Omega Speedmaster Professional

After owing a Rolex Explorer II for 18 years, I decided to save some money up and repurchase my second choice in the luxury watch department. The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moon Watch, it was a toss up 18 years ago and I have to say I'm still 50/50 on which is the better watch maker. They both have outstanding accomplishment's through out their watch making histories. I did a lot of researching on this model before I made my choice on this "Special Edition" and I have no regrets!!!! I like the upgrade to the different "Themes" to the Moon Watch over the years, my first choice was the Snoopy edition but with the aftermarket price of $3500-$4500 to a used watch it was a bit out of my price range. My father worked for NASA during the Apollo days and when I came across this edition it reminded me of him every much and he would have been amazed at the Mars landing mankind has accomplished which is the theme to this watch along with our goal to put man on Mars. Their are a dozen or so styles too this watch but I choose to stick to the original makings of this watch with the plastic crystal and solid back, which hasn't really changed over 50 years. If your a person that gets his hands dirty like myself you may want to get a model that has the sapphire crystal on the face, since the plastic glass style can scratch easily but light scratch can be buffed out with a wax compound. I can attest to the sapphire crystal as being very very durable to hits from owing a Rolex and is the usual choice of all watch makers for the choice of most better watch face's. I also ditched the steel bracelet and picked up a black $10 nylon military watch band which gives the Moon watch the more astronaut look. Goes very well with the black face. The one big thing I have to get used to is the manual wind movement, I'm a bit more on the automatic style but again this manual style really hasn't changed but other then a better more lasting finish on it, changed over after the moon landing to the 861 and now the 1861. So I think this movement has proving it's self on earth and the moon!!!! Enough said there!!! Just one more thing about this watch, you may want to pick any style moon watch up because what I've been reading is Omega is switching to their new caliber of co-axil movements on "ALL"??? Watch's. Don't hold me to the "ALL" but I would think the end to the manual wind moon watch could be near???? I hope not!!!