Omega Introduces the New Speedmaster Professional “Black and White”

The Speedmaster family grows again today as Omega announces a pair of new Moonwatches to the stable. The new additions, which the brand refers to as the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Black and White, seem kind of obvious at first glance, but if you dig a little deeper (just a little) these watches actually say something interesting about what a Speedmaster Professional is, and it’s somewhat different than what that was only a few years ago.

Broadly speaking, what we have here are a pair of manually wound Speedmasters with a classic reverse panda dial layout, one in steel and one in 18k Moonshine Gold. A reverse panda layout, with a black base dial and white subdials, is not in and of itself all that unusual, but in the world of Speedmaster Professionals it’s quite out of the ordinary. Apart from limited editions, which are really a separate category altogether, the Speedy Pro has always just been black, until it wasn’t. The introduction of the white dial Speedmaster a few years ago reoriented us to think differently about these watches, and this pair, in a small way, does it again. 

The execution of these Black and White editions appears to be top notch. The black dials are varnished and lacquered, which ought to give them a more luxurious orientation than the standard matte black Speedy. The subdial frames are rhodium plated, and the white subdials have been given a lacquer treatment as well. 

Specs match other Speedmaster Professionals exactly, as you’d expect. The diameter comes in at 42mm and the case height is 13.54mm. Each has a bracelet in a matching metal in the new Speedmaster style introduced several years ago with the modern 3861 coaxial movement, which can be seen on these watches through the sapphire caseback (both Black and Whites also have sapphire crystals on the front – no acrylic option). 

Purists, I’m sure, will bemoan that these are not “true” Speedmaster Professionals as they diverge somewhat sharply with certain aspects of what made the Moonwatch the Moonwatch. To that I say, Omega calls these watches “Professionals” so that’s what they are. They reflect a strategy for Omega which has now become obvious: provide customers with more options that feel more premium when it comes to buying a watch in their most iconic collection. 

The new Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Black and White retails for $10,400 in steel and $49,300 in gold. Omega