Iconic design, only just beaten by the Submariner.
Water resistance is negligible, hand wind isn’t a problem.
Anyone else thinks they where just a touch too small?
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I think this nails it for me.Originally Posted by stefmcd
Ignore all the space associations and it just a great design.
Iconic like the Rolex Sub, Breitling Navitimer and Heuer Monaco.
Not everyone feels as strongly, but it's a popular, long lived design which (special editions aside), the manufacturer has resisted messing about with too much (as is the case with those other designs, I mentioned).
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I noticed the moon watch before I really had a passion for watches. It grew on me he more I noticed people wearing one and eventually I bought one. I don’t wear it much as I prefer an auto and date but I’d never sell it. Timeless design.
Had a speedy Tuesday 1 for a while, if I were to get another one it would be a vintage with the step dial or one of the modern ck2998 variants
This might be a slightly controversial view, but I prefer the MK2. It retains the legibility of dial and excellent movement, but in a case that truly stands out and speaks to the late 60s / 70s futuristic view on space.
Positively poetic.
The doomed hesalite made me sad tho'...
As a clumsy git, it didn't read like a typo to me.
For me there are two elements to it.
One hand there is the design side of things. The watch is a classic. It’s like a Porsche 911 - basically been the same shape since Day 1 but with different editions. The same with a Speedmaster. Doesn’t wear too big, has a rich brand heritage, isn’t flashy, has a useful chronograph etc. I think it just works as a watch. Great design from a top brand = timeless classic and there are plenty of variations on this to suit everyone’s tastes.
For me, though I get not for everyone, there is also the attention to detail that comes from the space associations. The manual wind because automatic watches don’t work in in zero gravity. The hesalite because it is much tougher wearing etc, etc.
This is to say nothing of a watch with a history of great movements and accuracy.
I get so much joy every time I put mine on!
I can't think of any reason to buy one over a Zenith.
Price?
Mine was at least half the price of any El Primero!
I think that is a factor in their popularity, it's a relatively affordable watch (especially used) compared with anything else even as vaguely as recognisable.
M
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Last edited by snowman; 30th June 2020 at 11:08.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
History, price , extras ie box box straps etc, and biggest for me bracelet
I do plan on adding a El Primero to my collection but it would take a whole different place im my collection to a speedy
I was born in 1957 and not being quite able to afford a birth year SpeedmasterI settled for a Speedmaster '57 for my 60th birthday.
Yeah, but after the Submariner the Speedmaster is the most boring watch available IMO.
Not trying to troll those that love them, I just don't.
I reckon a lot of people find the sub and speedie a bit boring, they suffer from over exposure.
It's that exactly - That said, I don't know where everyone sees so many Speedmasters - I only know one other person with one and that's a reduced...
Subs are far worse for this as there are so many lookalikes, whether homages (like Steinharts) or simply simiilarly styled watches.
I must admit to feeling a little jaded when I see yet another Submariner thread, but that doesn't mean it's not a good watch or a perfectly sensible choice for that individual.
They only become boring because we see loads posted on forums, not because there's anything boring about the watch per se.
M
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Just never 'got' the Speedmaster, or why history is any kind of factor towards liking a watch or not. The Daytona is another one. It's an awful looking watch. Will never understand why it's so popular.
The history thing is a bit of a double edged sword. Buy a brand that is a homage and you get the grief because it's trying to be a (insert watch model), but buy a watch with actual history and clearly the manufacturer is guilty of milking it to death - sometimes you just can't win.
I do agree though, if a watch has a rich history and you dislike it, then it's a watch that you are unlikely to consider buying.
Last edited by Wallasey Runner; 30th June 2020 at 11:54.
Still got my reduced which was also my first proper watch, I paid £880 for it back in 2001. It’s not currently running so needs a good service once these strange times pass.
Cheers
Rory
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Yes true, good points. Tastes change though. I used to not like bezels on watches but have gone completely the other way now. Maybe if I tried on a Speedy...
I do however love the Speedmaster Mark II. I think it's the pop of colour on the dial, and the shape.
I thought it was a bit bland when I first became aware of it, then I saw the countless LE's and how Omega would pump the space association at every opportunity and it put me off if anything, but over the years I've come to appreciate the purity of the design and I love the case shape with the twisted lugs. The fact that it's stayed the same for over 50 years and it's basically a vintage watch you can buy new also appeals.
The only thing I don't like is the small crown making it hard to wind but that's a minor gripe. The stated WR isn't great but it's good enough for 99% of us and it has the same sealing/gasket arrangement as some watches with 200m on the dial, so I do wonder what the actual WR is...
Manual wind because the automatic chronograph hadn't been invented when NASA did the evaluations, and autos work just fine in zero gravity as William Pogue confirmed.
I tried one on and really wanted to like it but it just really didn’t do it for me. I get why others adore it, but just isn’t the watch for me!
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You have to wonder how they wound it with the space suits on...
I had a professional for a short while but just didn't gel with it, don't know why because I've had two pre-moon models for years and love them.
When I was in my teens, one of the neighbours, a friend of my father, and fellow air-cooled VW enthusiast, wore a Speedmaster.
He was one of the most intelligent men that I have ever met - Hungarian by birth, he escaped to the UK when "people started calling each other comrade". He had very limited knowledge of English, but was a physicist, and had quite an influence on me. We would work on cars together, and I learned a great deal from him.
He was particularly fond of his Speedmaster, and I learned about the Apollo missions from him, which, although I couldn't afford one at the time, made me want one of my own. Many, many years later, thanks to the miracle of Sales Corner, I managed to buy one, a "proper" Hesalite crystalled version.
It's tricky to wind, the crown is a bit fiddly, but on the other hand it's incredibly versatile. I have barely used the bracelet, but it's been on everything from a brown croc to a Nato. Nowadays it lives on an Omega Rallye with a deployant, which suits it perfectly.
If I have to choose just one watch for every purpose, given that I don't dive or participate in water sports, it would be my Speedmaster.
Although no trees were harmed during the creation of this post, a large number of electrons were greatly inconvenienced.
Tried on many of all eras, but never bought one for 3 reasons.
1) it’s manual.
2) not very waterproof
3) I don’t need a chronograph. if I did, then I would rather Dodane 21, Breguet Type XX, Blancpain Air Command or El Primo. I would however have a Speedy before a Daytona (excluding a Paul Newman dial).
Comparisons between a Submariner and the Speedmaster are rather pointless. A bit like comparing Apples with grapefruit.
Horses for courses.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
The breguet type XX is severely underrated, especially the 1990 tritium dial which is gorgeous.
Classic looks, evokes the 1960s perfectly. Superb design. Great size.
I’m now sitting with three of the boundahs
A brand new (last week) Moonie
A 2002 Reduced which Mrs McB bought me for a significant birthday.
A 2016 FOIS
Why do I have 3 of these???
So, I’m now going to offload the FOIS
Jim
Shame the Silver Snoopy was the one that went bonkers price wise whilst other LEs released around the same time turn up for Peanuts (see what I did there). I would happily own that one again if they were selling at normal second hand prices.
I *Should* love the speedy, it has all the tick boxes, history, space geek, large enough, enough variants to find something aesthetically pleasing, attainable price with a bit of self control, etc. However I've never looked at one and thought mmm I'll have that one day, it just doesn't grip me at all and I'm not really sure why. Maybe once all this madness is over with I should go and try one on.
Don’t get me wrong as it’s a lovely watch but I still don’t see how people are now paying up to £30k😲 for a Snoopy when there are better speedmasters around? Mind you, they’re not that easily to come by either I guess?Shame the Silver Snoopy was the one that went bonkers price wise whilst other LEs released around the same time turn up for Peanuts (see what I did there
They are if you have £30k going spare. The prices just keep going up and up so I can only assume people are still buying. There are a couple listed on Chrono24 from UK dealers. Having owned two, it is basically a £3.5k Moonwatch with a fancy dial and box set, hence its list price of £4.6k, but that's what it is, a £4.6k watch at best. One dealer had a Snoopy listed next to a Red Submariner and the Snoopy was more expensive - that just has to be stupidity on a grand scale.
Quite agree - Does anyone remember the ridiculous prices limited edition Swatches achieved in the 90s? Now probably landfill.
While I can see the value in an ST1, Apollo XI etc, the bragging rights from a 60s cartoon strip escapes me.
O Tempora O Mores!
Glad some of you agree about the Snoopy; I thought it was just me?!
Could that be down to tritium vs SL ?
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This is my opinion too. I have a Speedy Pro hesalite really only because I feel as though I should, that said I wouldn't want to be without it. There's no question it is a very well thought out and simple dial, so it still gets some wrist time here and there but I wouldn't say I feel any particular connection to it other than what is imposed by the wider watch community.
I can't say I like any of the special editions.
The only ones, other than the standard Moonwatch I'd have are a blue dialed one or a moonphase, but both look very much like the standard one.
Each to their own of course, I'm quite happy with mine, but I wouldn't buy one at full new price today (Equally true of most watches, though, to be honest).
In response to an earlier post, I don't think anyone (unless I missed it) was comparing Submariners and Speedmasters, just stating that both are very popular and perceived as over-exposed as a result (although, again, I don't recall last seeing a Speedmaster other than mine - Actually, I think Henry Catchpole was wearing one in a video I watched a few weeks ago - which isn't true of Submariners).
As for "I'd have an XYZ, before a Speedmaster" - I got my Breitling Cosmonaute before a Speedmaster. It was that watch's space connections that led me to the Speedmaster (When I first saw the Cosmonaute, I didn't know it was a 'space watch'), but I think both are excellent and, while the Breitling is the keeper, both are favourites. I had a Bulova 'moonwatch' reissue, briefly, but it's one of the few watches I've moved on, so it's not a case of being obsessed with 'space watches' (I don't actually know which other watches were used in space - I think there's a Seiko of some sort, hence the association with Pogue?)
All that said, there's nothing to say anyone has to like any watch, I wouldn't spend my money on a Submariner and I always find the Daytona a terribly disappointing watch, much as I wanted to like it (due to it's connection to the race whose name it bears).
Just because a watch is popular, doesn't mean you're wrong if it doesn't appeal to you, which seems to be the assumption (or at least the assumption that people think you are wrong) of some of those asking what the appeal is.
M
Last edited by snowman; 22nd March 2021 at 14:32.
Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
Probably a combination of that and the shape of the lugs.
To me the Panda dial tokyo 2020 Panda dial is one of the most balanced panda watches.
Again a Limited watch it's a perfect watch for me with the manual wind, sapphire crystal and illustrious history its a winner
I think it's just the perfect chrono. It's iconic, wears well and looks really nice on any strap or bracelet. Used to be good value also.
I've had a Speedy Date, the regular hesalite pro and now the FOIS. The FOIS seems to work very well for my slim wrists, wearing a bit smaller than the regular pro. Also the winding is easier on this one as this doesn't have the crown guards.
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