Omega has released three really striking watches this year, the Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon, The Bullhead and this one the Omega Speedmaster ’57. They are all excellent releases that I would have trouble deciding would be my favourite.
So with this model, as you’ve probably guessed, they have drawn inspiration from their original and first Speedmaster design from 1957. When most people think of the Speedmaster they think “moonwatch” but the Speedmaster was in production for over 10 years before it made a name for itself in space, and its this period and design codes that this vintage styled watch draws from.
The new Speedmaster ’57 exhibits both aesthetic and technological similarities and differences from its precursor the original Speedmaster reference 2915-X and lovers of vintage styled watches are sure to appreciate it.
Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph
There have over the past few years been a few Omega Speedmasters recalling the 1957 version. There is the currently still in production “Broad Arrow 1957” which has a silver dial and uses the 3313 caliber co-axial movement, and then back in 2007 they released two Speedmaster 1957 50th Anniversary models featuring different movements.
Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph – Case and Movement
The case features some vintage touches such as straight lugs and no crown guards like the original and the familiar tachymetre bezel with a brushed finish that adds to the vintage look. The Speedmaster ’57 is 41.5mm in diameter which is new size for the Speedmaster line, and while this is quite a bit larger than the original with a size of 38.5mm its a nice size that these days isnt considered too big or too small and should suit the majority of people.
Omega Co-Axial 9301 Calibre
Of the models using the 9300 movement this case is the smallest and previous iterations using this movement have been at the much more substantial size of 44mm. This automatic version actually comes in smaller than the Speedmaster Professional with hand wound movement. Its available in yellow and red gold, platinum, bi-color, or steel which matching bracelets which have a new more secure clasp locking mechanism.
Its also features a large sapphire caseback and the housing is water-resistant to 100 meters.
Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph – Dial
Like the case and bracelet the dial comes with a variety of options. There are black, white and blue versions, while black is the colour most obviously associated with this model I really like the white and blue versions, in particular the white which adds a classical elegance to the sporty design of the model.
The most significant and obvious difference to its precursor is the change to the originals tricompax dial design. The new layout features two chronograph sub-dials instead of the three originally, with hours and minutes at 3 o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock.
Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph – Dial
This means the sub-dials can be slightly larger and be more intuitively read in this side by side configuration and give the dial appearance a more symetrical balanced feel as well as having the bottom part of the dial left alone for just the date display at 6 o’clock, with a color-matched wheel.
A notable exception are the hands which Omega decided would not be the same distinctive “broad arrow” hands used on the Speedmasters from 1957-1959. Instead for the handset there are more slender but nevertheless quite readable ones that fit with the overall design of the dial nicely. Both the main hands and somewhat unusually the chronograph hands are lumed.
Incidentally the right side sub-dial features a hand with a fairly “broad arrow” on it which could be seen as a subtle reference the hands of the original model.
Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph – Conclusion and Price
We have with this model recalling Omega’s first iconic model a nice addition to the already extensive range of Speedmasters versions. Its offered in a very amenable size with a terrific co-axial movement housed inside, and comes in a huge array of options for case and dial combinations.
In terms of retail, the Omega Speedmaster ’57 Co-Axial is $9300 in steel, $11,400 in titanium, and $30,000 in yellow or rose gold. The Two-tone version should be somewhere in between.
More resources about the Omega Speedmaster 57 Co-Axial Chronograph available on Hodinkee, and ABTW.
