Horological Meandering

Two modern chronographs.

Both of which are legendary in their respective houses and are well loved by watch enthusiasts the world over.

I'm referring to the Omega Speedmaster Professional and the Rolex Daytona of course.

Can we compare them side by side to each other or are they too dissimilar? They both share a tri-compax dial without a date, which is in their favour IMO and preferred by many purists. Their main difference is probably manual wind versus automatic and there may be those who would choose one over the other.

The Daytona has the in-house cal. 4130 which is a fantastic movement IMO with an autonomy of 72hrs whereas the Speedy is blessed with the Lemania 1861 manual movement with a column wheel, a truly tried and tested calibre with a power reserve of 48hrs.

Other differences include the Hesalite crystal on this particular model and the pump pushers compared to the screw-down type on the Daytona. The same goes for the crown ; screw-down on the Daytona and without for the Speedy. For practical purposes and ease of use I find myself activating the chrono on the Omega more frequently than I would do on the Daytona. Depth rating on the Daytona is 100M compared to 50M on the Speedy. However, since neither are meant to be for water use as opposed to diving watches, the difference is irrelevant IMO.

I'm quite impressed with this new iteration of the Speedmaster Pro, having an older version to make a comparison with. Apart from the racing dial of this version, which adds a bit of flair to an otherwise generic Speedmaster design, there are improvements in the bracelet fit and finish and the use of screws for adjustments instead of push pins. The case and lugs are polished and brushed to perfection and I suspect some tweaking has been done to the movement, as felt when winding and activating the pushers – smoother than the cal. 861.

The last major upgrade to the Daytona was the replacement of the Zenith movement with the in-house 4130 cal., I think sometime in 2000. The bracelet clasp was also refined starting with the V serial I believe.

The case of the speedy is slightly larger at 42mm to the Daytona's 40mm but on the wrist the difference is minimal. They both offer the same excellent comfort as far as bracelet models go and I cannot give a preference to either. Both clasps work extremely well and are exceptionally easy to operate.

So there you have it, my own personal view of these two iconic chronographs. Truth be said, the Daytona is most likely the more revered of the two but there is also a price to pay for that (approx triple that of the Speedy).

However, if a manual wind chrono is your (purist) thing and the fact that it was chosen to accompany the first men on the moon ( they hardly let you forget it), then the Speedy is a good bet and it has come a long way in its evolution.

Here are some pics. to illustrate my points: