Like many others in the rep game, I was on a mission to find a moonwatch. I read through this fantastic thread about 3 times trying to piece together the bits and bobs.
During my research, I stumbled across this article on Hodinkee, which mentioned the reference 2998, in production from 1959-1963. It was this reference that was the first Omega worn in space by Wally Schirra in October 1962.
This watch had the legendary calibre 321 movement. This model abandoned the broad arrow hands and adopted alpha hands (aka leaf hands) on the main dial and subdials. Over the various reincarnations of this model, the subdial hands evolved to be the ‘stick’ version that are seen in the modern version. Over the 4 years of its production life, the 2998 went from the ‘Base 1000’ to ‘TachymÃ[emoji767]tre 500’ on the bezel insert.
In 2013, Omega released a special edition Speedmaster that was a nod to earlier versions, with many features reincarnated from the 2998 reference.
This watch was replicated and I decided to go with this version based on its history as well as the aesthetics of the sunken subdials and raised plexi, which are an indispensable part of the moonwatch’s identity for me. I purchased it from Torobravo, who delivered as faithfully as always.
While waiting, I stumbled upon @gsxcbr1 ‘s thread on his vintage build of the very same model. While I didn’t want to vintagise mine, it was a goldmine of information and inspired me to purchase a gen plexi from Cousins UK (part number PW5139), which honestly made all the difference to the end product. I shipped it up to @marrickville in Sydney, who did an awesome job and who I can’t recommend highly enough.
On to the pics…
First impression was ‘wow’…
The gen crystal really makes it pop.
Of course the subdial spacing is off because the ST19 can’t get them close enough. I’ve heard some members say it destroys the symmetry of the dial, they can never get past this although they try to accept it, and eventually go gen. I will probably also go gen in a few years, but as long as I’m a poor student, I don’t really have an option and this is a damn beautiful dial in its own right.
I’ve heard the ST19 movement described as ‘bulletproof’ and a ‘workhorse’, which is more reassuring than the fragility of an A7750. One problem is that the subdial at 6 is a 24-hour hand, rather than a 12 hour chrono hand as per the gen.
The beauty of this watch compared with other ST19 moonwatches is that the subdial at 6 comes frozen. You can get other versions modded to freeze the 6 subdial, but this version comes like that out of the box.
The subdials on this watch are a beauty to behold. They have a slope over the course of the subdial indices down to a plateau in the centre that gives a nicely scalloped out effect. It's quite similar to the gen in this respect.
The minute and hour hands are the alpha/leaf hands that capture the quintessential 2998 reference. The have central lume, which is wider on the hour hand, surrounded by stainless steel. They capture the light really well and are easily read.
The subdial at 9 is the running seconds hand. It is also an alpha/leaf hand, to be consistent with the hour and minute hands. Having different hands on the various subdials is a departure from the original 2998 movement, although it makes sense to have the hour, minute and second hand matching, while all the chrono hands match each other to make reading the time easier. The running second hand is subtly peaked like an A-frame roof, meaning it is sometimes hard to read and I need to tilt my wrist 10 degrees or so to catch it in the right light.
In contrast, the chrono seconds hand and the subdial chrono minutes at 3 o’clock all have the stick hands (which match the non-functional faux hour chrono hand at 6 o’clock)
It’s important to note that the Speedmaster was originally designed as a racing watch, with the subdials based on the dashboard of an Italian racing car. With this in mind, it’s pleasing to appreciate the hour indices. They’re actually quite generous without dominating the dial. As a chronograph, it’s quite easy to read the exact time and be precise about how much time has elapsed (which is good for obsessive compulsive personality disordered people such as myself). You can easily read the 1/3 minute indices without much effort.
The 'Ohm' logo is stuck on like seborrheic keratosis, unlike the ‘Omega / Speedmaster’, which is painted on the dial. This makes the symbol really ‘pop’ off the dial.
The gen crystal really finishes it off. I originally went with this model because it came with a raised plexi out of the box. However, this was quite ‘squarish’, in that it was raised, but peaked quite quickly like a table top pleateau. The gen crystal is more rounded and ‘moonlike’ for lack of a better word. It’s hard to capture in pictures, but it makes all the difference. Also, the gen crystal has a black ring at its base, so the rehaut looks smaller and more gen-like. (I’ve seen some people painting the rehaut black to overcome this, but I’d recommend just getting a gen crystal instead).
Original crystal:
Gen crystal:
It’s so bulbous
The case measures 39mm without crown, which is true to gen, but is quite small by today’s standards. A big part of that is because there are no crown guards, consistent with the original 2998 reference. In fact, the lack of crown guards is quite a striking feature of the watch. It actually wears more like a 40-42mm on account of this.
The crown is lovely. Engraved with a generous omega logo. Not much else to say really.
The bracelet is honestly nothing special. I’ve bought cheapies off Aliexpress and they honestly feel the same as this. I’d love to put it on some vintage leather, but it’s a 19mm lug-width and I don’t really have any 19mm straps, so I’ll have to wait. The bracelet looks ok, but it feels a little cheap and flimsy.
Similarly, the case back is ok. It’s got a sort of waffle pattern on it. I honestly don’t know how faithful it is. I wish it had a transparent caseback to see that ST19, which I really feel is a pretty movement.
But that crystal…
Looks great on vintage leather
Or a nato
And can easily be dressed up
Thanks for looking!
During my research, I stumbled across this article on Hodinkee, which mentioned the reference 2998, in production from 1959-1963. It was this reference that was the first Omega worn in space by Wally Schirra in October 1962.
This watch had the legendary calibre 321 movement. This model abandoned the broad arrow hands and adopted alpha hands (aka leaf hands) on the main dial and subdials. Over the various reincarnations of this model, the subdial hands evolved to be the ‘stick’ version that are seen in the modern version. Over the 4 years of its production life, the 2998 went from the ‘Base 1000’ to ‘TachymÃ[emoji767]tre 500’ on the bezel insert.
In 2013, Omega released a special edition Speedmaster that was a nod to earlier versions, with many features reincarnated from the 2998 reference.
This watch was replicated and I decided to go with this version based on its history as well as the aesthetics of the sunken subdials and raised plexi, which are an indispensable part of the moonwatch’s identity for me. I purchased it from Torobravo, who delivered as faithfully as always.
While waiting, I stumbled upon @gsxcbr1 ‘s thread on his vintage build of the very same model. While I didn’t want to vintagise mine, it was a goldmine of information and inspired me to purchase a gen plexi from Cousins UK (part number PW5139), which honestly made all the difference to the end product. I shipped it up to @marrickville in Sydney, who did an awesome job and who I can’t recommend highly enough.
On to the pics…
First impression was ‘wow’…
The gen crystal really makes it pop.
Of course the subdial spacing is off because the ST19 can’t get them close enough. I’ve heard some members say it destroys the symmetry of the dial, they can never get past this although they try to accept it, and eventually go gen. I will probably also go gen in a few years, but as long as I’m a poor student, I don’t really have an option and this is a damn beautiful dial in its own right.
I’ve heard the ST19 movement described as ‘bulletproof’ and a ‘workhorse’, which is more reassuring than the fragility of an A7750. One problem is that the subdial at 6 is a 24-hour hand, rather than a 12 hour chrono hand as per the gen.
The beauty of this watch compared with other ST19 moonwatches is that the subdial at 6 comes frozen. You can get other versions modded to freeze the 6 subdial, but this version comes like that out of the box.
The subdials on this watch are a beauty to behold. They have a slope over the course of the subdial indices down to a plateau in the centre that gives a nicely scalloped out effect. It's quite similar to the gen in this respect.
The minute and hour hands are the alpha/leaf hands that capture the quintessential 2998 reference. The have central lume, which is wider on the hour hand, surrounded by stainless steel. They capture the light really well and are easily read.
The subdial at 9 is the running seconds hand. It is also an alpha/leaf hand, to be consistent with the hour and minute hands. Having different hands on the various subdials is a departure from the original 2998 movement, although it makes sense to have the hour, minute and second hand matching, while all the chrono hands match each other to make reading the time easier. The running second hand is subtly peaked like an A-frame roof, meaning it is sometimes hard to read and I need to tilt my wrist 10 degrees or so to catch it in the right light.
In contrast, the chrono seconds hand and the subdial chrono minutes at 3 o’clock all have the stick hands (which match the non-functional faux hour chrono hand at 6 o’clock)
It’s important to note that the Speedmaster was originally designed as a racing watch, with the subdials based on the dashboard of an Italian racing car. With this in mind, it’s pleasing to appreciate the hour indices. They’re actually quite generous without dominating the dial. As a chronograph, it’s quite easy to read the exact time and be precise about how much time has elapsed (which is good for obsessive compulsive personality disordered people such as myself). You can easily read the 1/3 minute indices without much effort.
The 'Ohm' logo is stuck on like seborrheic keratosis, unlike the ‘Omega / Speedmaster’, which is painted on the dial. This makes the symbol really ‘pop’ off the dial.
The gen crystal really finishes it off. I originally went with this model because it came with a raised plexi out of the box. However, this was quite ‘squarish’, in that it was raised, but peaked quite quickly like a table top pleateau. The gen crystal is more rounded and ‘moonlike’ for lack of a better word. It’s hard to capture in pictures, but it makes all the difference. Also, the gen crystal has a black ring at its base, so the rehaut looks smaller and more gen-like. (I’ve seen some people painting the rehaut black to overcome this, but I’d recommend just getting a gen crystal instead).
Original crystal:
Gen crystal:
It’s so bulbous
The case measures 39mm without crown, which is true to gen, but is quite small by today’s standards. A big part of that is because there are no crown guards, consistent with the original 2998 reference. In fact, the lack of crown guards is quite a striking feature of the watch. It actually wears more like a 40-42mm on account of this.
The crown is lovely. Engraved with a generous omega logo. Not much else to say really.
The bracelet is honestly nothing special. I’ve bought cheapies off Aliexpress and they honestly feel the same as this. I’d love to put it on some vintage leather, but it’s a 19mm lug-width and I don’t really have any 19mm straps, so I’ll have to wait. The bracelet looks ok, but it feels a little cheap and flimsy.
Similarly, the case back is ok. It’s got a sort of waffle pattern on it. I honestly don’t know how faithful it is. I wish it had a transparent caseback to see that ST19, which I really feel is a pretty movement.
But that crystal…
Looks great on vintage leather
Or a nato
And can easily be dressed up
Thanks for looking!
