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Would W. Buffett go for an Omega Speedmaster investment?

Would the W. Buffett of the watch world opt for an Omega Speedmaster investment?

Let it be clear: the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is hot among a major part of watch collectors. But should you buy one as an investment? And if so, can you aim for a certain value increasement? Will it just keep its value for years or would it even decrease in value over time? Let’s try to find out!

First of all, it’s important to know that Omega produced many different kinds of (Professional) Moonwatches and as such, we cannot make any generalised case study about ‘the Moonwatch’. If you consider buying one, make sure you know the basics about every single reference in the range you are looking for. We will try to give a proper overview of the different types of Moonwatches, before giving our opinion about the value for money you’ll get and before discussing whether you should invest in an Omega Speedmaster or not. For a more detailed discussion about the different references and their specifics, we’ll share some excellent sources (both online and offline reading material).

1957 - … ?

1957-1978

Omega introduced the iconic Speedmaster back in ‘57 (ref. 2915), not even knowing it would ever become the well-known ‘Moonwatch’. After several tests (11!), NASA decided to use the Omega Speedmaster as there toolwatch for space missions. It was first taken into space back in 1962, three years before becoming the famous Moonwatch used by Ed White during the Gemini program (ref. 105.003). After this, the watch was updated to ref. 105.012 and 145.012 (1966) and these two are known as the references worn on the Moon by the astronauts of the Apollo missions. We call these references ‘pre-Moon’ versions, as Omega did not mention ‘The First Watch Worn On The Moon’ on the case back of these references. All pre-Moon versions have a smooth caseback, with a Hippocampus and just the word ‘Speedmaster’.

After the initial launch of the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, Omega focused on the marketing of their chronograph watch in order to make sure people would relate the watch to the space missions. They kept on changing the watch over time and a change of the caliber back in ‘68 was one of the noteworthy changes: caliber 321 was replaced by caliber 861 when introducing ref. 145.022. A second significant change was the replacement of tritium-powered phosphorescent lume on the hands and index markers by non-radioactive pigments (Super-Luminova) at the end of the nineties. We will cover the Speedmasters until 1978 in this part, as it is the last year Omega marked the inside case back with the date.

When looking for a watch from this early era, one must always remember that those watches are 50-60 years old. They might have been polished more than once already and/or they might be damaged quite a lot. If it has not been polished (too much) and if the case is still ‘crisp’ with sharp lugs, many collectors would pay a significant higher price for the watch (even if it would look too damaged to some people).

Some original parts of those watches are very wanted by experienced collectors. They might pay almost as much (or even more) for a specific part of an old Speedmaster, than for an entirely new Speedy (tip: just try to google ‘DON bezel’ and ‘Stepped Dial’). It’s extremely important to make sure you pay the right price for a vintage Speedmaster, according to the (original) parts it contains. Always remember: originality is way more important than perfection (condition).

We advise you to check the following parts very precisely, ranked from very important to less important:

  • The Dial

  • The Case

  • The movement

  • The bezel

  • The hands

  • The pushers

  • The Crown

  • (the bracelet and end links)

In order to be able to cover the complete history of the Moonwatch in this blog, we will not spend more time discussing certain differences between the first references, nor will we talk about all specifics of those references (e.g. the assymetric and straight cases). We advise you to check the following website for a very detailed (and free) explanation of those references: Speedmaster101.

1978-now

Omega introduced some further variations of the pre-Moon references and started to optimise their cash cow by introducing anniversary models. They used different kinds of calibers and changed parts like the bezel, the dial and the bracelet.

The most important things in this part can be summarized in some bullet points:

  • the stepped dial was used until 1976 (ref. 145.022), before it was replaced by the domed dial;

  • the tritium-powered phosphorescent lume on the hands and index markers was replaced at the end of the ‘90s with non-radioactive pigments (Super-Luminova);

  • the ‘classic’ Reduced version (39mm) was introduced in 1988 and sold until 2009 (automatic movement);

  • the ‘display back’ or ‘open base back’ was first introduced back in 1980 on a (white) gold limited series;

  • lots of special - and limited (anniversary) editions were already released (and they still do these days), as Omega tries (and succeeds) to attract new generations and to keep on triggering excisting fans;

  • also the boxes have changed over time, with some special editions for very specific references.

So… Should I buy one?

In order to decide whether an Omega Speedmaster is a good value for money investment, we would like to make some statements:

  1. Vintage Omega Speedmasters increase in value year after year, but it’s crucial to make sure to check the originality of its parts and to make sure that the price is determined based on the presence of those parts.

  2. The modern Speedmasters need time to prove themselves over time, but many experienced collectors agree about the following positions:

    • References without tritium are secondary to those who still have it;

    • Not all limited editions/anniversary editions are expected to raise (significant) in value over time. Some examples of editions which already have:

      • Omega Speedmaster ‘Tintin’

      • Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11, 20th Anniversary

      • Omega Speedmaster ‘Snoopy’

      • Omega Speedmaster Alaska II

      • Speedmaster Apollo 11, 45th Anniversary

      • Speedmaster #SpeedyTuesday Tribute to Alaska III

      • Omega Speedmaster Schumacher Legend Limited Edition

      • Omega Speedmaster Limited Edition Speedy Tuesday ‘Ultraman’ 2

  3. The importance of a ‘full set’ cannot be underestimated, although it’s not the most important thing when an experienced collector is hunting a (very) vintage watch. The watch itself will stand for the major part of the total value and the rest is bonus.

We believe that the Omega Speedmaster has proven its functionality, its attraction and its investment value for plural decades already and we do believe that at least a (large) part of all editions will make sure even more value will be added to the overall value of this watch. Nevertheless, we communicate with our clients in a very transparant way that not every ref. will increase in value over time. For this reason we opt to buy those watches (the new, modern references) only on the second hand market, as prices are mostly already better in line with the actual value of the watch (compared to the retail prices for new pieces, including taxes).

Before deciding which piece to hunt for, we suggest the following additional reading materials:

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