates the mission of 1965. During this mission, the first space walk of a NASA astronaut was performed by astronaut Ed White. Ed White was wearing his Speedmaster pre-Professional (ref.105.003) during the EVA and therefore the Speedmaster is considered to be the first watch into outer space.The blue dialed Speedmaster Professional Gemini IV not only has a dial and bezel that stands out, it also has a very nice caseback that commemorates the first space walk by Ed White. As you can see below, Omega has put the red NASA mission patch on the caseback of the watch, [...]

This year, it is 80 years ago that Omega became the official timekeeper at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 1932. During these 80 years, Omega has been the official timekeeper 25 times.The Games will start at the 27th of July and will go on for 17 days. Over 10,000 of athletes and officials from over 200 countries are participating in the Olympic Games in London. Omega's count down clock has been put in place in March last year and is rapidly approaching the start of the Games.Watch enthusiasts over the world are probably most familiar with the special edition watches that Omega has been introducing over the last few years. However, for the 2012 London Games, Omega did something really sp [...]

Speedmaster Professional Pre MoonIt is Speedy Tuesday today, which means it is our recurring topic: Speedy Tuesday Every week we pick a Speedmaster and put it in the spotlight here at Fratellowatches. This week, we have the follow-up model of the Speedmaster we covered here two weeks ago (click here).Our reader, who would like to stay anonymous, has this wonderful Speedmaster Professional Pre Moon ref.145.012 model that he purchased from the son of the original owner. The Speedmaster Professional Pre Moon watch was originally purchased on October 9th, 1969. Just a couple of months after the Moon landing. This Speedmaster Professional Pre Moon watch is complete with all documentation (and rec [...]

Omega Speedmaster 125Its Speedy Tuesday This weeks Speedmaster for our Speedy Tuesday is a bit of a strange duck in the bite, but has quite an interesting story to it. In 1973, Omega celebrated their 125th anniversary by introducing a limited edition Speedmaster 125 for this occasion. The Speedmaster 125 was the first automatic chronograph watch that was chronometer certified. The Lemania based caliber 1041 movement has only been used in this Speedmaster 125 watch and was based on the more common caliber 1040 movement.Enough for the tech-talk. As you can see on Omegas Extract of the Archives document pictured above, Omega limited the production of this Speedmaster 125 to 2000 pieces only. Yo [...]