Guide The ultimate reference guide for the Omega Speedmaster Reduced  –  All models and detailed comparison to the Speedmaster Professional

Introduction

The Speedmaster Reduced was produced for 22 years from 1988 to 2010. Some neglect the watch as a “budget Speedmaster” but I think these models have their own place in Omega’s collection with the brand having released some very interesting designs. The case dimensions of only 39mm also make this watch suitable for many wrists. The official name is “Omega Speedmaster Automatic”, since it has an automatic movement compared to the manual-wound movement of the Speedmaster Professional. I’ll stick to the name “Speedmaster Reduced” since my impression is that this informal name is more widely used.

Movement

Let’s start with the basics. The Speedmaster Professional is a handwound watch, the energy that you give the watch is what gets used. The Speedmaster Reduced has an automatic movement, that means after initially winding the watch through the crown, there’s a rotor providing the watch with power as long as you move it.

Comparing the Reduced movement to the Professional

There were some overlaps of different movements both in the Speedmaster Professional and Reduced which were in production at the same time. Some movements of the Speedmaster Professional which overlap with the production dates of the Speedmaster Reduced (1988–2009) are Caliber 861 (1987–1995), Caliber 863 (1985–1997), Caliber 1861 and 1863 (both 1997–2021). The Professional’s Caliber 1861 was meanwhile upgraded to the Caliber 3861 in 2019. For the comparison I’ll focus on the latest movement iterations of the Speedmaster Professional and Reduced which were in production at the same time.

Speedmaster Professional

Caliber 1861

• Based on: Lemania 1873
• Movement: Manual-wound
• Diameter: 27 mm
• Power Reserve: 48 hours
• Frequency: 3 Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
• The seconds hand doesn’t stop when pulling out the crown to adjust the time.

Speedmaster Reduced

Caliber 3220

• Based on: ETA 2892-A2
• Movement: Automatic
• Diameter: 25.6 mm
• Power Reserve: 42 hours
• Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
• The seconds hand stops when pulling out the crown to adjust the time (hacking seconds).

Movement variations of the Speedmaster Reduced

Over the years there were a few movement changes in the Speedmaster Reduced.

• 1988: Caliber 1140, ETA 2890-2 with a Dubois-Dépraz 2020 chronograph module. This was mounted to the dial side and gold plated.
• 1996: same movement as in 1988 (Caliber 1140), but this time the movement assembly was rhodium plated instead of gold plated.
• 1997: Caliber 1143 with the newer ETA 2892-A2, but still equipped with the Dubois-Dépraz 2020 chronograph module.
• 2000: Caliber 3220, still based on the previous ETA 2892-A2 with Dubois-Dépraz 2020 chronograph module. The updates to this movement are said to be mostly cosmetic.

Different alignment of chronograph pushers

Behavior of the chronograph hands

Dial

Alternating order of sub dials

The Speedmaster Reduced is not just a shrinked down version of the Speedmaster Professional. There are some small differences. As you can see below the order of the 30-minutes chronograph subdial and the small seconds is swapped. All subdials are farther apart, whilst the subdials on the Speedmaster Professional are more centered.

Comparing the chronograph hands

Bezel

Crystal

The Speedmaster Reduced used Hesalite for the longest time, which is a plexiglass material that started to become popular in the 1940s. Later editions in the 2000s with the Caliber 3220 got a sapphire crystal which is much more robust but also looks different. An example is the black and white reference 3539.50.00 that has the sapphire crystal.

Case

Case dimensions

Caseback

The caseback of the Speedmaster Reduced is pressed, the Speedmaster Professional’s caseback is screwed in.

Bracelet

The Speedmaster Reduced comes on a steel bracelet. The gold variations of this bracelet are built identical. Typical for that time was a simple folding clasp, that was stamped out of a sheet of steel, not milled out of a block of metal like later Speedmaster clasps. The links of the bracelet make an iconic rattling sound and feel light. But it’s very comfortable and fits similar to Rolex’ Jubilee braclet. Either you like this vintage style and feel or not. Some versions of the Speedmaster Reduced were delivered with a leather strap matching the dial color, for example the Michael Schuhmacher editions with a red, yellow and blue leather strap.

Bracelet comparison

Speedmaster Professional

• Width at case: 20 mm
• Width at buckle: 18 mm
• Clasp: Milled clasp. Fine adjustment “on the fly” possible without additional tools, although some older clasps didn’t have this.
• Pushers on the side of the clasp to release the bracelet.

Speedmaster Reduced

• Width at case: 18 mm
• Width at buckle: 16 mm
• Clasp: Stamped clasp. Fine adjustment possible through 6 additional holes in the clasp, additional tools needed.

Collection overview

The Schumis

German Formula 1 race driver Michael Schumacher was a brand ambassador for Omega from the mid-1990s to around 2010, when he started working with Audemars Piguet. During this collaboration quite a few racing inspired Speedmasters were released.

• Reference 3510.81.00

  Schumacher blue dial. Outer ring along the seconds track in a black-and-white “racing” pattern. Chronograph hands in red. Hour, minute and seconds hand in white.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference 3510.80.00

  Schumacher blue dial with “Cart” logo in 12-hour-display. Outer ring along the seconds track in a black-and-white “racing” pattern. Chronograph hands in red. Hour, minute and seconds hand in white.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference 3810.61.41

  Schumacher red dial (Ferrari). Outer ring along the seconds track in a black-and-white “racing” pattern. Chronograph hands in yellow. Hour, minute and seconds hand in white.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference 3510.12.00

  Schumacher yellow dial. Outer ring along the seconds track in a black-and-white “racing” pattern. Chronograph hands in red. Hour, minute and seconds hand in black.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference 3517.30.00

  Schumacher light dial with “Racing” print and checkered pattern. Orange and red outer ring along the seconds track. Black hands. Painted indices with luminescent material.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3518.50.00

  Schumacher dark dial with “Racing” print and checkered pattern. Orange and red outer ring along the seconds track. White hands. Painted indices with luminescent material.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

The Plain Joes

• Reference ST 175.0032

  Black dial with 5-minute-increment labels next to the printed white indices. White hands.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference 3539.50.00

  Black dial with printed white indices. White hands. This model uses a sapphire crystal instead of hesalite. Discontinued in 2010.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

The Goldies

This category is a bit difficult since the same reference numbers show completely different models. The information on this variation of the Speedmaster Reduced is therefore inconsistent. It also seems that a lot of dials have been swapped so that I’m not sure if those are references that Omega produced this way. Please see the following model overview as a draft.

• Reference DA 175.0033

  White dial with golden bezel. Gold minute counter and chronograph subdials. Golden applied indices and hands.

  Movement: Caliber 1140

  

• Reference DA 175.0032

  Golden dial with golden bezel and a black tachymètre inlay. Black applied indices and hands.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference DA 375.0032

  White dial with golden bezel and a black tachymètre inlay. Golden applied indices and hands.

  Movement: Caliber 1140/1143

  

• Reference Unclear

  White dial with golden bezel and a black tachymètre inlay. Gold minute counter and chronograph subdials.Golden applied indices. Gold minute, hour and chronograph seconds hand. Subdials with black hands.

  

• Reference 175.0033

  Black dial with golden bezel. Gold minute counter and chronograph subdials. Painted indices with 5 minute increments. White minute, hour and chronograph seconds hand. Subdials with black hands.

  

• Reference BA 175.0033

  Golden dial with golden bezel and gold case. One of the few Speedmaster Reduced models with a transparent caseback showing the movement. Golden applied indices with a black contrast line. Black hands.

  Movement: Caliber 1140

  

The Japanese

• Reference 3510.82.00

  Special edition for Marui, a Japanese department store. Blue dial, silver subdials and steel bezel. Printed white indices and hands. Subdial hands in black.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3510.2

  Special edition for Marui, a Japanese department store. White dial with 5 minute increments on the indices and black sub-dials (“panda dial”).

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3539.31

  Special edition for Marui, a Japanese department store. White dial with 5 minute increments on the indices and black sub-dials (“panda dial”). This watch was delivered on a special bracelet (reference 1553/939).

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3510.52.00

  Black dial with white subdials. Painted indices. White minute, hour and chronograph seconds hand. Black hands on the subdials.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3510.2

  White dial (“albino dial”) with a steel bezel with black tachymètre inlay. Black hands and applied indices with black contrast line.

  

The Mothers of Pearls

These dials were often times also available with a diamond bezel. For simplicity sake I will just list the base models without the diamonds.

• Reference 3834.70.36

  “Mother of Pearl” light dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3534.71.00

  “Mother of Pearl” light dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Red arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3502.73.00

  “Mother of Pearl” blue dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Luminescent arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3834.74.34

  “Mother of Pearl” light dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Pink arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3834.72.35

  “Mother of Pearl” light dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Lime-green arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3502.74⁣

  Limited Edition (300 pieces) for the Japanese Market. Steel case with steel bezel. “Mother of pearl” light dial with blue “mother of pearl” subdials. Polished steel hands. Luminescent indices with 5-minute increments along the indices.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

• Reference 3834.78.38

  “Mother of Pearl” light dial with steel polished tachymètre bezel. Orange arabic numbers next to the hour indices. Silver hands.

  Movement: Caliber 3220

  

The Others

• Reference 3810.51.41

  Limited edition of 1999 examples in 1999 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of football club AC Milan.

  Movement: Caliber 1143

  

• Reference 35383000

  Limited Edition of 2006 pieces for the Olympic Games in Torino. Steel case and steel tachymètre bezel. Red pulsometer printed on the dial (enables you to measure a pulse). White dial with applied indices. “Torino 2006" imprint above the hours chronograph subdial. Chronograph seconds hand features a cut-out Olympic rings logo at the base.

  Movement: Caliber 3220