zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

: Speedmaster Pro Bang for Buck: 321 or 861?

: But which one? Preferably the one which
: best suits your particular needs.

: I like the idea of the 321, pre Pro or pre
: Moon..

: But an 861 is all but identical in outward
: appearance. All but... Yeah, but the
: devil's in the details, isn't it?

I agree. To a point. The Mark ii may be, in many ways, a better watch than a Speedy Moon Watch. But it's not nearly as pretty, and if I'm going to spend money on a watch, it's got to be prettier than my $57 Timex.
So I'm willing to spend a few hundred more for a Moon Watch.
But as for spending perhaps twice as much to get an applied Omega symbol and a dial without the word professional, and a different caseback, perhaps that's best left to the collectors.
At a certain level, the less the watch costs, the more I'm likely to wear it.

: Is there a compelling reason to pay
: extra--both in cash and non-cash costs for a
: 321? Less common, more historical
: interest, more appealing looking movement,
: greater resale value, Knowning that you're
: wearing the same watch and movement worn by
: the NASA Astronauts on the moon.

As I said, I like the idea, and if I had unlimited resources, I'd have half a dozen 321s. But I don't. Essetinally, I can probably have a 321 or a 861 and a Heuer Camaro or something. I did really like your Memphis Raines analogy in your blog. I agree completely about taste versus money. Unfortunately, I've generally got more taste than money (although I'm very happy that my horological tastes run to Omegas and Heuers and not Pateks.)

: Among 861s are there substantive differences
: among watches of different vintages--is a
: 1970 SP better (or worse) than an '85 or a
: 1999?

Well, the movement plating have
: switched from Gilt (Coppery Golden color) to
: Yellow Gold to Rhodium (silver) during that
: timeframe.
When?

Omega's switched from a steel
: brake to a Delrin brake in the mid-1970's
: (and has switched back in more recent years.

Is this more of an aesthetic issue or a functional one?

: Bottom line: if you were buying a
: used/vintage Speedmaster Pro to wear (most
: likely on a strap rather than a bracelet)
: how would you narrow your search?

I'm more of a sit at my desk type, and I've got cheap quartzes to wear for playing baseball with the kids and what have you.
I used to lose watches, but not anymore, and only abuse them minimally.

: In fact, I did a write up on "The topic is
: rugged chronographs made by Omega" a
: couple of years back in the TZOF and I
: re-cycled those posts in my blog about 10
: months ago... The topic is rugged
: chronographs made by Omega...

Saw it. Nice job. But the Mark 11 just isn't pretty enough (it also looks a lot like one of my poor man's Heuer's which looks great on a slightly oversized Hirsch Carbon. The band cost more than the watch.

The next
: most economical model is probably a
: mid-1970's era Speedmaster Moonwatch, and if
: you wanted to stick with a moonwatch, that's
: the direction I'd probably point you
: considering I don't know any more about your
: needs and wants.

That's what I'm looking for. Basically the cheapest (clean, legit) Speedy Pro that I can find, all things being equal.

: What's going to offer the best value overall,
: taking into account reliability, future
: value, and service costs, the whole magilla?

: The c.861 is going to have the easiest
: parts availablity and lowest cost to
: maintain in my opinion. If you're wanting to
: maximize future value then you're going to
: want to go with a more exotic variant.

I'm figuring that if I buy the right used watch, I can get what I paid for it without much problem. As for maximizing future value, you only realize that when you sell it. I'm thinking I'll probably pass this on to my son...or just break it way before hand.

: thanks in advance and pardon me if this one's
: been covered a million times--I'm a newbie.
: You're asking it in an interesting way.
: That helps!

That is what I do. Don't know if you saw my "introduction" on the Heuer Forum, but I write a sports column for the Wall Street Journal, and write books and magazine stories. If I play my cards right, I can call this research.

But seriously, Chuck, thanks for the clear, thorough, and well-written response. Your enthusiasm for the topic is infectious.

: Allen Cheers and Good Hunting!
: -- Chuck
: Chuck Maddox

: