What is the Best Luxury Watch? | Rolex Submariner Vs. Omega Speedmaster

what's up YouTube I'm guy today on the channel we're gonna be talking about a pair of watches that are easily the two most important significant most certainly the two most popular watches on the market today first of the dive watches genre what we're talking about is the Rolex Submariner secondly of the chronograph genre obviously the Omega Speedmaster it is really common for me to get this question something along the lines of I want to get a new watch or maybe I want to get my first luxury watch should I get the Rolex Submariner or should I get the Omega Speedmaster well I'm gonna tell you what I think about that I'm gonna tell you what I think about both of these watches and what it's like to have been owning them and wearing them for the last couple of years now but before that first a word from this video sponsor this video is sponsored by tic-tock watch repair and a very big thank you to them for reaching out to me and offering to sponsor this video tik-tok watch repair is a friendly and professional watch repair center located in the heart of Los Angeles California specializing in modern watches and coronagraphs no repairs too big or too small for the certified tick-tock watch repair technicians if you'd like more information about the services they provide visit the tic-tock watch repairs comm website and download the service repair forum or select the get an estimate button once provided with an estimate and the work order approved - tic-tock watch repair we'll complete the necessary work on your timepiece and ship the watch back working like new don't forget to visit the tic-tock watch repair instagram for great detailed photos of their repair work and check them out on yelp where they have all five-star ratings and excellent feedback it's become so common that I've gotten this question of should I get a submariner should I get a speed master maybe should I get both of them that I started to suspect that these are probably the two most popular watches in the luxury segment now without a doubt I understand why they are I own both of them and I love them but I wanted to confirm my suspicions so I threw up a couple of poles not too long ago on the just Bluefish watch Club Facebook group first I did a poll asking everybody in the group what is your favorite luxury cronograph and the speed master went up against heavy hitters the likes of which include the Rolex Daytona the Breitling and Avatar the zennith el primero and the speed master absolutely crushed the competition the majority of people voted for the speed master being their favorite chronograph the next poll I threw up was similar what is your favorite luxury dive watch and of course the Rolex Submariner went up against a bunch of heavy hitters what we're talking about of course is the block pond Fifty Fathoms the Omega Seamaster a bunch of other really great very desirable luxury dive watches and it was no joke the Submariner crushed of the competition in that poll as well I think it's safe to say that these are without a doubt the two most popular luxury watches certainly luxury tool or sports watches I have no doubt so the first thing we probably would ask ourselves is why are these watches so incredibly popular I think there's a number of factors there's the history of these watches both very storied histories a lot of provenance with these two timepieces they've been around for ages they've been refined and updated over the years but they still capture the original DNA of the designs for which they are based they are timeless classics I absolutely understand why everybody loves these watches I do as well the Rolex Submariner began its life in 1953 technically is when production began and it went to market in 1954 it was beat to market by the blonde Fifty Fathoms so in the race to become the first dive watch as we know it today yes the Blount plant Fifty Fathoms did get to the market first however I think that we could all agree that the Rolex Submariner eclipsed the Blount plant Fifty Fathoms in terms of its overall reach in how often it has been used by professional divers and for many many decades that's exactly what it was a professional dive watch it's been connected to a ton of really impressive names of course there is the French diving company Comex Jacques Cousteau if I'm not mistaken wore a Rolex Submariner the British Royal Navy even our own United States Navy SEALs at one time or another have used Rolex Submariner 'he's not the least of which when we're talking about names that are connected to the Rolex Submariner is of course James Bond the watch was featured in the first four James Bond movies if I'm not mistaken and that really added to the the mystique and appeal of this watch yeah it has a long storied history dating all the way back to the 1950s while the Submariner came out in the 1950s our Omega Speedmaster predates it by more than a decade it was introduced in 1942 and its claim to fame is obviously it's connection to NASA and the space program of course first and foremost Apollo 11 in the moon landing the speed master accompanied those astronauts to the moon it's something that will forever be in the hearts and minds of an soozee estuvo apollo 13 number one was a real event and it's an event that the speed pastor played an incredibly important role in and of course we saw it reenacted in the Tom Hanks movie from 1995 if I'm not mistaken of the same name Apollo 13 and in that movie of course as the astronauts were trying to get back to earth after a failure of their space spaceship for lack of a better word they used their speed master for that all-important time to burn of the engines to get back on course it's a watch that's been in our collective minds for decades and decades and I think that the history and the connection to the NASA space program largely drives people to want to have a piece of that history and why I think a lot of people want to own this watch now I've said it before in the past the idea of the historical provenance of a watch is actually not that important to me I don't love the Submariner because this is James Bond wear it in some movies I don't love the speedmaster because of its connection with NASA and the space missions those are cool and I don't begrudge anyone that likes these watches because of those connections but for me I love these watches because they're excellent timepieces they are exquisitely crafted they're of the highest quality that one could expect for a modern rugged durable tool watch I love the designs the designs are simple they're classic and they're absolutely perfect both of these watches in terms of the overall aesthetic the look and feel and the design again it's fantastic those are a lot of the reasons on why I love these watches it has very little to do with that that history and the storied past of these watches when looking at these watches side-by-side it's difficult to address the question which watch is better they're both fantastic and the idea of better or preference is largely so objective personal taste changes from person to person so when I'm asked which I should get first I usually kind of address it from my own perspective and my perspective is gonna differ from a lot of you guys but I'll try to tell you the thought process that I went through when I was making that very same decision ultimately though the answer is get both of them if you can both of these watches have a touch of what I would call classic elegance despite having a long history of being rooted in the genre of tool watch or sports watch there's something about these watches that both dresses up and dresses down without really changing a thing it's an interesting dynamic that you get with these watches that I find you do not get with the majority of watches on the market take an average dive watch or an average dress watch they don't really serve multiple roles that's something that I find really appealing about these watches they are certainly double duty in that regard I think that most people would say you can't wear either these watches with a tuxedo I might tend to agree although truth be told I'd probably do it anyway I wouldn't say anyone's wrong for feeling that way though nevertheless in just about every other environment these watches would be you know absolutely fine from shorts and flip-flops up to business attire suit and tie I think you have no problem doing it all or pretty much everything with these watches let's take a look at the speed master up-close first simplicity is the name of the game when it comes to the overall presentation of the face of this watch I think that the watch is dressed up quite a bit when it comes to the overall design of the case and of course the bracelet but with the face of the watch with the dial of the watch with the hand very simple printing crisp stark high contrast white and black legibility is fantastic with this watch and it's one of my favorite things about it nothing I hate worse than a watch that's difficult to actually read I want to know the time I want to know what the heck I'm looking at watches with really busy dials with difficult to read indices low contrast colorations that's not for me typically this watch has legibility and simplicity in spades now of course it's a coronagraph a feature that I honestly don't find all that particularly useful I just don't need to time things with a great deal of precision the way a chronograph is set up to work but it is a cool feature it's a complication that a lot of us will probably use more of I don't know a toy for lack of a better word something to just have fun with are we gonna time our steaks on the grill with it yeah probably because we can but are we gonna time our I don't know quarter-mile track times with it in conjunction with the tack of metric bezel absolutely not 99.99% of us are never taking this watch to the track and yeah getting our you know track times with it it's just not happening so coronagraphs are functional they're useful but it's not something that's necessary the thing that's interesting about it though is that it's just pretty to look at there's something enjoyable about looking down at your wrist and seeing those sub dials seeing that central seconds hand seeing the the overall layout and the balance and the harmony of all of these parts working in unison that is just really appealing and yeah I get it I understand why this watch is so beloved I think that has a lot to do with it while the face of the watch is simple legible classic it is just laid out perfectly what's interesting is the the case and the bracelet of this watch that's where you get that hint of elegance it's got those twisted lugs or the lire lug profiled case with alternating high polished and brushed surfaces sized just about right in my opinion is it a little bit large for my six and three-quarter inch wrist yes it is but it's certainly not too large it's just a hair bigger than I might prefer now if you have a much smaller wrist you might have issues with the full sized Omega Speedmaster moon watch professionally you might try something like the reduced or the first Omega in space a slightly smaller watch but it's not too big for me it is maybe just a hair bigger that I might prefer I digress the elegance of the case design and the bracelet with those high polished centerlink edges that's what really kind of dresses this watch up and makes it feel that extra level of versatile that I had mentioned earlier the original clasp on this watch not outstanding of course I've reviewed the Omega Speedmaster in the past as well as the Rolex Submariner extensively and I talked about this in those videos but let me touch on the fact one more time the clasp on this watch as it comes from the factory is high-quality and well made but woefully inadequate in terms of the adjustability there's simply only two single micro adjustment points on the bracelet I chose to buy a clasp made by Omega after market and install it which gave me a similar glide lock style system that we find on the sub-mariner it gives you six levels of adjustability I'm able to tune in the fit of the watch on the wrist now because of that upgrade I highly recommend it keep that in mind it is a shortcoming of this watch the overall quality of the speed Master the fit and finish is outstanding considering the price point but another downside is that price point at over five thousand dollars it does not hold its value and if you're the type of guy that wants a watch that holds its value this might not be the first watch for you if you're the type of guy that thinks in two three four or five years I might want to get out of this watch and sell it you're gonna lose a lot of money if you buy it at that full retail price you have to be extremely smart with your dollar when you're purchasing an Omega Speedmaster buying it gray market buying it secondhand or haggling like a mofo at the authorized dealer and getting a big discount otherwise you are going to get the heck beat out of you when you go to resell it now we're gonna take a closer look at the rolex submariner again a very versatile watch it's funny I find that the opposite is true with the Submariner visa V what I said about the Omega Speedmaster I said that the speed masters dial was very simple and it was the case in the bracelet and the overall fit finish and quality of that presentation that really dresses it up I think that the Rolex dial is what dresses this watch up and the overall fit and finish the VA style and the aesthetic of the case and bracelet is relatively utilitarian albeit extremely high quality when you look down at the rolex submariner on the wrist you know i don't know what it is it's something about the mercedes handset and white gold with those large maxi applied markers on the dial that triangular marker at the 12 o'clock position something about that entire presentation just exudes a level of elegance that would seem to supersede the idea that this is simply a sports or tool watch you throw the Cyclops magnifier on there which is certainly a divisive feature about the watch and for me I just find that it really dresses up that ceramic Serra chrome insert bezel is another feature that really makes the watch come alive and feel like more of a versatile watch than simply your standard tool watch a regular dive watch might have a aluminum flat matte bezel insert and that makes the watch feel very sporty and very much like a tool watch this watch has more glitz more more more shine it plays with the light better all of those factors with the face of this watch are why I get that impression that it does give you that versatility of going from the beach all the way to the boardroom as the somewhat overused cliché goes in terms of the overall fit finish and quality of construction it's absolutely stunning it's just very simple looking at the profile of the case the crown guards the lugs everything is certainly bulky and it's another divisive feature about the modern ceramics of mariner there's a lot of people that don't like the super case of Mariner I understand I get it if you're in that camp you know go for a pre ceramic watch and they'll probably be quite happy for me I love the super case of Mariner I think it's a fantastic design it's absolutely the perfect watch for me but it is like I said simple there's no real hints of embellishment like you have with that speed master case the twisted lugs versus this more squared and straightforward slabs might be a way that it's sometimes described case but I love it and I absolutely do it's comfortable on the wrist largely thanks to that oyster bracelet with glide lock clasp that's something that I do absolutely adore about this watch I never want to take it off I never feel like it is putting strain or discomfort on the wrist all day long the clasp of course with that glide lock system is absolutely top-notch without a doubt one of the best features of any watch that I've ever had in comparing the bracelets of these two watches side-by-side it's worth noting that the speed master bracelet is much bulkier the links are thicker the the bracelet doesn't have taper anywhere near to the degree of taper that we find on the Submariner bracelet that's a pro for some people that's a con for some people it depends on your perspective when I first got the Submariner and my Rolex explorer prior to that I thought that the the the oyster bracelet had a little bit too much taper going down from 20 millimeters to I think 16 millimeters at the clasp yeah that felt a little too extreme but the more I wore it the more I got used to it the more I began to really enjoy it I think that we often get I don't know not bent out of shape but preoccupied by things like that I was preoccupied by the idea that it just looked too extreme but in reality after getting used to it it was just right people get preoccupied with a lot of different little minutia when it comes to watches the Omega Seamaster and it's helium escape valve is an excellent example where people would say I'll never own that watch because I hate that helium escape valve but my experience with the C master you basically just get used to it and kind of forget about it after you know a couple of hours on the wrist honestly the same thing happened to me with this oyster bracelet and that taper there's another interesting thing and again we mentioned the super case of the Submariner being a divisive feature those large squared off bulky lugs and the the large crown guards on the watch I find that that watch does not photograph well if your main exposure to a Submariner in particular this modern six digit ceramics of mariner is through pictures and videos I think you're gonna have a negative impression of the watch originally I did too but when I started seeing it in person and more importantly seeing it on the wrist it kind of changes it morphs you get used to it and you eventually at least I did begin to love it and yeah the bottom line is that the watch just doesn't look great in photos it looks much better on your wrist where it's supposed to be now both of these watches have timing features of course the speed master is a chronograph and the Submariner is a diver so it has an elapsed time bezel I find the elapsed time bezel to be superior in a lot of ways so certainly not when it comes to precision if you really need to precisely track seconds or even fractions of a second you're gonna need a chronograph that's just you know the way it works I never really need to accurately track seconds or fractions of a second the elapsed time bezel is just simple to use you spin that sucker around and put it lined up with your minutes hand and you know as time elapses you can see how many minutes have passed since setting the bezel that's perfectly adequate for the sort of day-to-day tasks that I might need to track any passage of time on the other hand the precision that you get with the speed master is superior in terms of the overall functionality but I like the simplicity of an elapsed times bezel on a diver and the elapsed elapsed time bezel on the Submariner is superb that's not to say that the chronograph functionality of the speed master isn't excellent the pushers plunger or piston style pushers they work great there's something really satisfying about actuated the chronograph and starting it up watching that central seconds hand begin to sweep tracking your time it's it's a fun thing to do but like I had described earlier it's sort of a toy for me not for everybody there's gonna be people out there that tell me that they need that level of precision and for you it's obviously the correct tool but yeah for me it's more of just kind of a novelty it's something fun to play around with and yeah it does give me the ability to track the passage of time if I need to now both of these watches feature luminescence on the dial that is to say glow-in-the-dark functionality which is better that's sort of difficult for me to pinpoint they're different on the Submariner we have that blue chroma light luminescence it's great it's really attractive it strikes me as being slightly less bright on the initial charge then the super-luminova that we find on the speed master that green on that dial stands out to me a little bit more on-camera looking at the video it doesn't appear that way but trust me in person that's the impression that I get which is longer-lasting than the other I would say that they're pretty similar they both last quite a while but that initial bright blinding charge wears off pretty quickly then you know unless you're in really pitch dark settings and your eyes are adjusted to the dark you really can't see the lumen either watch I don't know maybe it's just my eyes but yeah I need to be in very dark settings with all of my watches and my eyes need to be very well adjusted to that darkness for me to pick up the loom so that's sort of my impressions of the loom on these two watches a big factor well maybe not a big factor but a factor for some people is going to be water resistance the speed masters 50 meters if I'm not mistaken off the top my head whereas the submariners of course 300 meters 50 meters of water resistance sounds like a lot but in reality the way water resistance ratings work you would probably avoid getting a watch that only was 50 meters of water resistant wet submerged specifically you wouldn't really want to go swimming with with a speed master in particular because of those exposed pushers on the case water could get in there it's a risk I personally wouldn't take on the other hand the Submariner can go in the water all day long every day I have no worries about water resistance with that watch that's a factor for me not because I spend a lot of time in the water but just the overall durability that is something that is important to me more so than things like the history of a watch I want to know that it can live up to the day and day day in day out rigors that I might put this watch through and the Submariner is just more equipped to handle just about any task you throw at it than the speed master my speed master of course is the HESA Lake Crystal version and that's another factor if you're considering HESA white versus sapphire crystals it's very easy to scratch it's also quite simple to repair if you get a light scratch in it there's a product that you can use to buff the scratches out of that plastic or HESA like crystal so it's nothing to worry about but keep in mind it's something that you do want to be a little bit careful with of course there's a sapphire sandwich version of the speed master but I personally don't like the aesthetic of the sapphire version it's difficult to describe but the crystal has the sort of smoky or creamy ring going around the outer periphery of the crystal where it connects into the case it just doesn't look as good as the HESA light version in my opinion so that's another reason why I favor the Submariner so which is better which should you get if you're considering a Submariner or a speed master from my perspective I think the Rolex Submariner is the superior first choice we've touched on it a little bit while we look at the watches it's a rugged a more durable watch it is as elegant and as casual as it needs to be and so is the speed master but I feel like the speed master might draw a little bit more attention than the Submariner and it's funny people always worry about wearing a Rolex and everyone will notice it and everyone will know nobody really notices your watches guys that's just not really happening I don't maybe if you live in like a really kind of upscale area if you're in Manhattan a lot maybe people are wristwatch watching in my life I've never had anyone point at my watch and go is that a Submariner is that a speed master just doesn't happen to me and I think it largely doesn't happen to a majority of people but it's not that I'm saying someone will know you're wearing a speed master it's that the watch is just a bigger bolder presentation and I think that the the Submariner is a little more under the radar people are gonna argue that point with me but I think that the flashiness of the case and the crystal are on not the crystal the case and the bracelet makes that watch stand out more that it's bigger that the dial kind of presents larger than the submariners and that's a that's that's a really big sticking point for me on these two watches is the presentation of the dial is much larger on on the speed master and it makes the watch look larger and bolder overall the the submariners dial is smaller it's more compact it brings everything in now the speed master is a bigger watch by a few millimeters forty two versus the forty of the Submariner but it does present bigger because of the openness of the dial the smaller presentation of the bezel it just makes the watch stand out more on the wrist and while I don't think again anyone's gonna say oh that's a speed master you're wearing I think people will just notice that you're wearing a watch more not what watch you're wearing specifically that said back on topic which one should you get there's a ton of reasons why I think that the Submariner is the better first watch at least from my perspective the ability notwithstanding there's also that retained value factor like I said if you do go with the speed master and decide you want to sell it you are gonna be out of a lot of money if you overpaid for that watch and overpaying for that watch means paying full retail or anything close to it on the other hand you'll probably make money if you were able to buy a Submariner at retail right now that's a big factor in this decision can you even get a row EXA mariner most of us can't if you are unaware if you walk into a Rolex authorized dealer today July 2019 are they don't have any watches in stock for you to purchase that's another problem you just can't get these watches right now it's been this way for the better part of a year going on two years as a matter of fact so if you just can't get the watch what are your options well buying it on the secondary market gray market it's gonna cost you a lot more it might cost you instead of seventy-five or eighty five hundred dollars it might cost you ten or eleven thousand dollars there could be premiums of over twenty-five hundred dollars on this watch on the secondary market because of the limited availability that we're seeing right now that's a huge negative and I would not advise anyone to pay over retail for any watch in particular a relatively common watch like a Submariner and despite the fact that they are hard to come by right now they still are relatively common another big factor for me is just the overall comfort on the wrist and I touched on it but let me resize I find the Submariner to be more comfortable watch on the wrist the speed master is not uncomfortable on the wrist but it's bigger it's bulkier it's heavier no is it heavier I've never really weighed them I suspect it is heavier it feels heavier on the wrist anyway and with the stock clasp it was all but unwearable I had to spend an extra couple hundred dollars upgrading the clasp on the speed master to become more comfortable on the wrist but without a doubt aside for maybe an ultralight simple cast oh gee shocked my rolex submariner is easily the most comfortable watch that i own it's one of the big reasons why I almost never want to take it off that's another huge factor as far as which watch I think I would get or which watch I would suggest that you get ultimately they're both fantastic watches you couldn't go wrong with either and in the truth of the matter is if you can get them both like I did I think that's ultimately what will make you the happiest but if you buy a speed master use your money wisely make sure that you're paying the right price and if you're buying a Submariner don't overpay on the gray market but good luck trying to find one it is uh yeah it's a minefield out there so yeah good luck but my advice is if you can get one I'd go with the Submariner and then eventually get the speed master well that's gonna wrap this one up for today guys I hope you enjoyed it first things first big thanks to tick tock watch repairs for sponsoring this video I greatly appreciate you guys reaching out to me and asking to sponsor one of my upcoming videos that's really awesome number two if you like this video if you like what I'm doing here and if you want to help me out and support the channel check the description of this or any video that I've ever published there's a number of ways that you can help me first and foremost go sign up and follow on my my social media accounts be it Facebook Twitter Instagram whichever you prefer you can also 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Channel: JustBlueFish Watch Reviews

Views: 84,397

Keywords: Rolex, Omega, Watch, Submariner, Speedmaster, Luxury Watch

Id: 6us8HX4p6-U

Length: 34min 46sec (2086 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 12 2019