2022 Omega Speedmaster Professional Sapphire Cal. 3861
Ref: 310.30.42.50.01.002
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : Manufacturer Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its Omega box, swing tag and Omega paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original 20mm Omega stainless steel brushed and polished full-sized bracelet with its upgraded push-button release deployant easy adjust clasp, all links are provided. The watch is sold in worn, unpolished condition, as you can see it has been kept in fantastic overall condition. The watch dates from May 2022, so comes with its Manufacturer's Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nSb99v2osW77tpub4NwAitKEkDlb9s0a?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 4:50 - https://youtu.be/yzbhu5xJVAU
The Watch
Here we have a 2022 Omega Speedmaster Professional Sapphire Cal. 3861 with a 42mm stainless steel case, polished and brushed surfaces lead to the characteristic twisted tapering lugs, the crisp lines transition effortlessly around the case and a lug-to-lug length of 47mm and a case thickness of 13mm ensures a comfortable fit on the wrist. Down the right side, we have the recessed piston chronograph pushers and a signed crown in the centre. A fixed tachymeter sits on its black bezel insert. The black dial is protected by Sapphire crystal AR coated on the inside, and an outer minute track with slim baton indexes marks the hours, 3 recessed Sub-dials are made up of 60 seconds, 30 minutes, and 12 hours. Slender sword hands and an elegant long central chronograph seconds hand accurately hit the minute track, the dial has perfect symmetry and hands and indexes are lumed with Super-Luminova. The screw-down sapphire exhibition case back is engraved with “The First watch worn on the Moon” a fitting testament to man's achievements in space, inside we have the manually wound Omega Master Chronometer Calibre 3861 featuring a CO-Axial and column-wheel, COSC-certified 26 jewels, 21,600 beats per hour, decorated rhodium-plated movement with Geneva waves, METAS (Federal Institute of Metrology) also certified this special movement with additional measurements of precision, performance, and anti-magnetic resistance. The continued commitment by Omega to push the envelope of a watch and its movement means it is still the only flight-qualified watch that meets the requirements for EVA (Extravehicular activity) – outperforming quartz watches, with LCD displays, which are vulnerable to temperature changes, and literally, get destroyed when on spacewalks. The watch comes fitted on its original Omega 20mm Stainless Steel brushed and polished bracelet with a signed upgraded push-button release deployant easy adjust clasp that fits the wrist comfortably and also comes with its Omega presentation box, swing tag and paperwork.
Personal Note
There is no denying how amazing the new Speedmaster is, with its upgraded movement, superior bracelet with an adjustable bracelet and small design upgrades, they have perfected the Speedy! I would love to see Omega incorporate a flat link bracelet for the standard Speedmaster, that would be incredible, for now, Forstner has a great affordable option. Retail being £7,500 on this, you are getting yourself an incredible saving picking this one up, so don't hesitate.
The Brand
They were formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848 founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880 they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli where they remain today. The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885. Just a few years later in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater. In 1903 they renamed the company Omega until 1982 when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1 Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH) In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948 they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today Omega is still an astronaut's first choice. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe. As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horologer (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967 with their production starting in 1968. Then In 1972, Omega introduced the reference, 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998 it officially rebranded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.