Fake Omega Speedmaster Professional – history and models from 1957 to today
The classic Omega replica watches Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch with hand-wound caliber 1861 was finally shot to the moon at the beginning of 2021. Omega rattled its sabre and confidently announced the new Speedy with “one of the biggest news in the watch industry for 2021”.
A new Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is nothing spectacular in itself – the Biel-based company knows pretty well how to keep the Moonwatch myth alive with limited editions (e.g. with the Omega Snoopy Speedmaster). The last update of the true-to-original, timelessly classic “standard” Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch was actually quite a while ago and was essentially limited to a new, oversized box with all kinds of accessories. Of course, there was still a significant price increase. That was in 2014. Omega actually left the classic Moonwatch untouched for over six years – the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer is obviously aware that a cash cow should only be “touched” with great caution.
The good news: The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, which was worn on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin in 1969 while walking on the surface of the moon, is still available in classic, true-to-original form with a hand-wound caliber and hesalite glass – for a reasonably acceptable price (at least compared to the significantly more expensive Moonwatch with column wheel caliber 321, launched in 2020).
The story behind the Moonwatch is extremely exciting: Even though the nickname “Moonwatch” is firmly attached to the Omega Speedmaster Professional, the classic chronograph was not originally intended to be NASA’s official space watch. And yet NASA astronauts quickly recognized that the Omega Speedmaster was perfect for the harsh conditions in space – Wally Schirra, one of the first astronauts in human history, for example, wore an Omega Speedmaster on the Mercury-Atlas 8 space mission. Curiously, Schirra’s Omega Speedmaster was actually a purely private purchase and not approved by NASA. It was only years later that the Omega Speedmaster Professional became the official “flight qualified for all manned space missions” watch, which was also worn by Buzz Aldrin on the moon…
In 1957, when the very first Omega Speedmaster was launched with the reference CK2915, chronographs were not particularly popular with average watch wearers – simple, smaller and cheaper three-hand models in gold cases were much more popular. The Omega Speedmaster was, alongside the Seamaster 300 (CK2913) and Railmaster (CK2914), part of a watch trio aimed at professional users. All three models had the characteristic shape of the horns, “Broad Arrow” hands and an easy-to-read, high-contrast black dial in common.