I thought it might be a good plan to introduce one of the most famous cult watches to this group of car lovers over at MotoringExposure.com. Every week, I try to feed them with interesting horological facts and articles and it took actually quite long (to my taste) to talk about one of my favorites, the Omega Speedmaster Professional.

Probably nothing much inside you didn’t already know about the Moonwatch, but you never know of course Click here for my article at MotoringExposure.

Introduced during BaselWorld 2009, the Omega Seamaster Ploprof 1200m (ref. 224.30.55.21.01.001) is slowly hitting the stores and becomes available for the large public. This remake of the original Omega Seamaster Professional 600m/2000ft that was introduced in 1971 (after 4 years of extensive test work) is – in my humble opinion – one of the best that Omega did so far. Remakes are dangerous, collectors are most of the time insulted by them because there is only little left of the original details, and buyers of modern watches often don’t get all the fuzz and don’t like the old-fashioned design. This Ploprof 1200m is probably pleasing both groups.

The Seamaster PloProf, with its impressive dimensions of 55m x 48mm x 17.5mm, got its name from the French term PLOngeur PROFessionnel as the team of developers of the original 1971 Seamaster Ploprof were French speaking. One of the nice characteristics of this watch is that it uses an in-house movement, just as the original Ploprof did in 1971 (caliber 1002). The movement, caliber 8500, is an automatic mechanical movement with a co-axial escapement and a 60 hour power reserve. It is exactly the same movement as used in the Omega DeVille Hour Vision.

The button on top of the watch case, that used to be red (plastic), is now orange. The diving bezel can only be turned when you press this button, this way, the bezel is always securely locked during your diving session(s). The big bezel and the large button are very easy to operate due to the size of them. I remember divers complaining about the (Bond) Seamaster Professional 2531.80, that the diving bezel was not very easy to grasp.

The crown protecting mechanism is essentially the same as the original 1971 600 meter diver, you have to unscrew the crown guard before being able to wind the watch and set the time and date. The difference is that the crown guard of the  current Ploprof 1200m stays in one piece instead of only unscrewing the top of the crown guard of the Ploprof 600m.

Another optical difference is the case back. Where the original case back has a striped relief to protect the watch against moving around on your wrist or on your diving suit, the new Ploprof 1200m has only a small surface covered with this relief and the center part if taken by the famous Seahorse logo that belongs to the Omega Seamaster (and Speedmaster) family. It also tells you that you have a caliber 8500 ticking inside which has the co-axial escapement, making sure that the movement does not need an expensive service every 3 – 5 years. All you need to do is bring it to the Omega dealer or a independent watchmaker that replaces the gaskets and is able to test your watch on water resistance.

As with all other Omega watches, Super Luminova is being used to illuminate the hour markers and hands. Furthermore, the bezel will be readable as well in the dark, as the numerals are lumed up as well. I actually don’t know if this will also be useful below the surface, but I assume Omega has thought this through.

If I have to sum it up, it is a very handsome diving watch, staying true to the original Seamaster Professional Ploprof 600 of 1971. With a price tag of 6140 Euro / 8300 USD (including the stainless steel mesh bracelet), it is an expensive watch. Is it worth it? Sure. I’d rather go with this one, than with the Rolex DeepSea Sea-Dweller for example. The Omega Seamaster Professional Ploprof 1200m has a lesser water resistancy, but is just as cool when it comes to the cult factor and corresponding looks. Remember that there is probably room to bargain as well. I also find the caliber 8500 movement to be very interesting, at least as interesting as the proven Rolex caliber 3135 (which is also present in Date-Just, Yacht-Master and Submariner models).

The price of an average conditioned vintage Ploprof 600 and a brand new Ploprof 1200 is not very different. However, if you take the possible discount on a new Ploprof into account and the premium price you have to pay for a mint condition vintage example (including box and papers) it is still serious money you have to additionally pay for a vintage example. Up to you, of course.

Thanks to Dimer of Ace Jewelers in Amsterdam for the incredible nice photographs, specially taken for this review at FratelloWatches. If you are an Omega Seamaster Pro PloProf fan, make sure to check-out http://www.ploprof.com/. A website dedicated to this diving monster, both old & new.

Alon Ben-Joseph of AceJewelers.com – friend of the show – did a very nice video review on last year’s introduced Omega Speedmaster Professional 40th Anniversary Limited Edition.

I love this version of the Omega Speedmaster Professional. The logo on the dial and special case back make it worth buying over most other limited edition Speedmaster Professional models. I have seriously considered buying this watch after it was presented during Baselworld 2009, but since I have had a few of these Speedies and cherishing my Speedmaster Professional pre-Moon caliber 321 the most anyway, I went for something completely different

Enjoy the video and don’t forget to give some feedback on it!

Part of the fun of collecting (vintage) wrist watches is buying accessories like watch boxes, straps, old advertisements, old catalogues, hats, instruction manuals etc. Just to complete your (vintage) watch or just to have fun. You can’t always spend hundreds or thousands of dollars/euros on a watch, so you’ll need to fulfil your horological needs otherwise. Hence, you are collecting all the stuff your girlfriend or wife sees as ‘crap’. I used to get some old National GeoGraphics magazines for example (1960s and 1970s) and cut out all the cool Omega / NASA advertisements (www.old-omegas.com is a very good reference for this)

A few weeks ago, I went to the watchfair in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is a quarterly event held in the Radisson-SAS Hotel and besides watches, there are quite a few merchants who carry booklets, straps, boxes, books and other watch accessories. I noticed that one of the merchants (a Dutch guy) had an Omega box for sale with a few pins. You know, these small things you can attach to your shirt or jacket. Omega created a few of these pins with a blink to the Speedmaster line and its involvement in the Moon landing. To my best knowledge, these pins were meant for people who bought the 1957 (50 years) edition of the Speedmaster Professional watch 2 years ago. I had noticed them last year during my visit to the US, but the jeweler didn’t want to sell them to me. Anyway, I managed to get two boxes a few months ago. I gave one away to my watchmaker (who is a total Speedmaster adept) and kept one for myself. See below for an example of these pins:

Anyhows, this particular merchant at the watchfair didn’t even blink when he showed the pricetag of 350 Euros. What an idiot. Ofcourse, everything has its collector’s value. A set of silver Rolex spoons by Bucherer, vintage catalogues, watch boxes, watch standards etc. But asking 350 euro for a box with a few pins that are still available at Omega (as a giveaway) is like the people on eBay asking a lot of money for actual watch catalogues. What’s wrong with some friendly giving and taking stuff that other people are looking for and didn’t cost you a penny? Or at least ask a reasonable price. If you want to fetch 350 euro for a box of pins that is still obtainable, put it in a safe for 15 years and try again.

About a year back, the owner of Richmenstoys had a nice Audemars Piguet carton outer box for a certain watch at his booth during a watch fair. A friend of mine was looking for such a carton outer box since a while, since the seller of his watch didn’t include the original one (sigh!). After asking what this carton outer box should cost him, the seller smiled and said “a can of soda”.

What the Speedmaster Automatic ref. ST376.0822 (also referred to as the Holy Grail Speedmaster) was for Chuck Maddox, is the Speedmaster Professional Moonphase (ref.3689.30.31) for me. This white gold Speedmaster Professional (yes, labelled ‘Professional’) was introduced during BaselWorld 1999 by Omega. In the same year I bought my first serious watch, which happened to be a Speedmaster Professional (caliber 321) as well.

Photo by FratelloWatches

The 18 carat white gold Speedmaster Professional Moonphase was only available for a limited time and commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Apollo XI landing in 1969. The caliber 1866 movement is based on Omega’s caliber 1861, which you probably recognize as being the handwound chronograph movement of the Speedmaster Professional. Caliber 1866 is based on Lemania caliber 1884, except that this one features a moonphase disc, a date and has a higher grade of finishing (as with Omega caliber 1863 used in the ‘Moonwatch’ models with display back).

Although this watch is in essence the same as the regular Moonwatch, the silvered dial and moondisc (silvered moon in relief on a metallic blue disc) makes this watch something special. The look of the 18 carat white gold case probably won’t be noticed by anyone as opposite to stainless steel, but the weight of this watch is significantly higher ofcourse. I love the feel of this white gold watch, but I would be hesitant to wear this time piece on a daily basis, since white gold is a bit more vulnerable for scratches (even though I am a desk-astronaut ).

Photo by FratelloWatches

The blued hands match nicely with the metallic blue moonphase disc. The date and moonphase can be corrected through the two pushers at approx. 10 o’clock, for which you will need a toothpick to set. The tachymeter bezel is like the regular Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch (ref. 3750.50),  made out of black aluminium ring.

Photo by FratelloWatches

This Speedy Moonphase in white gold was introduced (and delivered) with leather strap only. The single folding clasp is made out of 18 ct white gold ofcourse. As you can see above, the caseback has the same ‘The First Watch Worn On The Moon‘ inscription as the stainless steel Speedmaster Professional 3750.50. You can ask yourself if this makes any sense, since this watch is really different from the official NASA EVA watch. However, the original Moonwatch differs from the current steel version as well.

I could only find this watch in an Omega catalogue of 2000 which I had in my bookshelf. Later catalogues don’t include this watch anymore. The original list price for the ref.3689.30.31 moonphase Speedy was 9890,14 Euro. However, at the time of introduction, the Euro currency wasn’t ‘live’ yet, so the catalogue also prints the price tag of 21.795 Dutch Guilders. A normal stainless steel Speedmaster Pro was 3495 Dutch Guilders at that time.

So, having this watch here for a short period of time, only makes me want it more A quick scan on the internet learns me however, that this watch still doesn’t come cheap (if you can find one). I actually found a few of them for sale, and the one I noticed needs to fetch 8.450 Euro (or 11.914 USD). I think that you actually could get some discount back in 1999 when you bought this watch, so the price level didn’t change much. A solid (gold) investment so to speak.

I believe that this is one of the rarest Speedmasters ever, perhaps as rare as the Speedmaster Automatic ref. ST376.0822 (Holy Grail), Teutonic Speedmaster Moonphase (ref. 3450810) or the gold BA 145.022 Speedmaster, given to the astronauts, president, vice-president etc.

8.450 isn’t exactly change for me, so I need to look at some alternatives. Ofcourse, I know about the current Speedmaster Professional Moonphase in stainless steel and the first one in 1985 (ref. 145.0809), but these models do have the same chique appearance that the white gold 3689.30.31 has. Luckily, Omega introduced another Speedmaster Professional Moonphase in 1999 called the ‘Speedmaster Replica Moonphase’, based on the Broad Arrow 1957 replica model. On a nice leather strap, it approaches the white gold version well enough. However, the only downside is that the blue hands are not as discreet as they are on the white gold Speedy Moonphase.

Press Photo of the ref. 3575.20 by Omega

As you can see, the bracelet needs to be replaced by a leather strap However, the hour markers and hands are harder to replace. When the hour markers would be made out of white gold, it would be a lot better already. The dial looks awfully white here, but in fact it is ‘cream’ in the flesh. Omega’s catalogue photos didn’t do the watch any justice in 1999. This watch can be found in superb condition, complete with box and papers for below 3000 euro. List price was 4100 euro.

In 2001, Omega introduced even a better version though. The Speedmaster Professional Moonphase (Broad Arrow, ref. 3575.30) of 2001 is a variation of the model above, but with silvered or white gold hands, hour markers and a stainless steel bezel inlay. List price and going prices are comparable of the 3575.20 above. Both models ofcourse have the Omega caliber 1866 movement inside, with the same grade of finish.

Below, you’ll see a picture I found on the internet (somewhere) of the version I would love to own some time. And the price makes that owning this watch is more realistic than the white gold Speedmaster Professional Moonphase would be.

Fact is that I really love the metallic blued hands, baton shaped, like the original Moonwatch has. The silvered hands are nicer than the blued hands on the Broad Arrow version imho, but I wonder how readable the dial is. The bracelet needs to go ofcourse. I never understood why Omega is using these bracelets for the Speedmaster series. The vintage bracelets tapered a bit towards the clasp, which gave it a more classic look. This bracelet belongs to the Seamaster line, or other diver’s watch.

Thanks to Horloge Platform Nederland for lending me this white gold beauty! Make sure to read their review on this watch.

Tags: Lemania, Moonphase, Moonwatch, Omega, Speedmaster Professional