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Old 22 September 2022, 05:59 AM   #31
zengineer
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The Hesalite wins in the looks department. I honestly don't care that it is more historically correct. The Sapphire is obviously more scratch resistant. I have had both.

If it was my only or daily watch I'd probably go Sapphire, but it isn't and I can wear it on days I'm not expecting to be doing activities that tend to cause damage.

I wear my Hesalite Speedmaster(s) at least once a week and they still look fine. The tiny scratches that come from shirt sleeves and such are easily polished out in 2 minutes a few times a year.

Not sure it was even part of the OP question...but for a first Speedmaster stay with manual wind, no date and on a bracelet. You want the Moonwatch, not this or that side of the moon or the phase of the moon or MoonSwatch.



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Old 22 September 2022, 06:10 AM   #32
Cru Jones
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The milky ring of the sapphire is a bummer, IMHO. But seeing the movement is a big plus. But the hesalite looks so good and is historic.

Tough choice. I lean towards the hesalite.
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Old 22 September 2022, 12:23 PM   #33
omar-rye
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Originally Posted by alllexandru View Post



Hesalite here, no wrong choices between this and sapphire.

For me it will always be this warmth of hesalite which attracts me more and the distortion sometimes gives to your eyes.

I even let the glass without polish makes kinda personality marks.

I do believe that the sapphire case back is nice to see the marvel of 1863 / 3861 and not talking about 321

The halo on the sapphire is a non issue, at least on the 3861 reference. Alex’s hesalite in the photo has close to the same effect on his crystal as my sapphire

My sapphire 3861 on leather:


My sapphire 3861 on an angle while in the car:


My sapphire sandwich on bracelet and lume:


Hesalite with ring effect (photo from Google images):


Sapphire with same if not less amount of halo ring as the hesalite in the above photo, pictured next to the Daytona (photo from Google images):



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Old 22 September 2022, 12:46 PM   #34
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Hesalite for me:)
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Old 22 September 2022, 10:12 PM   #35
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Hesalite here.
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Old 24 September 2022, 12:48 PM   #36
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Sapphire for me


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Old 24 September 2022, 01:16 PM   #37
train-time
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Sapphire Sammich for me
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Old 27 September 2022, 06:19 AM   #38
domedcrystal
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Hesalite all the way baby, keeping it as close to the original as possible.
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Old 27 September 2022, 07:01 AM   #39
Calatrava r
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I went with the sapphire because I like the polished aspects on the bracelet which really the make the watch pop to me. If that does not matter, the Hesalite is a tad thinner and heavier case with the solid case back which I would have then opted for. I have no interest in viewing the movement as a regular thing.
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Old 27 September 2022, 07:15 AM   #40
omar-rye
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Calatrava r View Post
the Hesalite is a tad thinner
the hesalite is a tad thicker, which is what I think you meant

Hesalite - 13.58mm
Sapphire - 13.18mm
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Old 27 September 2022, 09:51 AM   #41
sportsfan0704
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Anyone know which omega sells more of?
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Old 27 September 2022, 09:54 AM   #42
bonovox
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Hesalite.
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Old 27 September 2022, 10:09 AM   #43
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Anyone know which omega sells more of?
For the older version, 1861 Hesalite outsold the 1863 Sapphire by a large margin. For the new 3861 version, it seems like the Hesalite and Sapphire sales are closer together with Hesalite slightly edging out the Sapphire. Just my observations from here and Omegaforums
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Old 27 September 2022, 10:36 AM   #44
sportsfan0704
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Originally Posted by texasmade View Post
For the older version, 1861 Hesalite outsold the 1863 Sapphire by a large margin. For the new 3861 version, it seems like the Hesalite and Sapphire sales are closer together with Hesalite slightly edging out the Sapphire. Just my observations from here and Omegaforums
Interesting. I got the hesalite for the historical accuracy but every store I went to seemed to push the saphire likely because of the higher price. I wonder if that has an effect of pushing people to hesalite even more lol
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Old 27 September 2022, 03:11 PM   #45
texasmade
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I think the reason why 1861 outsold 1863 by such a large margin was because you weren’t getting much more for the increased price other than a slightly finer movement on display but with the huge drawback of the milky ring.

With the 3861, there are several upgrades the SS has over the Hesalite that actually makes the price difference worth it i.e. applied logo, polished bits on the bracelet, a less pronounced milky ring compared to the 1863.
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Old 28 September 2022, 12:53 AM   #46
Calatrava r
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omar-rye View Post
the hesalite is a tad thicker, which is what I think you meant

Hesalite - 13.58mm
Sapphire - 13.18mm
I was thinking that a solid back is thinner than a display back by a tad. I completely forgot the Hesalite crystal which I think adds thickness.
Thanks
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Old 1 October 2022, 04:04 PM   #47
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I find the Hesalite crystal gives off a warm glow and I love it. It's way better if you polish it 2-3 times/year. Even when it might look fine I polish it regularly anyhow because it always looks more lovely afterward.

I really like this leather strap. Gives it a totally different look. Is that from Omega? If so, will it fit the 3861 version?
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Old 1 October 2022, 04:06 PM   #48
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I went hesalite for a few reasons; mainly I just liked the overall look better. In particular, I preferred the brushed bracelet and the overall look of the hesalite. An extra $800 in my pocket was nice. But the biggest one was I preferred the painted Omega logo at 12 o'clock. I found the applied polished Omega logo (on the sapphire) disappeared in certain lighting conditions.
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Old 5 October 2022, 03:22 AM   #49
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I’m a fan of domed crystals and IMHO, the sapphire looks the part and gives you the extra durability
The Hesalite is also domed, even more so maybe.

My preference is for the Hesalite and that's the one I have. It's stunning to see the dial in the sunlight through this crystal.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ EXPLORER View Post
I went hesalite for a few reasons; mainly I just liked the overall look better. In particular, I preferred the brushed bracelet and the overall look of the hesalite. An extra $800 in my pocket was nice. But the biggest one was I preferred the painted Omega logo at 12 o'clock. I found the applied polished Omega logo (on the sapphire) disappeared in certain lighting conditions.
I also prefer the brushed bracelet and the painted logo.
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Old 5 October 2022, 03:33 AM   #50
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Originally Posted by gnuyork View Post
The Hesalite is also domed, even more so maybe.

My preference is for the Hesalite and that's the one I have. It's stunning to see the dial in the sunlight through this crystal.



I also prefer the brushed bracelet and the painted logo.
Well its not like I really had a choice but the sapphire on this one does the job



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Old 5 October 2022, 04:30 AM   #51
gnuyork
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Well its not like I really had a choice but the sapphire on this one does the job



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Indeed. Yeah, no choice for yours... nothing wrong with that sapphire either.
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Old 9 October 2022, 01:58 PM   #52
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hesalite for me

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Old 11 October 2022, 06:04 PM   #53
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I chose Hesalite because it was cheaper and I honestly couldn’t really tell the difference at the time.
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Old 11 October 2022, 07:06 PM   #54
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I chose the sapphire sandwich.

My youngest son now has custody.
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Old 26 October 2022, 08:08 AM   #55
Hawk44
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Any discounts available on either model? I see a lot of people getting 10%-15% off SMP and was curious if that’s common for speedmasters as well
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Old 26 October 2022, 10:05 AM   #56
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That's the ticket!!
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