Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonphase Moon Watch 3576.50.00 Review | SwissWatchExpo

Fresh from the Showcase here 
at SwissWatchExpo. Today,  
we’ve got a pretty straightforward one. We’ve 
got a Speedmaster MoonWatch with a moonphase,  
which is really beautiful and what’s 
not to love. So let’s check it out.
I have with me today, one of my favorite 
Speedmaster references, one of my favorite  
complications, really, in all of watchmaking, 
and something that is sure to piss off a ton  
of MoonWatch fans out here. I have a sapphire 
sandwich MoonWatch with a moonphase and date  
indicator, which in many ways makes this not 
a MoonWatch at all, but I’m going to say it is  
because Omega says it does. Omega calls this a 
MoonWatch, they call this particular reference  
part of the MoonWatch line. So I am not 
in any position to disagree with them,  
although I’m sure a lot of collectors just might. 
And I, for one, absolutely love this complication  
on a lot of different chronographs. I also really 
just love this complication on the MoonWatch,  
which might be just sheer anathema for so many of 
the Speedmaster Professional collectors out there.
But I love, love, love just how symmetrical this 
does make the dial. Now we have four sub-dials  
on the dial and a perfectly circular round 
motif that I think is really well done here.  
I mean, obviously, the sub-dials at 3, 
6, and 9 have stayed exactly the same.  
In many ways, this dial is identical to 
the MoonWatch dial that you know and love.  
But the most glaring difference is

going to
be the addition of this moonphase indicator
as well as a date wheel surrounding it, which
I think is a beautiful, beautiful complication
that they’ve added to this dial. And it also
keeps the perfectly circular motif, I think of
this. I don’t even know how intentional that was,
but it is an absolutely incredible-looking watch.
And I think really took an iconic-looking watch
and made it even more aesthetically pleasing.
Now, I say as with so many watches,
particularly the MoonWatches that have
used this. The moonphase indicator is almost
entirely aesthetic for a lot of reasons. One
when’s the last time you thought about what
the moonphase is. I don’t even know what you
would have to be doing professionally
to require that knowledge everyday,
but say you did the fact that this does have
a manual winding caliber, the caliber 1866,
which is just a modified 1861 with a moonphase and
date. That’s it. Otherwise, it’s exactly the same
the fact that you would need to wind this watch
everyday would make it pretty hard to keep in sync
with the moonphase, but that’s also why I think
it’s very aesthetically beautiful complication
with this beautiful blue background here, which
I think does add just a little bit of richness
to the dial, a little extra color, but it’s a
very light or a very dark color. A neutral color.
So it’s not really gonna throw your
eyes off or be super distracting.
Couple of small differences here,
Speedmaster and Professional have been moved
down to the lower half of the dial. So in
a traditional MoonWatch, as you would know,
you would have the Omega symbol as you do see
it here but with Speedmaster and Professional
right next to it as well. They’ve since moved
that down but of course they needed to keep that
script on the dial. I think really an effort to
keep this ain’t MoonWatch. They’re calling this
a MoonWatch. I think the fact that they have the
same text on the dial, albeit in different places
definitely means that they’re keeping, you know,
in that tradition. Otherwise this is a beautiful
watch to the professional style bracelet from this
generation, which I think might be my favorite.
I love a mostly brushed finish. And the
fact that this is gonna be really durable,
not show a lot of scratches, a super thin
high polish line here, but that’s gonna be
super, super clean and it’s gonna stay that
way. So this would make a fantastic choice for
a watch that you really wanted to make your daily
wear. And I think the fact that this does have a
sapphire sandwich, which is another feature
that we’ll say might be a bit controversial
amongst the purists. But as you know, I love
them. You’re looking at a guy who has ruined
many acrylic crystal. So at this point, if
I’m investing in something like a MoonWatch,
I am going to want that the protection that
that sapphire crystal provides, and as well as
the fact that you get to see this beautiful
1866 movement. Here the 1861 is beautiful.
I’ve held both of these side by side and they
look pretty much identical to my novice eyes
from the back of this. So they must be hiding
that date in moonphase somewhere deep, deep,
deep into these beautiful mechanics here, but
they did keep the sapphire crystal on the back
so you are able to get that beautiful view when
you’re not wearing this watch. I feel like a lot
of people watching this video have probably
already made up their minds whether or not
they would really be as liberal in their
definition of a MoonWatch to consider this,
but you can consider me amongst them. It is
beautiful. I absolutely love the circular
pattern. The circular motif that having that
fourth sub-dial on the dial sort of gives you.
And the fact that I understand that a moonphase is
a pretty much exclusively aesthetic complication.
So I’m not gonna be overly concerned by the
fact that this is a watch that you would have
to wind every day and it would not stay in sync
unless you were super on top of it all the time.
But that being said beautiful watch and a
beautiful addition to the Speedmaster line
to the MoonWatch line. That’s right. I’m putting
my flag in the ground. I’m calling it a MoonWatch
too. But if you want more of a traditional you
know, acrylic crystal version, maybe even one
with an 861 or a 321 movement. Guess what? We’ve
got that too. So give us a call. Any MoonWatch,
any Speedmaster you want, you need to be checking
out our website first that’s SwissWatchExpo.com.