New Year sales Omega question ?

[Teofilo]

Been doing some research on Omega after seeing how much love there has been on this Forum over the last few months.

Got a Seamaster 300m GMT(black face) in my sights after numerous postings and pictures by Lol X and Perdu.....fantastic watch
Also got a feeling for a Speedy Pro if I can get a good price in the sales.
Narrowed it down to two, and I just need some advice from any Omega experts/fans out there.....Can any of you tip the balance one way or the other ?
Watch 1....3870.50.31 Black croc strap,hesalite crystal,caliber 1861.
Watch 2....3873.50.31 Black croc strap,sapphire crystal,caliber 1863.
The second watch has a clear caseback as well.

Is sapphire better than hesalite ? And is there any actual difference in the two calibers ?

D-Day is Friday 28th December.........Thanks for any help you can give.

[CPTL]

bernard watch has a black dial GMT BNIB for a pretty good price. If it were a white dial, I would have bought it weeks ago.

[timetravel125]

As I recall, the only difference between cal. 1861 & 1863, is the caseback. Cal. 1863 is fondly called a "sandwich" having both sapphire crystal and back. The movement is visible, having a sapphire caseback. While cal. 1861 has metal caseback and hesalite crystal that's plastic and won't break into tiny pieces, unlike sapphire. Hesalite has the advantage of the scratches being removed by polywatch, a brand of scratch remover.

I hope this info helps.

[Teofilo]

Originally Posted by timetravel125

As I recall, the only difference between cal. 1861 & 1863, is the caseback. Cal. 1863 is fondly called a "sandwich" having both sapphire crystal and back. The movement is visible, having a sapphire caseback. While cal. 1861 has metal caseback and hesalite crystal that's plastic and won't break into tiny pieces, unlike sapphire. Hesalite has the advantage of the scratches being removed by polywatch, a brand of scratch remover.

I hope this info helps.

Louie, thanks very much for the info.........very useful indeed.
Have you got any wrist shots ? You sound like a man who must already own a Speedy Pro..............

[Tools]

Hesalite is plastic and will scratch...and it will break too, become brittle with age etc...

Sapphire is the ultimate crystal for any watch... But the plastic crystal is cheaper..

Hey, they both have their followers.. pick one, you can't go wrong..

Here's my Speedy Patch, with Sapphire crystal, 1861 movement......it'll last forever..

[timetravel125]

Here you go, Peter. A not-so good wrist shot of my Omega
3570, cal. 1861, known as the "moonwatch." I have it on a strap, but I bought it with a bracelet.

Cheers!

[capncrunch]

acrylic crystal's can be cheaper than glass (mineral, saphire whatever) but the reason alot of sports type models (like alot of omega chrono's) use the material is that it will not shatter on impact. Like when your driving your vintage Ferrari in Monaco you don't want glass chips in your eyes when you hit an olive tree.

oops didn't see timetraveller covered this above - I first saw this in some speedmaster info pertaining to NASA

an OEM omega acrylic crystal (with the omega symbol neatly hidden in the middle) will set you back more than a complete low end Seiko - and seiko makes awsome mineral crystals

and the best part about acrylic is most scratches can buff out in seconds - where glass your screwed

[Teofilo]

Talk about a fantastic Forum !
Within two days of asking for some fairly specific information, guys from across the world have posted with opinions/facts/ photos and I am a lot better informed about my potential purchases. A huge thankyou to the guys that posted.

Dependent on what the prices/offers are in the sales, I will probably go for the 3873.50.31 (saphire with the clear caseback).
I love the look of the "patch" though........that little flash of colour has a huge impact on the overall look of the watch.
I'm thinking of using the Speedy as my everyday watch, so I will probably go down the simple is best route.

One more question if possible (and forgive me if this is a truly stupid one)..........Does the large second hand on the Speedy work all the time, or does it only work when the stopwatch is activated ?

[Teofilo]

Spent much of the last hour scrolling between the photos from Larry and Louie........Louie still ahead, but only just !

[capncrunch]

speedmaster will not dissappoint - I am wearing one now

second register will only move when timer engaged (I leave mine at the 12 position - ready for action) but that model should have a sub-second hand so still you know her heart is still beating - I use it all the time for cooking, parking meters, car trips...

an oldtimer taught me how to depress the stop/ start pushers - I am sure its touched on somewhere in these forums but I remember wanting to gingerly operate these buttons on my first chrono but whats called for is a crisp delibrate push with your thumb in roughly the 8 position if your using the start pusher

you know how to read the Tachymetre on the bezel? look it up - I don't use this function often but its kinda fun to have too

[Tools]

Originally Posted by Teofilo

Spent much of the last hour scrolling between the photos from Larry and Louie........Louie still ahead, but only just !

You can't go wrong with either..The Patch is a bit harder to find since it is a limited edition....That alone may make some folks think twice about it for an every day wear..

As far as your second hand question...the smal sub-dial at the 9 0'clock position is the basic second hand..

The large second hand is activated by the pushers for stop-watch mode..

[capncrunch]

I have never had the back off my speedmaster but my sub seconds is at the 3 position - I know its "smaller" size which is what I was told is the moon watch size - anyone know where the NASA watch had its sub second?

I just popped the snap back off - movement seems to be marked 1143 - 45 Jewel I think it said AND like an arse I snapped the back, back in place up side down

[timetravel125]

Peter,

The large second works when the stopwatch is activated. While, the second hand at 9 o'clock continuously runs, when the watch is fully wind.

If you choose the "sandwich" with sapphire crystal and clear case back, it is an excellent choice.

Cheers.

Louie

Originally Posted by Teofilo

Talk about a fantastic Forum !
Within two days of asking for some fairly specific information, guys from across the world have posted with opinions/facts/ photos and I am a lot better informed about my potential purchases. A huge thankyou to the guys that posted.

Dependent on what the prices/offers are in the sales, I will probably go for the 3873.50.31 (saphire with the clear caseback).
I love the look of the "patch" though........that little flash of colour has a huge impact on the overall look of the watch.
I'm thinking of using the Speedy as my everyday watch, so I will probably go down the simple is best route.

One more question if possible (and forgive me if this is a truly stupid one)..........Does the large second hand on the Speedy work all the time, or does it only work when the stopwatch is activated ?

[Teofilo]

Well, I just spent two days running round Bury St Edmunds,Norwich and Cambridge trying to get a Speedy Pro in the sales........no joy whatsoever......not a penny off in any of the ADs I tried.
I did however get 25% off my other Omega choice, the Seamaster 300m GMT. Made the trip to Norwich very worthwhile. Beautiful watch and my early impressions are that it puts my Pepsi GMT in the shade a bit. Pictures posted tomorrow of both watches side by side.

[ShawnK]

Originally Posted by Teofilo

Been doing some research on Omega after seeing how much love there has been on this Forum over the last few months.

Got a Seamaster 300m GMT(black face) in my sights after numerous postings and pictures by Lol X and Perdu.....fantastic watch
Also got a feeling for a Speedy Pro if I can get a good price in the sales.
Narrowed it down to two, and I just need some advice from any Omega experts/fans out there.....Can any of you tip the balance one way or the other ?
Watch 1....3870.50.31 Black croc strap,hesalite crystal,caliber 1861.
Watch 2....3873.50.31 Black croc strap,sapphire crystal,caliber 1863.
The second watch has a clear caseback as well.

Is sapphire better than hesalite ? And is there any actual difference in the two calibers ?

D-Day is Friday 28th December.........Thanks for any help you can give.

You can't go wrong with the Speedie Pr. I just picked up a 78' vintage with the 861 calibre--just a beautiful, functional timepiece.

My understanding is the the 1861 differs from the 1863 in that there is on piece (I can't remember which) that is plastic in the 1861, but was kept its original metal in the 1863 so it looks better with the view-back. Other than that, they should be the same Lemania movement.

The Hesalite (Omega version of of plexi) is easy to maintain with a tube of Polywatch, and is inexpensive to replace if it cracks, etc. A true "Moonwatch" will always have the Hesalite crystal. Broken bits of sapphire floating around the cockpit in zero gravity is not a good thing!

[Tools]

Originally Posted by ShawnK

My understanding is the the 1861 differs from the 1863 in that there is on piece (I can't remember which) that is plastic in the 1861, but was kept its original metal in the 1863 so it looks better with the view-back. Other than that, they should be the same Lemania movement.

Good point..

Omega does use a Delrin brake (shown here just above the center gear). Delrin was developed as "synthetic stone", so even though it is plastic, it is an extremely strong and durable plastic.

This piece is replaced with metal in all view back cases:

[Teofilo]

I havnt posted pictures for a while, so this could all go horribly wrong.......
If Ive done it right,this should be my 3 tool watches in a row.

[Teofilo]

Resizing effort.....[IMG]http://i222.photobucket
Technology is only great if you can work it !

[Teofilo]

[IMG][/IMG]

This should hopefully be my two GMT's side by side........

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by Teofilo

[IMG][/IMG]

This should hopefully be my two GMT's side by side........

[CPCC]

Wow, a classic photo.