Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

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rockmastermike
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Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by rockmastermike » Tue May 30, 2017 8:21 am

Oh, the irony.....the first Speedmasters were built as racing watches when Omega threw their hat into into the NASA testing and the rest, as they say, is history. After several missions, Omega got feedback from Astronauts and NASA about changes they wanted to make to the "Moonwatch"

1) a crystal that wouldn't be prone to "pop off"
2) a sturdier bezel insert
3) a case without as many edges

To which, Omega designed the MKII to address these requirements - unfortunately, time ran out and by time the MKII's were ready for evaluation, the was no longer a need. Ironically, the watch that became the Moonwatch was never designed or intended to go to the moon while the watch that was designed to meet NASA requirements never made it to testing.

The good thing is the Mark II's were released to the public and, not as popular as the moonwatch, became a cult classic with either the black/white or grey/orange dial configurations.

This review is not meant to be a "spot the difference" between the vintage and modern so I'll just touch on it briefly and then take a tour of the reissue.

1) Modern Tachy Bezel is not as wide giving more exposure to the beautiful dial
2) Both have orange markers on the racing track but the Vintage has an orange "lap" on the track, the modern has an orange ring beneath the bezel
3) Modern Movement upgraded
4) (very) slight difference in case specs
5) Date in the Modern dial
6) "professional" on the vintage dial replaced with "Co-Axial Chronometer" on the modern dial

Photo from ABTW:

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Now that's covered...moving into the modern reissue

For the movement nerds:

Calibre 3330 is an automatic chronograph movement by Omega based on the ETA 7753 but with the addition of a column wheel chronograph switch and Co-Axial escapement, Free sprung-balance equipped with Si14 silicon balance spring. Officially certified chronometer.
Power reserve: 52 hours

The case exhibits a glorious combination of radial sunburst brushing on the top, a polished transition case line to a tradition brushed sides to another layer of polished case before hitting the case back - unimaginably well executed and beautiful (Also not the "new" bracelet with screws instead of pins)

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Moving around the case to the back notice the Date corrector push button on the left side of the case (and the nice detail of a polished surface separating the side from the caseback - nice touch by Omega, in my opinion)

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The caseback reveals the historic polished omega hippocampus and Omega symbol and text around the outer edge indicating Column Wheel, Si14, 100m, the anti counterfit globe

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The Tachy bezel has lume underneath the track. The bezel is black with cut out numbers to allow the lume to shine up through the numbers - a sandwich bezel and really, really cool. Love the depth and 3-D effect

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And the lume is amazing

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Dial details: the orange ring beneath the tachy bezel is only visible at an angle (not straight on) and seems to "glow"
Honestly, I was not convinced about this before buying it but can 100% say it is way cool. It is not a gimick and ads to the overall experience

The subdials are sunk and have concentric rings - love and love

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Hour and Minute hands are "blacked out" at their base giving them a "floating" appearance on the dial

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Chronograph hands are all orange - central, minute and hour totalizers while the running seconds is in white for visual separation of functions

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Depending on angles and lighting the tachy bezel can look solid black or translucent and the dial can go from light to dark grey

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On the wrist it wears incredibly comfortable....I've worn SS, Ti, ceramic and this fits and wears well. The case size is:
42.4 across, 46.2 tall and 15.2 thick

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Last edited by rockmastermike on Tue May 30, 2017 10:40 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Chocodove
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by Chocodove » Tue May 30, 2017 8:25 am

Uh Mike, your photos are...amazing :salute:

Excellent review as always. I actually never knew the history of these.
- Todd

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Jeep99dad
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by Jeep99dad » Tue May 30, 2017 8:36 am

I really enjoyed the review and your awesome photos. I also learned something
Thanks Mike


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Merde Alors! Et Vive Les Francais! :)

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streetracer101
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by streetracer101 » Tue May 30, 2017 8:40 am

You obviously enjoy writing these reviews and it shows. Have you thought about trying to get one of these watch blogs to publish them?

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jimyritz
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by jimyritz » Tue May 30, 2017 8:53 am

Nice Review Mike-- I have always liked this one...Any issues with changing the date?

Thanks
Mike

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hoppyjr
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by hoppyjr » Tue May 30, 2017 9:00 am

^ I agree with Rob.


I've owned this watch and wish I'd have kept it.

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mattcantwin
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by mattcantwin » Tue May 30, 2017 9:35 am

Amazing how much of the watch I haven't "seen"; great post. :thumbsup:
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rockmastermike
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by rockmastermike » Tue May 30, 2017 10:57 am

Todd - thanks for the comments about the photos - iPhone 7 and an OlloClip that snaps onto the case

Brice -I learned a few things nosing around the web when doing "research"....if you call web surfing research :) and glad to return a fraction of the knowledge I've been given here

Matt - thanks, hopefully showing details can add alternative thoughts a "broad brush" or "crowd-think" opinion. Also, cool details on a cool watch are cool

Rob/Mike/Hop - thanks guys - yes, I do enjoy when I doing these when the spirit moves me and if any of them see these and want to cut and paste I think that would be great.

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dnslater
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by dnslater » Wed May 31, 2017 4:34 am

Great review! Does this wear much larger than the Speedy Pro? If I ever got rid of my Pro, this would be the reason.

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rockmastermike
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by rockmastermike » Wed May 31, 2017 5:53 am

dnslater wrote:
Wed May 31, 2017 4:34 am
Great review! Does this wear much larger than the Speedy Pro? If I ever got rid of my Pro, this would be the reason.
it's been a long time since I've worn a Pro but the Pro wore longer lug to lug and the MKII is a little taller in the saddle but not by much.
It's the case shapes that factor more than just static specs but both wear comfortable to me.
The side profile of the Pro is case, bezel and bezel (the "edges" NASA wanted to address) while the MKII is flatter on the sides.
But again, they both are eminently wearable

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gr8sw
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by gr8sw » Thu Jun 01, 2017 1:10 pm

awesome review and insane pix, RMM :salute:

definitely a winner of a re-issue... speaks a lot more to me than a regular Pro :stir:
‘I don’t worry about a thing, 'cause I know nothing’s gonna be alright’ Mose Allison

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Danny_T
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by Danny_T » Thu Jun 01, 2017 2:34 pm

Great review

Killer pics

And totally fabulous watch


I'm never letting mine go. It's my second son's birth year watch and will be his when he's ready to appreciate it.

Your review pretty much nailed what I feel about it as well. Nicely done RMM
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by dukerules » Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:28 pm

Great review!

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aikiman44
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by aikiman44 » Thu Jun 01, 2017 3:36 pm

Incredible pics and review.
"We'd better synchronize our watches."

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rockmastermike
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by rockmastermike » Thu Jun 01, 2017 4:11 pm

Thanks - now someone buy my PO :lol:

Seriously, I appreciate the kind words.

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greenlightning
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by greenlightning » Thu Jun 01, 2017 8:04 pm

Great review, as always. I'd like to check this one out in person. I like the bezel cutout with Lume.

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BBK357
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Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by BBK357 » Fri Jun 02, 2017 6:24 am

Your pics are incredible and I love the lume
DEATH FROM ABOVE
:ak:

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59yukon01
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by 59yukon01 » Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:16 am

Nice read and pics! You sure you're not a paid professional?

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sierra11b
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Re: Fit to Purpose - The Speedmaster Mark II Reissue

Post by sierra11b » Sun Jun 04, 2017 12:40 pm

Great review.

I specifically remember this exact mkii popping like a beacon of light (with quoir in the background) at the Roseville, CA boutique window shopping case.

They nailed this one.

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