Omega’s holy grail retailed in 1987 for around 1500DM, as much as 750 Euro. Probably no-one would have guessed it would become the Holy Grail of Speedmasters. Chuck Maddox and Alexander Monkowius, amongst others, wrote in great detail about this watch. The Speedmaster Automatic ref. ST376.0822.

Once in a while you seem them for sale at a watch fair, watch auction or at one of the online sales corners. However, most of the time they probably change owners within a blink of the eye. This watch is wanted! Why? Because it basically houses in the classic Speedmaster Pro case and is powered by the classic chronograph movement caliber 1045. As a regular Fratello reader, you probably know that this caliber is based on the discontinued Lemania 5100 movement. A very succesful formula (as it seems now), but only produced for less than 2 years.

A while back, this watch went for sale in the sales corner over at ‘Das Rolex Forum‘ for a mere 2500 euros. About the price of a new Speedmaster Professional without any %’s off. However, this Holy Grail was completely revised by Omega in 2006. As good as it gets!

Whoever bought it, congratulations!!

I suggest people read this FAQ by The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH (FHS), before they go ahead and ask the same questions over and over again on forums. And, ofcourse, to prevent people from giving the wrong answers to those questions (over and over again). It explains about the ”Swiss Made T < 25", water resistancy, chronometers, chronographs, bezels and why some watches are much more expensive than the others.

Click here to go to the FAQ

A long long time a go, I removed the entire content of Omega-Addict.com after I discovered that the data traffic got a bit out of hand. Probably due to some linkers (eBay?), it went up to almost 40GB a month…  Anyway, since then, I got a lot of emails from ‘concerned citizens’ asking when it will be back online again. Well, today is the day Here you go!

Today I received this email from Nick Hacko:

“Hi Robert-Jan,
Nick Hacko here

I’ve just finished a web article that may be of interest to your
readers. Have a look at:
http://www.clockmaker.com.au/rolex/5513bracelet.html    

Take care and keep up the good work!

Nick
(Sydney)”

A very interesting article, especially for those who think their Rolex need no attention because it is a Rolex. The tips in the end on taking care of your precious watch is also quite useful. Enjoy!

A few days ago, I posted about the new Dutch Rolex Forum. In the mean while, it is on line and running. Although they seem to have had a few technical difficulties, the number of users and posts is growing every day. The RolexForum.nl site is managed by Peter, Karel and Gerard.

For the non-Dutch speakers, there are a lot of alternatives ofcourse. My personal preference is still the German ‘Das Rolex Forum‘. Here is a list of a few ‘known’ on line Rolex Forums. If you are into this brand, just give them a visit and decide what you like best

Das Rolex Forum (www.r-l-x.de) - German
RolexForum.nl (www.rolexforum.nl) - Dutch
The BJSOnline Rolex Forum (www.network54.com/Forum/380354/)
WatchUseek Rolex Forum (www.watchuseek.com)
The Ultimate Rolex Forum (www.newturfers.com)
TimeZone Rolex Forum (www.timezone.com)

Enjoy!

Finally, Baume et Mercier is back on the map (at least in my book). Their latest retro models are nicely done and will hopefully boost their image a bit. This Regulator (Regulateur) model breaths 1950s according to Baume et Mercier. A caliber 14070 Dubois-Dépraz based movement is ticking inside its 39mm stainless steel case. Price of this beauty is far from shocking, namely 1990 Euro (in Germany, it might vary worldwide). If you are into gold, Baume et Mercier also introduced a limited (176 pieces) Regulator with jumping hour, based on a caliber 14400 Dubois-Dépraz movement. The price of this one is a bit higher, 7200 Euro, but hey.. it’s gold! Both watches are water resistant up to 3 bar (30 meters) and come with an alligator strap. One slight note though… they should have left-out the date-feature. It ‘breaks’ the dial. So, B&M designers, remove the date window and re-position the printing to get it all ’synced’.

A Dutch fellow by the name of Peter took the initiative to start a Dutch Rolex Forum. I am pretty sure that there are a lot of Dutch Rolex collectors and fans. However, because a lot of Dutch people also understand the German language, I wonder if the Dutch Rolex Forum can get a few of those R-L-X.de visitors from The Netherlands into their new forum. I also wonder if the Dutch can keep the forum as friendly as the R-L-X forum is. Rolex Forums tend to attract people that can loose their temper quite easily As for now, the Dutch watch forums horlogeforum.nl and dezinvanluxe.nl seem to do allright!

 
Photo by Gerard from HPN.