The Omega Speedmaster Professional 311.30.42.30.03.001 Apollo 17 45th Anniversary was introduced at BaselWorld 2017 to mark the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission. In this post I’ll go over the various elements make this 1972-piece limited edition stand out.
The Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo 15 40th Anniversary is a limited edition of 1971 pieces. It was introduced in 2011 in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Apollo 15, which was the fourth of NASA’s six missions to land on the Moon – and the first in which the Lunar Rover was used.
The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 15 sports a couple of cool features that hint to the 1971 mission. The dial is inspired by the official insignia and sports a minute track in blue-white-red. In addition there’s a blue ring around the small seconds subdial at 9:00, and white and red rings around the 12-hour and 30-minute counters respectively. It’s quite subtle, yet it does stand out just enough.
The case back could very well be the main attraction of this Speedy. It’s embossed with an image of the Lunar Rover and the words “APOLLO 15” and “40th ANNIVERSARY”. The outer edge is engraved with “THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON”, “JULY 30, 1971” and the limited edition number. Look at it – isn’t it spectacular?
The watch in these pictures is owned by Alon Ben Joseph, CEO of Ace Jewelers. ‘I’ve been using a picture of the Apollo 15 as my desktop background ever since we first got to shoot it in the Ace Photo Studio. At the time of release it didn’t feel right to buy one of these limited editions for myself, as it would mean that one of our clients would not be able to have it. When one was recently offered as part of a trade at one of our boutiques it felt like a second chance, and I was finally able to scratch my itch for this beauty’ said Alon after I took it from his wrist for this shoot. ‘With it’s red, white and blue colors it’s a must-have for every Dutch Speedmaster collector’ he added with a smile 🙂 .
The watch in these pictures is NOT for sale.
The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch 3593.20.00 is a 1997 limited edition of 500 pieces created for the Italian market in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Speedmaster. WatchWorks Haarlem sent me a few pics of a NOS example they had in their collection not too long ago, which provided the perfect opportunity for a post on this beautiful Speedmaster specimen.
Omega Speedmaster Professional TinTin 311.30.42.30.01.004 – Omega Speedmaster Professional Japan 3570.40.00
This article was first published on December 11th, 2014
Courtesy of our friends at Ace Jewelers and their Ace Photo Studio, today we managed to get the rare (2004 pieces) Speedmaster Racing Japan and Speedmaster Racing TinTin together. We recon this is a rather rare occasion, although there are probably a few of you out there who own the both of them..
Omega Speedmaster 9300 – 9300 ’57 331.10.42.51.01.001
This article was originally published on August 12th, 2013.
With pictures by our friends over at AceJewelers.com, we thought it time for a small comparison between the two versions of the Speedmasters powered by Caliber 9300 that are available thus far: the Moonwatch 9300 and the ’57 9300.
You might have read in many reviews that the difference in size is quite big: 44.25mm for the Moonwatch versus 41.5 for the ’57. While to us it did appear that the ’57 is smaller at first glance, ‘less bulky’ might actually be a better term. Slimmed down perhaps. Or even trimmed down.
The bigger 3:00 and 9:00 subdials create somewhat of a trompe l’oeil. In full-frontal the ’57 appears more refined, carrying less heft – the lugs appear to be considerably thinner and the lack of crown protectors plays a major role as well. But to cut a long story short – the bezel width is near identical, as is the dial opening. Most of the mm’s we think are shaved off the case-band. That is – said protectors and the famous Omega curve that the Moonwatch 9300 does possess.
Omega Speedmaster 9300 311.30.44.51.01.002 – 9300 ’57 331.10.42.51.01.001
The bracelets couldn’t be more different, although both are based on the well-known three-bits-per-link design. The 9300 has the bracelet that we’ve come to know very well in the last two decades – with the subtle polished ridges on the mid links. The ’57 bracelet harks back to early bracelet used in the CK-2915, CK-2998 and other early Speedmasters. It seems rather elegant. It does feature huge polished areas, which we suspect are prone to desk diving marks.
Omega Speedmaster 9300 311.30.44.51.01.002 – 9300 ’57 331.10.42.51.01.001
As seen in this 3:00 profile shot, there is little to no difference in height. The ’57 measures in at 16.5mm, similar to that of the Moonwatch 9300.
Omega Speedmaster 9300 311.30.44.51.01.002 – 9300 ’57 331.10.42.51.01.001
This shot in particular displays the more refined and slim nature of the new bracelet. It suits a watch that is an homage to watches from days gone by rather well we think.
For prices, check out preferred Authorized Omega Dealer Ace Jewelers: