Hi Fabrizio, I never cease to be amazed at the knowledge of people on this forum, many thanks. I hope one day I will have a fraction of that knowledge. It is a lot clearer now, though looking at the prices and what's about, I may have to make do with an Automatic for the time being and then get a manual wind at a later date. I would feel happier using a 'new' auto for everyday chores over an older vintage model in case of damage etc though a vintage may not be far away...

Cheers

David

: Hi David, I've never been any authority on Speedmasters now even
: less as my Omega passion has waned considerably over the years,
: still as far as what you mention goes:
: 3570.50.00 is the watch reference, as you can spot on
: Omega's website at http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=303
: 861 is the movement reference used by Omega, which is
: derived by Lemania 1873, which uses its own naming convetion as
: it used to supply different brands also outside the Swatch
: Group. 1873 is of course the naming also TH used.
: Though minor changes have indeed taken place, most of them are
: cosmetic. So if you go for the hesalite crystal, steel back
: 'original' version (as it were) then this watch in the very
: basic features has not changed meaningfully in the past 30 years
: and this gives you considerable leeway as price range.
: Cheers.
: Fabrizio