Speedy Tuesday — Speedmaster Reduced versus Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch”

One of the most common questions we receive on the Speedmaster concerns the Speedmaster Reduced models (reference 3510.50). What is exactly the difference between the regular Moonwatch and this “Reduced” version? In this article, we explain.

Omega Speedmaster 3510.50

It’s Speedy Tuesday! This week’s topic is about the Omega Speedmaster Reduced. A watch that has been increasing in popularity for a few years. This discontinued model Speedmaster is often mistaken for the popular Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch”. If you are not that deep into Speedmasters and just like the look of the black dial with three-registers (at  3, 6, and 9 o’clock), sans date window, it is easy to fall into the trap that a lot of sellers of these watches (on eBay, for example) will try to use on you.

They advertise these watches as “Moonwatches” as well. Although the Omega Speedmaster Reduced is a very nice watch, it is not a Moonwatch. Just like the Dark Side of the Moon is not a Moonwatch. And that’s in spite of the fact that even Omega “brand” it as a Moonwatch.

In the pictures in this article, you can find the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch on the NATO strap and the Speedmaster Reduced on the stainless bracelet in the comparison pictures. The most obvious differences are, of course, the size of the watch and the “Professional” printing that can only be found on the Moonwatch. Below, the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch on the bracelet.

A Speedmaster Professional ‘Moonwatch’

Moonwatch Versus Speedmaster Reduced

You can be tricked by its appearance, but when you look at them side-by-side (as in our photos) you will find some important differences.

Diameter

First of all, the size of the watches differs from one another. While the Speedmaster Pro measures 42mm (diameter), the Speedy Reduced is a tad smaller at just 38.5mm (and not 35.5mm as the Omega website states — don’t ask me why). Although still wearable for a lot of men, I believe that Omega is using the same size of the Speedmaster Reduced for the ladies’ version of the Speedmaster.

Movement — Automatic versus Manual

Also, the movement is quite different. This explains the difference in dial layout as well. As you can see in the pictures, the sub-dials are quite far away from the center on the Speedy Reduced while the sub-dials on the “Moonwatch” are closer to the center pinion. The Speedy Reduced also has the wording “Automatic” on its dial and features the minutes in Arabic numerals at each hour marker. Below, an image of the hand-wound movement of the Speedmaster Professional.

The movement of the Speedmaster Professional is, of course, the hand-wound Lemania based chronograph, either caliber 321, 861/863, 1861/1863, or 3861 (depends on the age of the watch). The Speedy Reduced has an automatic movement, based on the ETA 2890-A2 (no date), also known as Omega caliber 3220. On top (no pun intended), there is a Dubois-Dépraz 2020 chronograph module mounted to the dial-side of the ETA base movement.

Caliber 3220 (picture via Urdelar.se)

A lot of jewels — Piggyback Movement

The add-on module also explains the high number of jewels (47) in this movement. The use of these so-called piggyback movements is easy to identify by looking at the watch from the side. The winding crown and chronograph pushers are not aligned. The crown is positioned a bit lower, as you can see in the picture below.

Don’t Be Fooled — But It Is A Great Watch

In the end, there is nothing wrong with an Omega Speedmaster Reduced. If you prefer automatic movements, have a small wrist or just a tighter budget, the Speedy Reduced 3510.50 can be the way to go for you. However, when you look for a “Moonwatch”, don’t be fooled with classifieds or ads on websites that use the word “Moonwatch” in combination with the Speedmaster Reduced 3510.50. Sometimes, the price is very interesting on these pre-owned Speedy Reduced models. If you don’t do your homework properly, you can easily be deceived or mislead by the seller. So, not a bad word about the Speedmaster Reduced from our side, but make sure you end up with what you really want.

Speedmaster Reduced Price

Prices of the Speedmaster Reduced are not as low as a few years ago, unfortunately. The Omega Speedmaster Reduced price starts around €1,600. If you want the box and papers included, be prepared to pay a bit more. And while there are loads of excellent Speedy Reduced coming out of Japan, be mindful of additional import duties charged on top of the sale price. Another interesting thing is that there are some very nice variations of the Speedmaster Reduced worth checking out. A pre-owned Moonwatch (311.30.42.30.01.005, 3570.50, 3590.50 or 145.0022 etc.) is still about €1,200 Euro more than that (starting prices).

The Speedmaster Reduced we featured in one of our Wrist Game, Crying Shame articles. Image via LOVE AND FUN PRODUCTION UG via Chrono24.

But If You Want The Real Deal

Note that the modern Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” (here’s an article on how it became the Moonwatch) goes by the references of 311.30.42.30.01.005, earlier references are 3570.50, 3590.50, 145.022, 145.012, 105.012, 105.003, 105.002, CK2998 and CK2915. Some of the limited or special editions occasionally have a slightly different reference number, so be mindful of that. You will find an overview of all these Moonwatch references in this article.

You can find all of our Speedy Tuesday articles here.

This article appeared first on Jun 25, 2013, but has been updated (pictures, prices etc.)