Every Wednesday is Watch Wednesday at MotoringExposure, the blog for fast super cars and exotic cars. Although the watch related articles are most of the time less in-depth than the ones posted here at Fratellowatches, they are still worth reading for the intermediate and advanced watch collectors.

This week, it is all about the Omega Seamaster Professional Diver 300M, also known as the James Bond watch in times of GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day and Casino Royale. Although the SMP in GoldenEye was a quartz movement driven watch and the Casino Royale featured the more recent Co-Axial version, these watches are basically all the same (with some minor optical differences). In Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, the Seamaster Planet Ocean was introduced as Bond’s new watch.

Nevertheless, the Seamaster Professional Chronometer Diver 300M (ref.2220.80) remains available for customers, with its wave pattern dial, skeleton hands and 9-link bracelet.

Personally, I love this watch and it was the first ‘serious’ mechanical watch (ref.2531.80) that I bought, in the year 2000 (and sold it a few years later). You can find a more in-depth review of this watch (click here), that I wrote several years ago.

Enjoy the article over at MotoringExposure! Click here for the blog post!

From the press release by NAWCC:

On September 10 2010, the National Watch and Clock Museum will unveil for the first time a complete collection of all eight James Bond wristwatch models provided by Seiko UK! These eight watches have been identified for the “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches” exhibit by Mark Mills (former Technical Support Manager with Seiko UK).  Mills was Eon Productions’ contact person at Seiko from 1977 through 1985.

Dell Deaton of JamesBondWatches.com and Guest Curator for “Bond Watches, James Bond Watches,” was given unprecedented access to documentation and Mark Mills’ personal recollections with the support of Seiko Watch Corporation in Tokyo, Japan. Prior to Deaton’s initiative here, no one had ever conducted original research with the supplier to definitively identify model numbers, correct case references, and exact configurations for timekeepers worn in the 007 films.

Image courtesy of and copyright by Dell Deaton.

Actor Roger Moore wore a Seiko 150 meter, duo-display diver’s watch, model SPW001, case H558-5000 as James Bond 007 in the Eon Productions film “A View to a Kill” (1985).

——- end of press release excerpt..

Although I don’t have anything against Seiko (on the contrary), I do think that people responsible for product placement should have done their home work a bit better and should have realised that a Seiko isn’t very Bond, James Bond at all. Same goes for Bond’s cars though. James Bond shouldn’t wear a Seiko or an Omega and shouldn’t be driving in a BMW as well. Nothing wrong with these brands or products, but it just didn’t (and still doesn’t) fit.

Audemars Piguet always has been one of my favourite brands, especially their Royal Oak line make my horological heart tick faster. Since a year or so, I am the proud owner of a Royal Oak watch. The Royal Oak Date (ref.15300ST) at first, then after six months, followed by the ‘Jumbo’ cult icon (ref.15202ST).

The Royal Oak Off-shore Safari is on my wish list as well, as I am impressed by this time piece ever since I had the chance to review one from one of my sponsors. AP seems to enjoy the success of their popular RO and RO Off-shore a lot, organizing release parties with the rich and famous, sponsoring all kinds of events and charities and having a few rapping and acting ambassadors.

Although I don’t think there is anything wrong with that strategy, there is something wrong with the supposedly superb service that buyers of AP time pieces deserve, or, as I would like to put it, “haute service”.

A few examples from first hand: polishing an octagonal bezel to a round bezel, needing 10 weeks for regulating a movement and delivering it back with a dust pickle under the dial and even worse, there is this example of AP losing a watch from a customer. Of course, they replaced it with a new one but what if there was a personal engraving in the case back? Goner. AP charges serious prices for servicing a time piece, customers should therefore receive the best work possible.

My suggestion to AP is to skip a few release parties or drop an ambassador and invest in proper quality control before a repaired or serviced watch leaves their factory. Unfortunately, AP is not the only manufacturer that suffers from lack of “haute service”. There are numerous examples from first hand that include brands like Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre and a few smaller ones. I have to admit that in the end, most problems are solved, but it shouldn’t have come so far in the first place.

To be honest, the only brand that I would be totally comfortable with performing a repair or service overhaul, is the giant from Geneva, Rolex SA.

July is the month of Omega’s Speedmaster watches. Not only the Moonlanding will be celebrated (on the 21th of July 2:56 GMT), also the last Apollo mission which dates back to July 1975 is celebrated. The ASTP (Apollo-Soyuz Test Project) consisted out of a number of joint scientific experiments, but was – of course – mainly meant to see whether combined (manned) missions between two super powers would be possible in the future. Mission ASTP started on the 15th of July and returned on the 24th of July 1975.

Now, I think that my track record on blogging and writing about the Omega Speedmaster models is something I can be  a bit proud of, but I never took the time to document the Apollo-Soyuz special editions. If you are looking for a story on the ‘actual’ moonwatches, please make sure to read my article on the Speedies that have been used during the moon landing on the 21st of July 1969 (you can find there articles here and here).

Omega has commemorated the Apollo-Soyuz in 1975 with a Speedmaster Professional ref. 145.0022 restricted to a number of 500 pieces. This model had an inscription (engraving) on the back in both English and Russian. The dial had the red and blue Apollo – Soyuz logo at 12 o’clock. Once in a while, a vintage Apollo-Soyuz Speedmaster Professional pops up and can be had for approx. 10.000 Euro. Later on, in 1995 and 2000, Omega created another Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz special. Below the Speedmaster that Omega introduced in 1975, featuring the handwound Lemania based cal.861 movement:

As you can see, nothing much different from the original Moonwatch, except for the logo and the case back. The bracelet looks a bit like an Oyster bracelet from Rolex, but it is in fact an original Omega bracelet by the reference of 1168.

This year, Omega commemorates the 35 anniversary of the combined space mission by another Speedmaster Professional, ref. 311.30.42.30.99.001. An ‘ordinary’ stainless steel Moonwatch, but this time with an incredible looking dial made out of meteorite and a very impressive engraving in the case back of the watch. My friends over at Watch-Site (on-line dealer) lend me this amazing Speedmaster Pro Meteorite to play with and – of course – take some pictures of it.

This watch has all the features of the current stainless steel Moonwatch, including a sapphire crystal instead of the more ‘authentic’ Hesalite crystal. As you can see, the dial is made out of a dark coloured piece of meteorite and the sub dials have this grey-ish colour. Also made out of meteorite of course. The dial is just stunning, unfortunately the blue-ish glare on the picture above is caused by the anti-reflective coating. Below, you can see a close-up of the dial from a high-res picture I took:

The cool thing about a meteorite dial is that no dial has the same structure. Of course, we’ve seen dials made out of meteorite before (like the Rolex Daytona as you can see here at Hodinkee) but this time it makes a bit more sense. The case back of this Speedmaster Professional Apollo-Soyuz, keeping the hand wound caliber 1861 safe and sound, has been engraved with the two space crafts from both the USA and the Sovjet Union and the names of the cosmonauts and astronauts involved (Alexey A. Leonov, Valery N. Kubasov, Thomas P. Stafford, Vance D. Brand and Donald K. Slayton).

The two astronauts and the cosmonaut on the front row are clearly wearing Omega Speedmaster watches on the picture above. At least I could identify them on the full size version of this picture, without a doubt. Below you can see the case back bearing the engraving of the space crafts as pictured above as a ‘model’ in front of the flight crew.

Omega really makes this Apolly-Soyuz or ‘Speedy Meteorite’ stand out from the regular models, the box has this meteorite colour and has a nice leather interior. You need to push a button before the box will open, and then the watch is located on a leather pillow on the left and the Apollo-Soyuz emblem is located on the right part of the box.

I didn’t photograph the white card board outer box, as you probably can imagine what it looks like. The booklet and papers of this watch are located in the card board box, as well as the certificate stating the unique number of the watch (of a total of 1975 pieces world wide).

The watch wears very comfortable, and I actually find it more comfortable than the original Moonwatch with Hesalite crystal. I own a 145.012ST (caliber 321) from 1967 which weighs significantly less than this sapphire crystal model (the bracelet of the modern versions are also heavier of course).

For the rest, the watch wears and behaves like any other similar Speedmaster model. The Lemania based movement is hand wound and based on the original 861 caliber (now 1861), which has proven itself over the years of its use (since 1968). The crown winds very easy and softly and the watch immediately starts to run. The chronograph uses this shuttle cam system (as opposed to a column wheel construction) and starts, stops and resets by pressing the buttons gently.

After studying the watch for a couple of hours, I realized that I actually like the red printing, as well as the applied logo (old school style!). This watch could easily be mine, without a doubt. And its price? It lists for 6150 Euro here in The Netherlands (check your own local dealer for a price, although it probably does not differ much) which I think is quite steep for a Moonwatch with a meteorite dial. Does the 3000 Euro extra is justified for a special dial and engraving, limited to 1975 pieces?

If you are a collector of Speedmasters, it probably is. Watch-Site offers this BNIB model for 5250 Euro which is already making it a bit easier to decide. One could say the regular ‘Moonwatch’ is priced below its real value, which I tend to under write. The regular ref. 3570.50.00 retails for just over 2700 Euro, with a Hesalite crystal that is. The Speedmaster is one of the most (or is it just the) iconic chronograph watches there is. In my opinion, it is even a more ‘clean’ and interesting chronograph than the famous Rolex Daytona. The classic design of the Speedmaster is impeccable and has proven itself for over 50 years now.

As I am writing this, I realize that I am trying to find enough arguments to justify the approximately 5K for this superb Speedmaster Pro ‘Meteorite’, but you know what? I don’t have to. It simply rocks.

If you already have an Omega Speedmaster (pre-Professional) in your collection, make sure to wear it the next coming days.

“This is not an elegant dress chronograph, this is a bruiser of a tool watch and likely will not fit under anyone’s shirt cuff unless you have a wrist the size of Michael Jackson’s and are wearing Arnold Schwartzenegger’s shirt.” – Chuck Maddox (27th of May, 2003)

Photograph by Chuck Maddox

A few weeks ago I was in New York City and met with Bill Sohne (collector of fine time pieces and moderator of the Omega forum of PuristsPro) for a coffee and a small chat about watches. We discussed a lot of watches, including this Omega Seamaster Professional Chronograph in titanium (ref.2298.80) he bought, also known as the SeMPC Ti. Bill told me that during his long friendship with the legendary Chuck Maddox, he had to hear about this SeMPC Ti every once in a while, as it was one of Chuck’s favourite watches to wear or at least to have in his ‘rotation programme’. Also, Bill told me that he did a write-up on this watch just recently for his forum, on the 2nd anniversary of Chuck Maddox passing (click here to read it) on the 12th of May.

As Chuck once wrote for a mailing list regarding Omega watches: “……there are some that are kept close at hand because they are favorites.  I have a couple of 3-position cases that I have “go-to” watches,  I have three Omega Go-To’s: My SeMPC (my all weather watch of choice if the forecast is for heavy weather), my 145.012-67 c.321 Pre-Moon, and my 1950′s no-Model Omega square pusher (mainly because it’s bracelet is of a length I can wear it on either wrist). “Listening to Bill, I realized that I recognized his story pretty well. From 1999 till 2008, I had a lot of contact with Chuck Maddox. Mostly by e-mail and AIM and not always with the same frequency, unfortunately. He had mentioned his SeMPC Ti to me, but as it was made out of titanium and has this ETA/Valjoux 7750 movement, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Both are not my style, at least I thought so. In 2000, I tried the stainless steel version of this watch, but besides being beyond my budget, it was too thick to fit under my cuff. I went for the ‘James Bond’ ref.2531.80 (which I reviewed here, in 2000) instead.

When I got back home from New York, I immediately started looking around for a SeMPC Ti diver watch. I also visited the ChronoMaddox website and read this article Chuck wrote in 1999, about this exact same watch. His enthusiasm about this watch works very catching, at least to me. In the following quoted paragraph, Chuck sums up the ref.2298.80 SeMPC Ti:

“The Seamaster Pro Chronograph is attractive because it is the watch that “has it all”… Chronometer rating, Automatic Winding mechanical movement with excellent durability and parts availability, Chronograph, Calendar, Helium Release Valve, Sapphire Crystal, an absolutely incredible bracelet w/divers extension & twin push button safety release, non-slip caseback, available in a variety of material’s: dial/bezel colors, great water resistance rating, and the show stopper: the unmatched ability to operate the chronograph underwater without compromising the Water Resistance of the watch. No other mechanical watch boasts that feature. Jeff Huber and I (among many many others) say it’s the best sports chronograph on the market, and you know what… People don’t argue that point with us.”

After a day of strawling the auction sites, Chrono24 and a list of on-line dealers, I actually found one on an on-line Dutch marketplace. Located at a jeweller store nearby my home town, I immediately made an appointment to go there and check-out this SeMPC Ti.

To make a long story short, I bought it for a fair price, including the box and booklets. No warranty card unfortunately, but the 6,00,xxxx number tells me it is dated 1996 (correct me if I’m wrong). Although I thought that this watch would be a nice homage to Chuck Maddox, I actually find myself wearing it quite a lot.

The bracelet looks a bit out dated (introduced in 1993), it wears comfortable. Same goes for the titanium, although I don’t like watches that are too light for their size, this one is actually still a heavy weight at 142.7 grams. At least compared to my other time pieces. The Valjoux 7750 movement was probably the biggest hiccup, but the wobble is not as annoying as I thought it would be. For the readers unfamiliar with this movement, it only winds in one direction and the rotor spinning in the other (free) direction results in a wobble on the wrist you might feel and could consider it annoying.

It seems that I can live with all these facts after all Chuck was right in his summary quoted above, it is a chronograph that has it all.

Photograph of my own SeMPC Ti Diver, on top of Kreuzer’s ‘Omega Designs’ book.

Although the late Chuck Maddox will forever be linked to Speedmasters and vintage Heuers, together with Bill Sohne I consider this ref.2298.80 SeMPC to be the Chuck Maddox Homage Watch.