Omega’s Speedmaster is the most desirable watch on the planet. Discuss.
There’s a strong case for saying so, because ever since Rolex prices and availability entered the stratosphere, the Speedmaster is the one true ‘grail’ watch that a lot of people can attainably afford. And while those Rolex costs may be stratospheric, the Speedmaster has – famously – actually gone to the moon.
Until Elon Musk’s dreams come true, it’s still pretty hard for mere mortals to get to the moon though – so the latest Speedmaster instead brings the moon to you. That’s thanks to the new Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite, which gives you a choice of not one, but two meteorite colours, in black and grey.
Go on, pick a meteorite. Any meteorite…
Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite
Whichever one you choose (and the lighter version with the blue bezel for me is the more compelling) you’ll get a stunning watch: one that looks like it quite literally just fell to earth.
At 43mm this is an imposing timepiece that holds a unique party piece, being the first Speedmaster to display lunar cycles for nearly 10 years. From both the northern and southern hemispheres, no less. However, it's still smaller than every Speedmaster Moonphase (known as ‘Speedy Moon’) that came before it, which used cases just over 44mm.
And a big part of the charm of this latest watch is how it blends a very classical complication with the latest Speedmaster aesthetic. The two moons that you see are made out of genuine moon meteorite, whereas the dial is made out of iron meteorite. This of means that no two watches are exactly the same.
But the real magic, aside from the relatively compact packaging of a lot of complication, lies in the way that the moons reveal the changing illuminations seen in the northern and southern hemispheres.
And those stars you see in the background form exactly the same pattern as they did on the night that Apollo 11 reached the moon in 1969 (with several Speedmasters on board) as seen from Omega’s headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland. So in its own way, this watch is something of a time machine as well.
While brand new, Omega’s 9914 movement is equally old school, relying on a manual wind (just as Neil Armstrong did). You can see it at work through a display case back, faithfully delivering 60 hours of power. The hands are 18-carat white gold, adding to the obvious prestige of what already looks like an iconic timepiece, with the brushed and polished bracelet setting everything off nicely. And that’s the only bit of bad news, as this is definitely a high-end watch, which is priced accordingly. You’ll need around
£14,000 to own one but there’s no particular rush, as this Speedmaster is now joining the (upper end of) the permanent collection.
But you know what? It’s probably worth the premium, as the overall look and feel seems to be not only stunning, but absolutely cohesive. The problem with most meteorite watches is that they are slightly gratuitous, but here the connection makes so much sense that it’s almost visceral.
First impressions are overwhelmingly positive. The goal now is to get hold of one for a proper hands-on review…
