If your awareness of the 1:1 fake Omega Speedmaster consists of “NASA, NASA, moon, NASA”, it may surprise you to know that it was originally designed as a racing chronograph. And so it was in 1957 that Swiss made replica Omega released the first Speedmaster (Ref. CK 2915) as one of three watches known as the “Trilogy”, which also included the Railmaster and Seamaster 300.
These three were known as AAA quality fake Omega’s “Professional” watches, with the Seamaster being water-resistant to 200 metres, and the Railmaster able to resist magnetism of more than 1,000 gauss.
The O.G. Speedy distinguished itself by being the first chronograph with an engraved tachymeter scale on the bezel, as opposed to one printed on the dial. It had a 39mm case, flat, straight lugs (instead of the twisted “lyre” lugs we’re accustomed to in more recent Swiss movement replica Omegas), an acrylic Hesalite crystal, and some highly radioactive radium lume on the dial and hands (known as “broad arrow” hands, for reasons which should be apparent). Most legendary of all was its hand-wound Calibre 321 column wheel chronograph movement, revered by collectors, and once again in production for select modern Omega Speedmasters copy for sale.
The new high quality replica Omega UK didn’t remain a racing watch for long, however. The Speedmaster gained acceptance among the aviation community, with airline and military pilots alike quickly adopting the Speedy. Introduced in 1959, the Ref. CK 2998 was worn by several pilots who purchased them as their personal watches, including test pilots and future astronauts. One such flight jock, Wally Schirra, was an original Mercury astronaut in the nascent days of NASA, and his Speedy became the “first super clone Omega in space” in October of 1962.
The cheap fake Omega Speedmaster CK 2998 introduced some incremental changes, including a new “Alpha” handset, and a bezel that now featured a painted black aluminium insert for improved visibility.
So when it came time for NASA to officially issue a chronograph to its pilots, Swiss movement replica Omega was a strong contender, besting the likes of Breitling, Rolex, Longines, and Hamilton. Hamilton was disqualified when they submitted a pocket watch for consideration, and during a series of arduous tests (for temperature, humidity, shock, pressure, and vibration, among other tortures), the top copy Omega was the only chronograph that didn’t fail. By 1965, NASA had selected the Omega Speedmaster replica Paypal over the Rolex and Longines test watches, noting that its accuracy remained within a 5 second margin throughout the trials. The Speedmaster became official issue for NASA’s astronauts at that point. And it was in this moment that a legend was born.