Speedy Tuesday – Moonwatch Only 3rd Edition Book Review
Recently, Grégoire Rossier and Anthony Marquié introduced the third edition of their masterpiece ‘Moonwatch Only’. Where the 2nd edition was subtitled ’60 Years of Omega Speedmaster’, this third edition has a ‘The Ultimate Omega Speedmaster Guide’ subtitle.
When this new edition was dropped on the @Watchbooksonly account of the authors, I put my order in via their distributor WatchPrint.com. I also own the first and second edition, and I was wondering what would be new to this book, besides the Speedmaster models that have been introduced since the appearance of the previous version. If you don’t have any of the earlier editions, order this Moonwatch Only 3rd edition and trust me that you’ll be delighted with it. Despite the €250 price tag on these books, owning at least one copy is a no-brainer.
The question is, is this third edition of the Omega Speedmaster bible worth buying if you already have the 1st or/and 2nd edition? And what’s exactly new to this Ultimate Omega Speedmaster Guide? Let’s have a look.
Moonwatch Only 3rd Edition Book
Everything I wrote in the review of the 2nd edition of the Moonwatch Only book is still valid. And my statement in that article on the 2nd edition that the best book just got better is also valid for this 3rd edition. All new models since 2017 have been added, meaning the Speedy Tuesday Ultraman, the Hodinkee H10 edition, the Olympic 2020 collection up till the new Apollo XI Speedmasters, and the platinum caliber 321 have been added. Also added is the Apollo 8, for example, which I personally rather categorize as non-Moonwatch than as Moonwatch, although I know that Omega also classified it as Moonwatch in their catalog. Nevertheless, it is there in this Moonwatch Only 3rd edition book, which is excellent.
my statement in that article on the 2nd edition that the best book just got better, is also valid for this 3rd edition
More Content
The Moonwatch Only 3rd edition became a bit thicker than its predecessor; it went from 550 pages to 598 pages. All these extra pages can be linked to the 17 new Omega Speedmaster models that the authors have included. But what’s also new is the chapter on astronauts and their Speedmasters. This chapter contains some very cool images that they sourced (also with the help of Speedmaster and Space nut Philip Corneille, who runs his site here). Some of the photos I already knew of, but there are also several astronauts pictured with Speedmaster that I had not seen before. Did you know it was Philip Corneille who found out, based on images he has in his possession, that the cosmonauts wore the white dial Alaska II Speedmaster in space?
The authors also updated some of the serial range indications (important for collectors of certain vintage pieces) and the popularity indexes. I am not sure if I ever paid attention to the popularity index, as I am not keen on the ‘investing’ part, but I also realize that to many people, it is key. To me, it feels that printing this kind of popularity indexes is a bit tricky, as it can change almost overnight, and then your book is immediately outdated. I can also imagine it would be fine to have such an index on their Moonwatch only website and keep that one up-to-date regularly.
Besides new content, the Moonwatch Only 3rd edition book has received some textual corrections as well as improved images. In total, this edition has 120 more pictures than the previous version.
Do I need to upgrade?
For €250 (or 250 CHF), this book is a no-brainer still. It is the most complete work on the Speedmaster in print that is available. I have been an avid user of the book since its first edition and often find myself using their iBook edition as well when I am traveling. You can’t remember everything, so a little pocket reference guide is always useful. Again, if you don’t have any of the previous editions, go to WatchPrint now and order yours before they’re sold out.
for €250 (or 250 CHF), this book really is a no-brainer
it might be an idea to sell your 2nd edition and then get the third edition instead
But what if you already have one of the previous editions? Well, if you are still using the 1st edition, I think it is about time to get this new version. A lot has been added since their first edition of the Moonwatch Only book. It is worth it. If you have the 2nd edition, it becomes a different story. It depends a bit on how crazy you are about the best chronograph in the world. Are you just as much of a fan as we are? Get it, and it will look good next to the 1st and 2nd edition for sure on your bookshelf. If you are okay with the 2nd edition and only care about huge improvements or big chunks of new content, it might be an idea to sell your 2nd edition and then get the third edition instead.
If you happen to be in London this week, Grégoire Rossier will do a little talk on this new edition for the ClubQP event on Thursday, 28th of November. You can sign-up here. Unfortunately, due to private reasons, I can’t make it myself, but it will surely be a blast.
Order your copy of the Moonwatch Only 3rd edition book here.
