Omega’s Black Sheep—a Look at the Speedmaster “Teutonic”

The case edges and lines are mostly soft and flowing, and the bead-blasted finish adds to this effect. The chronograph pushers and crown are rounded and deeply set within the case, and though the case lines threaten to resolve to a sharp point against the back of your hand, the angles soften again to create a gentle recess. The protrusion of the case on the right side is offset and echoed by the concave scallop at the top and bottom lugs where the integrated bracelet meets the case.

The bracelet itself is fairly lightweight, but the flat links and pronounced taper match the aesthetics of the watch perfectly. The three-link design gives off a sporty and unmistakably ’80s vibe, and, due to the lug design, it’s visible on both sides of the wrist when the watch is viewed face on. From other angles, the line of the bracelet continues up into the scalloped areas of the case. Of course, the integrated bracelet does mean that other strap choices are a non-starter, but this isn’t a watch where I wouldn’t even think about swapping out the bracelet. The transition from case to bracelet is an integral part of the design.

As with other Speedmasters, the bezel here displays a tachymeter ring.  Instead of an insert, the markings are etched into the steel bezel itself, and on a more pristine example they’d be filled with paint to make them much more legible.  The scratched bezel here suggests this watch has spent much of its life as a true tool. The crystal is a flat sapphire unlike most other Speedmaster references, and that choice over acrylic has allowed the crystal to withstand the test of time a little better than the case and bezel have.

So, in what ways is it similar to the totemic Speedmaster? Let us turn to the dial and movement.

Inside beats the Omega 861—a manual caliber that is well known to Speedmaster fans. The Omega 861 gives rise to the familiar chronograph dial layout with running seconds at the nine o’clock register, and with chronograph minutes and hours at three and six o’clock, respectively.

The sandpaper-like finish to the dial gives it great texture and detail, and the applied indices create depth. The indices at three, six, nine and 12 are solid black, whereas the others exhibit a more ornate design with a gold and black finish. The gold adds a slight warmth against the gray of the dial and case, and it’s also matched by the lumed areas of the hands and hour markers.

The lume itself is long past useful here, and the luminous paint on the tip of the second hand has flaked and fallen away. This is probably the largest cosmetic disappointment on my example, and though it can be rectified, I prefer to leave it as is rather than have a newly lumed second hand looking out of place.

Like many watches of its age, the market price is highly dependent on condition. I generally see these watches go for a range of anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000, so on paper the Teutonic appears to be one of the best value Omega Speedmasters you can buy outside of the Reduced range—of course, that’s if you can see the beauty in it.