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Thread: Speedmaster CK2998

  1. #1

    Speedmaster CK2998

    So I thought I'd write a little thing about this watch after having had it a couple of weeks.

    A little backstory. I was always an "Omega Guy" until, in the last couple of years, being an "Omega Guy" came to mean being a guy who enjoys attaching stupidly thick objects to his arm. Bigger is better, right? And bigger and brasher is best off all.
    Would Sir care for polished links?
    No? Well tough taleggio.
    It's that or the skin of a dead orange rubber dinghy draped over a section of bezel.

    But there's always the Speedmaster.
    Yes, lots of Omegas carry that name but we know which ones we are talking about, don't we?
    They don't wind themselves. They don't laugh in the face of magnetic fields that could pull a car apart quicker than a bare-knuckle boxer's orang-utan (a reference for the old farts like me, there). They don't coolly drop into conversation the fact that they feel no friction in their pallet forks or accompany everyone's favourite secret agent on missions for Her Majesty.

    They do leave the planet sometimes, though. That's pretty cool, isn't it?

    Yeah, even people who don't/no longer/never did like Omega generally have to give a nod of respect to the Speedy Pro. But you do hear a lot of grousing about all the limited editions. Historically, that was justified as we seemed to get another commemorative patch edition every few weeks. The watches themselves often ranged from dull all the way through to unimaginative and dull but, recently, Omega has been offering up some nicer stuff. The FOIS was something aimed right at those who knew and appreciated the history of the watch and was a sliver of hesalite away from being perfect. The Snoopy II was likewise a product that was well thought out and full of quirky little details that made it special.
    I missed out on that one. It went pretty quickly but the signs were there that Omega had really embraced the idea that special editions ought to be special. More recently, the Speedy Tuesday was the clearest sign yet that, while most of Omega's range was catering to a broad market, the Speedy- the real Speedy - was still the watch that was being made for us. We who love watches, or maybe just these watches, hadn't been forgotten.

    Anyway, last year at Basel, Omega gave us the prettiest Speedmaster ever. Don't bother arguing. If you don't agree, you're wrong.
    And I missed it.
    Very quickly, AD's were giving pessimistic responses to inquiries. Even Omega Boutiques were talking about waiting lists far exceeding predicted allotments in the post-Snoopy LE landscape. I saw them appearing in the usual places with silly premiums as evidence that the speculators had sniffed out the new sure thing. I quickly gave up asking but, for the last year, I have come to reflexively scan every Omega display I've passed in the... yeah, "hope" probably isn't the right word but... in the vague, sad, tiny hope that there might be one. And a couple of weeks ago, in Milan, there was.

    I have two other watches on my To Buy list this year but I wasn't going to pass this up for anything else. Once I held it in my hand... wow. Many watches look better "in the flesh" than we expect from pictures but this was extraordinary.

    At this point, I suppose I really ought to give you a picture. Here.


    Hideous, isn't it? No? That's because you haven't seen it in the flesh.
    The way the ceramic bezel reflects light in harmony with the other concentric circles moving in from the outer edge of the dial is hypnotic. The silver of the dial seems to glow. The graduations on the bezel actually do glow. Literally.



    Now an ex-"Omega guy" confession. I've recently been buying Rolexes. I like them. A lot. My last three watches were Rolexes and at least three of my next four will be if the fates smile on me and I can afford them. I would not call myself a Rolex "fan" but someone less charitable might and the offence that I would pretend to take probably wouldn't convince anyone.

    But the Speedmaster is better than the Daytona.

    I'm not looking to start a debate here where we talk about finish or winding mechanisms. The Speedmaster has the better history, the more elegant, timeless details and, if a watch can be said to possess such as thing, the most charisma. Besides, for the purposes of this post, the Speedmaster is better than the Daytona because I like it more. It has been decades since there was a Daytona that looked anywhere near as good as a Speedmaster and that watch, coincidentally featured a panda dial, not a million miles away from that of the CK2998.

    Now I'm never going to be in the market for a Paul Newman Daytona but, if I wanted a chronograph that beautiful, that nuts-achingly elegant, it's not going to come with a crown on the box. Someone recently put a photo on another forum of a new ceramic Daytona and a CK2998 alongside each other and it was shocking to me how bad the Rolex looked by comparison. I don't love the new Daytona but I did think it an improvement over the previous model and even thought, you know, one day, if things go well....
    But the CK really underlined how badly the Daytona has been treated over the years. From the little white gold lume-dinghy markers and advertising copy on the dial to acre after acre of polished stainless steel, the Daytona has not aged gracefully.
    But it was once gorgeous. As gorgeous as the CK2998? To a vintage guy, maybe. To those who type things like "Rolex > [insert other brand]" as a response to almost any watch-related question, maybe.
    But, to me, this is the most beautiful Speedmaster of all and that means that it must also be the most beautiful chronograph of all.
    And I am a lucky bugger.


    Thank you for your indulgence.
    Last edited by GaryF; Apr 29, 2017 at 10:03 PM.

  2. #2
    Well written - as expected, obviously - and very nice review, Gary. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the Speedmaster CK2998.

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  4. #3
    Bravo, sir! Great pics and great write up! After not caring about Speedies in the beginning, I have become a big Speedy fan over the last year. I hope to join the club soon.

    BTW, I think we have the same sport coat. Is that a Burberry? Mine is many years old, but wears so well and still looks great.

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  6. #4
    Moderator - Central tribe125's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GaryF View Post
    Thank you for your indulgence.

    My pleasure. And I agree, that's much more appealing than a Daytona.

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  8. #5
    if i can only have one Omega.. that would be "IT" !!
    thank you so much Gary.. i really enjoy your writing!
    I'm on instagram: @iyonk_strap

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  10. #6
    Thanks, everyone.

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  12. #7
    El bot. geoffbot's Avatar
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    Good watch, good suit, good photographs, good review.
    Follow IWL on instagram! https://instagram.com/iwatchleague

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  14. #8
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    It certainly is a stray from the classic Speedy design but it's sharp.
    .
    .
    .

    Retired from Fire/Rescue January 2019 with 30 years on the job

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  16. #9
    Hall Monitor Samanator's Avatar
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    Speedmaster CK2998

    Great review. Did you change the strap? It looks much darker and less texture.

    Here is mine (Can't find a wrist shot)


    OBTW I actually really like the new Titanium PO. Even if is does have the skin of a dead orange rubber dinghy draped over a section of bezel. It looks great even with those hideous arrow hands. Your welcome to beat up Omega as much as you want on those.
    Last edited by Samanator; May 3, 2017 at 02:44 AM.
    Cheers,

    Michael

    Tell everyone you saw it on IWL!

  17. #10
    Hall Monitor Samanator's Avatar
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    Speedmaster CK2998

    On the Speedy Tuesday I think this was more Omega experimenting with direct online selling. Much cheaper than the grand boutiques to sell watches. Given the speed these sold out I would say it was a success, albeit as you indicated if you start with the most popular line with a unique very limited LE model was there any doubt? Let's see it work with a limited PO, AT or Constellation and then you can claim victory.

    As a side note the crown brand has been tempting me a lot lately. I know I have one, maybe two more in my next two years. I never thought of myself as an Omega Guy, but since they dominates my collection I guess I am?


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
    Last edited by Samanator; May 3, 2017 at 12:41 PM.
    Cheers,

    Michael

    Tell everyone you saw it on IWL!

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