mrsnak
4814
Omega Spacemaster Z-33
Had a chance to be able to check out what Omega is calling the successor to the X-33 and the legendary Flightmaster at the Omega Boutique in L.A. this past Saturday. While I know that Dr. No is feverishly (I think) working on a full report gauging from his focus on picture taking of the entire line (and barely looking up once at the gorgeous staff person helping him ;-)). Ming was also there earlier (those guys can battle their PuristS duties out - and let me preface with the fact that they will write a far better review than me), I went hoping to see one of these in the flesh.
Wore my 1972 911 Flightmaster to better compare.
Without going into too many details, the watch does perform a plethora of flight and time keeping tasks, but like the x-33, also requires a bit of study to implement them. Omega has an iPad app for this, but I know more that a few people who sold their X-33s because they were so hard to program.
My impressions come more from the aesthetics and the execution. Truth be known, when Dr. No spilled the beans in his interview with Mr. Urquhart about the possibility of the Flightmaster being revised, I got excited. Co-axial? With all the cool functions of the original? This will be far better than the Ploprof reissue.
What we got was basically an X-33 in a Flightmaster case. All quartz.
At least on the running version I held (they had 3) the second hand did not line up with the hash marks at all segments as it went around. No excuse for this in such an expensive watch.
The titanium case is nice, but somehow seemed flimsy to me, but that was more because I wear my hefty original steel cased FM often. They are offering this in rubber and in leather, but IMO it really needs a bracelet. The starburst finish is identical to the original, the pushers larger, but none of the cool bezel rotation features of the FM. It's all programming on this one.
Bottom line, it was an incredible disappointment to me. I have a Casio GW3000 pilot watch that has does many of the same functions quite elegantly with very nice fit and finish. The Omega costs well over 15 times more.
You just don't feel the excitement for the price in this one.
At half the price I will buy it right away.
But if you put it next to an X-33, I will be more inclined to buy the X-33 instead. The X-33 appears to have a shape that is more practical for use by today's astronauts or aviation professionals. Besides, I have not seen any Omega communication clearly s...
Not even at...
I would not buy it - not even at half the price... consider it is just a quartz watch... I prefer to spend my money on vintage instead. just my 2 cents erich
It won't make me forget one of the very few Quartz watch
Which gave me a strong impression, the X 33. Best, Nicolas
Since I have an X-33 there was not much of an...
urge to buy it. At half retail price, maybe.
The Z33 is an interesting watch but ...
I'm staying with my X-33 (the only quartz watch that I own). Thanks for the post. Nilo
Always remember...
That an Omega is not a Rolex! I'm still blown away by the quality I see in Seiko, even their 'average' quartz watches. The original Speedy will always be my fave, but, as with any watch, quality, beauty and robustness is in the eye of the beholder. Thanks...
But even if it were a Rolex...
...the two brands are too close in quality these days. I would have liked to have seen the X-33 made available to the public again. To my knowledge, military units can still buy it.
The caseback/dial choice shows confusion...
I sense that there was considerable discussion within marketing about whether to call this a Spacemaster or Speedmaster. The original renderings we saw of this had "Speedmaster" on the dial. It's a tad awkward to see a Speedmaster caseback on this when th...
not overly impressed with their efforts.
I used to have an X-33 and would rather buy another used one AND a flightmaster (which i've also owned) instead of this piece. Its pretty disappointing compared to some of their other new pieces. Thanks for the review anyway mrsnak. G
Amazed that you'd get rid of a Flightmaster...
...must have been a serious situation...
It was during the big...
It was during the big sale to buy the Freak. Lots of regrets about all those pieces i sold but thats life. Best G
Disappointment on Basel 2012
I recall on Basel 2012. We were a bunch of vintage geeks but where invited for a tour too see a few Omega pieced and the Z-33. We all looked and where much disappointed with the watch, but somehow felt we had to be kind to the Omega guy. So we asked some ...
I'm holding on to my freshly serviced X33.
Quite an odd combo and not so friendly price point. [IMG]http://i615.photobucket.com/albums/tt232/patricklew/front3.jpg[/IMG] cheers PAt ...