Omega

Hi gang

 

Here are some photos of my speedy 125.All began in July 2001 when I discovered WUS  then Timezone but also who was the famous Chuck Maddox. After having browsed his site, but also exchanged mails longly with him, my quest for the speedmaster 125 with its original papers began. In 2003, a sign of luck appears, one of my favorite vintage watch shops located in st germain en laye sells one, I then phoned to the shop owner and bought him the 125. In 2011, I decided that it was time to give her a service and a second beauty. Charly serviced the movement completely, rebrushed the case slightly and also made  another specific screw for this bracelet because one of the original screws was broken.

But place to photos now:

Here are the papers of the two previous repris made by the previous owner as well as the international warranty and high accuracy certificate.

 

Here it is with its cousins the 1951 seamaster cal 344, the 1973 speedmaster markIV and the 1969 speedmaster markII exotic dial

I vividly recommend the speedmaster 125 for those who want a highly unusual and rare speedy but also one which one has a very important weight in watchmaking because it was first chronograph certified chronometer made by Omega in 1973. The 1041 powering this peed is vastly superior to the 33xx found in the broad arrow and its derivatives in terms of accuracy, durability and reliability.

 

enjoy

 

best regards

 

georges

Congratulations for your Speedmaster 125.
Never had one, and I don't plan to have one (they are too big for my wrist and taste) but I enjoy seeing this 70's look.

Could you explain why you compare the 1041 with 33xx? To me they belong to different "planets".

I know that there was a lot of debate, years back, about the 3303 being unreliable (at least on watch forums) but not today.

Cheers

If Omega knows its worldwide famous reputation, it is mainly thanks to lemania chronographs that have been powering since the 30's till 1987 last year when the last automatic made movement from lemania powered an Omega in the rare ref 376 822. Lemania was known for their legendary reliability and durability, it is not without reason lemania chronographs were used by Swedish Air Force, South African Air Force and the British Force. The 1040, 1041 and 1045 were the first lemania auto movements to power speedies, even after three decades passed, they are still ready to work many many years. These calibres were built with an objective to last and be accurate on the very long run, they were built inside Omega's own premices.

The 33xx was a specific design made by Piguet for Omega based on the 1285 es de luxe. Three versions of the same movement in less than 10 years, you call that reliability? I don't.  The 33xx hasn't a ball bearing rotor winding system with three screws unlike the 1040 but its rotor is just maintained by one screw which is a far less solid and far less efficient than the ball bearing system. The chrono resetting mechanism is extremely fragile and can break if you play too much and too often with pushers. In case of extreme sports like golfing, tennis or even moutain biking, the rotor can unscrew itself.   Why do you think you will not find it anymore in any Omega men watches next year but only in the Omega  women line of watches? The obvious answer is very obvious and can be found here omega.watchprosite.com  and to quote stephan uhrquart's words in 2010:

"SU:  Ok, very interesting, this came up before in the previous interview [meaning the session just prior].  We've already said so, so I can say it again, we have an in-house chronograph movement the 9300 in the works that will be presented next year in Basel.  In-house, not based on the 8500, but the same technology, with double barrel, with a column wheel, with three-level Co-Axial.  That will be a very important introduction for us.  We will keep the Piguet 3313 that will be upgraded to a three level Co-Axial escapement for certain models, mainly - size-wise - ladies chronographs.  This will be a more sturdy movement with a 60 hour power reserve with an emphasis on quality and reliability.  It will replace a lot of our existing models, especially for men."

 So it just backs up my point of view and the fact that was the 33xx was not enough sturdy nor robust  to withstand severe abuse. On the other hand, older calibres like the 1040, 1041 and 1045 will always supass the ill famed 33xx on any counts. Also historically, Lemania has a very heavy weight in the history of Omega and it can't be deleted.

This message has been edited by georgeszaslavsky on 2011-07-16 23:12:29

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I love these vintage speedys.
Yet to own one of these most desirable Beauties.


Ed