Unpopular Opinion: The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Is Overrated

Yes I actually said it, the iconic Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is overrated. I realize this is an extremely unpopular opinion, but I do know I’m not alone. It’s actually overrated for a variety of reasons, from the history to the sizing and design, as well as the movement and brand clout.

The Speedmaster has become an industry standard icon, even earning itself a marketing ploy hashtag known as #speedytuesday. It’s also earned itself a fun but gimmicky collaboration with Swatch, the model now famously known as the Moonswatch. The recent release of the Moonswatch MoonShine was nearly an insult to the watch collecting community, with a huge build up to its release only to let us down with its gold plated seconds hand. This brings me to my first point of irritation for this watch model, it’s forced upon us watch enthusiasts everywhere we look, to the point where I find myself and other watch enthusiasts losing interest in Omega’s most popular line of watches. The Speedmaster Moonwatch has to be the most promoted watch in the industry, it’s advertised excessively on Instragram whether with direct sponsored posts or indirect influencer mentions. Actually the #speedytuesday hashtag is an entire marketing campaign in itself, it’s created by an influencer and founder of a prominent commercialized watch media company. The #speedytuesday hashtag movement appears as innocent fun, but there is massive monetary influence as a driving force behind it. This could be in the form of direct monetary compensation or indirect industry perks such as all expenses paid event junkets – what is most likely happening is a combination of both. When this aspect of the Speedmaster is revealed to us seasoned watch collectors, the curtains have been pulled back and the authentic fun of owning one of these watches is drained away.

No Interest in Moon Exploration

Sorry guys, but as a watch lover of all types I have very limited interest in Moon exploration from 1969, and that’s what the Speedmaster Moonwatch is all about. I’ve tried to get excited about it but at this point it just feels antiquated and overdone, I then find myself digging into sub-variations of the Speedmaster with what I personally find as more exciting themes such as car racing.

Negative Technical Aspects

The Moonwatch isn’t a small watch, it comes in at a 42mm case size and a case thickness of 13mm. This is larger than the Rolex Submariner, a robust dive watch with a water resistance of 300 meters. Instead of releasing tacky limited edition one after another, why hasn’t Omega worked on improving the wearability of their best selling watch?

The movement inside the Moonwatch is a work of art, but it’s big, and it’s manual wind. I can understand the idea of retaining the original historical aspects of this movement but it would be nice to see some kind of improvements that would allow it to fit in a slimmer smaller case size.

The bracelet on this watch is nice, but for a watch selling at $6,600usd it does not equate in quality to any of the Rolex bracelets. The clasp is still fairly tinny, and the links are not as tightly set as Rolex, the tolerances at Omega’s watchmaking factories are not yet up to par with the industry leader.

The Aesthetics are Bland

Some of the most coveted watches in the world are monochrome in design, but the Moonwatch is truly just black and white. Yes I love my monochrome Daytona 116500 with black dial, but even that watch has a splash of red text. The hesalite version of the Moonwatch, which is the most accurate modern representation of the original, has nothing applied on the dial. I repeat, nothing applied – none of the indices, markers, or even the logo. I understand this is done to keep the watch historically accurate to the original, the same reason why it has a hesalite crystal, but this does not take away from the fact that the raw design can appear quite mundane when compared to other modern watches of the same price bracket.

In exchange for it’s lack of workmanship you do get what some collectors refer to as a nostalgic feeling, it feels like the real deal original Moonwatch especially when viewed at an angle and the domed plastic crystal distorts the dial.

Final Thoughts

Does this mean I don’t like the Moonwatch? Absolutely not, as a matter of fact I’ve grappled with the idea of acquiring one, whether a new modern variation or something vintage. The reality is that it’s a great watch with an even more impressive history, it also simply looks fantastic on wrist. With that said though, Omega’s flagship watch would be so much easier to love if it wasn’t forced upon us in the way they’ve been doing. They appear to be pushing it to the masses but at the same time driving away dedicated and passionate watch collectors.

Unfortunately as things stand it does not appear that Omega is reversing course on this trajectory but quite the opposite. They are prioritizing bottom line profit, rightfully so as a for profit business, but they may not be taking into account the long term brand damage it could be inflicting. For now, most passionate collectors are going to sit back and watch the show unfold.