The Setup
Hello? Is this thing on?
Hey there – David here. You probably have only heard me on the podcast thus far, so I figured I would give the ole’ midlife crisis a try and write a review! Luckily, this isn’t my first watch review ever as I have been very lucky in the past to review a watch I won in a contest put on by famous watch site A Blog To Watch. When Ariel Adams emailed me to say I won a Tudor Heritage Chronograph, I honestly expected it to be a scam. But after some back and forth, it was confirmed to be the real deal, and a week later I had the watch in hand!
Okay, so let me run the intro. You might have heard on our podcast that I recently bought a Speedmaster in Tokyo! Let me paint the picture for you behind why and how I came to own this slightly unusual Omega.
As it stands, I recently got back from an 18-day excursion in Japan. The rise in popularity is for good reason (or rather several): a strong U.S. dollar, incredible food, ten out of ten coffee, and a close to perfect transit system that allows for stress free travel (I’m looking at you, MARTA).
This wasn’t my first trip to Japan, as I had visited previously in late 2023 with my buddy Michael. This time, I went with my amazing wife for our three-year wedding anniversary. Starting in Tokyo, we stayed for a night in a ryokan in Hakone, before going to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and then back to Tokyo for Disney® Land and Sea.
20 Days In Paradise
It’s nice to have a long trip like this; you feel quite settled in the day to day since moving around is done very deliberately with intent. I feel that part of any great trip is to dive into what you truly love, which for me includes coffee and watches. The Japanese have a cultural dedication to providing the best quality and customer service, and it shows in any niche topic you may like.
For the watch hunting aspect, there are many places I could have went (and did). Nakano Broadway is a mall out in Nakano, about 40 minutes from Tokyo by subway. Dedicated to anything Otaku (a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests) over its 13 floors, Nakano Broadway is overwhelming. There is a plethora of watch store selections, from shops that specialize in newer watches like Jackroad + Betty, or places like the one I purchased a vintage Ricoh from called Firekids. While I found the Ricoh to be quite fun and interesting, I was still looking for something else that would have both incredible value and scratch my itch for a chronograph.
Several days pass by and I am now perusing the goods of Daikokuya, a used goods chain in Japan, before I spot something that I didn’t even know existed. My eyes catch an Omega Speedmaster, but with a moonphase aperture at the top of an off-white shaded dial. I knew Omega had made several modern moonphase versions of the Speedmaster such as the ref. 304.33.44.52.03.001, but that particular watch and its siblings are usually over 44mm (which is a no-go for me sizing-wise). Also, what a reference number – it looks like I’m reciting Pi digits attached to a phone number! As it happens, this Speedmaster I have discovered, the ref. 3575.20, is only 42mm and is somewhat thinner as well. I knew immediately that I had to have it, especially seeing as I am a serious fan of steel white dial sport watches.
Here comes the planning phase and some complicated logistics. I had to get this new Speedy from the Daikokuya store in Fukuoka to the nearest store to me in Kyoto, which happened to be Osaka. Luckily, the store offered to ship it to their Osaka location for free after a brief message stating my interest. Perhaps doubly luckily for me, my wife and I had wanted to go to Osaka anyways. The day we went lined up perfectly with when the watch arrived at the showroom and it was a quick done deal. Plus, did I mention it was tax free?
Unique Features
While it isn’t a direct copy of the original “Speedy Moon” ref. 345.0809, the limited run Speedmaster that started it all in 1985 for moonphase moon watches, the ref. 3575.20 does still share many of the same core features.
The case is stainless steel, but Omega decided the bezel should stand out and constructed it out of 18-karat white gold; in my opinion, it really transforms the way the watch reflects the light back to you versus using steel. According to a commentor on Fratello Watches, the moonphase disc is also precious metal due to being constructed from 18-karat yellow gold. The moon itself is also polished and smooth, so it even reflects your own image back at you. Quite the menagerie of materials in this seemingly ordinary Speedy Moon! Protecting the creamy white and highly legible dial housing that moonphase aperture is a sapphire crystal. I know that hesalite is the traditional Speedmaster crystal of choice, but I personally prefer the heightened durability of sapphire.
The hands are probably one of the biggest differences on this watch versus traditional Speedmaster Professionals. Broad arrow hands and indices that are blued aren’t what most people typically think of when hearing the word Speedmaster (admittedly, even I thought of the typical baton hands at first), but these broad arrow hands do have historical precedence with the CK2915 which came out in 1957. This style works on the white dial quite well, adding to the moonphase motif with a twilight blue coloring. If this were a black dial, I just don’t think the blue coloring would work. Luckily, it all works together quite well in similar fashion to the Omega Speedmaster ’57 (itself a modern tribute to the CK2915).
The ref. 3575.20 is powered by Omega’s Caliber 1866, which is an updated version of the Cal. 1861 movement with better machining and the added moonphase complication. Unfortunately Omega never released the accuracy range per day, but I find it to be more than accurate enough for personal daily use. Operating the Cal. 1866 requires two small pushers at the 10 o’clock position on the case, which you can use to set the date and moonphase position. Omega once made a tool to simplify this action, but it has since been discontinued.
Closing Thoughts
No doubt, this purchase happened quickly. I was actually looking for something entirely different at first in a vintage Zenith De Luca; however, once I started browsing Japanese watch sites and saw this Omega, it changed my desire completely. The subdials of the De Luca are in a panda configuration, whilst the Omega’s subdials are color matched; I can’t really say I am lamenting not having the De Luca’s panda aesthetics at the moment. As a plus, the overall layout of the Speedmaster is much cleaner and more symmetrical versus the De Luca (4:30 date windows, am I right?).
I find the Speedy Moonphase quite good on the current bracelet, although I have learned recently from our friends at Watch Your Wrist that I can order a new flat link bracelet from Omega (like the one on the First Omega In Space) and change up the look if desired. This one also looks great on a litany of straps; stay tuned as I’ll have to do some searching for the “one.” Perhaps an Erika’s Originals strap like we’ve discussed on the podcast may do nicely.
At the time of this article being posted, it has now been just around two months of wearing the ref. 3575.20 almost exclusively. Funny how new things overwhelmingly take over the place of your old standbys, like my ref. 16570 Explorer II. The way it catches natural light is so beautiful; the dial changes from a creamy white to eggshell, the lume glows brightly despite only being on little pips on the indices and the hands, and the blued hands and markers add great contrast in terms of both design and function.
I wear one watch almost exclusively, and the Explorer II has been on my wrist 99% of the time since I bought it in February of 2020. Perhaps it is the new watch honeymoon period, but I am finding the Speedy to be just as versatile as my Explorer II is. While completely different in manufacture, size, complications, and looks, I think this might even replace that watch at some point given my tendency to stick with one watch the majority of the time. I’m very happy with my purchase and can’t see the Speedy leaving my wrist anytime soon. Stay tuned to the podcast to hear what happens!
Technical Information:
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Crystal: Sapphire
- Movement: Omega Cal. 1866
- Power Reserve: 48 Hours
- Bezel: Tachymeter (White Gold)
- Caseback: Solid
- Water Resistance: 30m
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 48mm
- Lug Width: 20mm
- Thickness: 14.3mm
- Pricing: $5,500 (Discontinued, Grey / Secondary Market estimate)
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