Dr. Speedylove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Moonwatch (A Review)

*Record scratch* *freeze frame*

Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I wound up in this situation. Speedy on my wrist, ready to sing its praises. Well, to explain, we’ll have to go back in time.

The year, 1979. The place, Kansas City. Two neighbors met and fell in love, and now, they were getting ready to welcome their first…

Not that far back. Back just a couple of years ago.

“#NeverSpeedy,” I once declared. I had owned chronographs, and sold them, and I knew there did not exist a chronograph so special that it would overcome my criticisms:

• Impractical: I don’t need a stopwatch, and if I ever do, I’ll pull out my phone.

• Expensive: Not only do they tend to cost more up front, but the servicing also costs more. 30% more for an Omega, for example. 

• Cluttered: Design is foremost for me in my watch purchases, and all those subdials and extra hands do is clutter up the dial. Ugh! No thanks!

• Thick: Look at that Hamilton Intra-Matic. It’s a hockey puck! A thicc boi! Hamilton must think thickness is a selling point for chronographs, because when they brought out the manual wind version of the Intra-Matic, which would have been a great opportunity to shave off some of the extra pounds, they reduced its thickness by a grand total of…. point-one mm. No, not ONE millimeter. POINT ONE millimeter. From 14.45 to 14.35 mm. That’s the thickness of a sheet of paper. Good job, good effort, Hamilton.

• Overrated: Look at all those idiots who brush aside these very practical issues with chronographs and talk about their Speedy as if it’s the greatest thing ever made. Fools!

Yes, I knew chronographs were not for me. I mean, I’d had a few. The aforementioned Hamilton Intra-Matic. A Rotary Chronospeed (shameless Breitling knock-off). A Seiko SSB013 (which, if I’m being honest. I have had some regrets about selling). And an Eterna Tangaroa triple-calendar, ETA/Valjoux 7751-powered chunker that somehow managed to come in just a bit thinner than the Hamilton Intra-Matic, even with all the added features.

Here’s the thing, though. I love space, and specifically mankind’s exploration of it. A lot. Air & Space Museum in DC has always been my favorite museum, as far back as I can remember. Have seen The Right Stuff way too many times and own the book. Watched loads of TNG in college and still dabble in some Picard and Strange New Worlds. Have read loads of books on wormholes and black holes and other mysteries of space/time. 

Last year, I started watching For All Mankind. Really enjoyed it, not the least for the watch spotting. Of course, there are Speedys all over the place.

Not a good sign when your wife chucks your Speedy onto the front lawn…

And then last fall, I made it back out to the Air & Space Museum for the first time in about five years. As I looked at Michael Collins’ and Neil Armstrong’s and Gordon Cooper’s Speedmasters, I was suddenly struck by how iconic and perfect that design is. So clean, so legible. And that tachymetre that can seem so cluttered up close, online, fades into a pleasant bezel decoration when you’re looking at it in person. But most of all, the watches I was looking at -- the ones that approached the moon 50 years ago -- were barely different than their modern versions. I got it, for the first time.

Michael Collins’ Speedy

When I got back home from DC, I started looking around for a Speedy to buy. Almost pulled the trigger on a long-r version from around 1990, but that was a little older than I wanted and it looked like it would need some work sooner rather than later. A month or two later, one popped up on my WatchRecon search from 2019 -- an 1861 hesalite that was still under warranty. The photos weren’t great and I still hesitated, and it sold. But then a couple of weeks later it popped back up! I reached out to the new owner, got a few more photos, and pulled the trigger.

It arrived in better shape than it appeared in the photos. Yes, it had been worn and loved and showed it a bit, but after seeing those watches at Air & Space, it just looked right. It didn’t take long for me to figure out that everything they say about the Speedy Pro is true. Yes, it wears smaller than the 42mm list. Yes, it’s very legible. Yes, the hesalite crystal provides a certain look that sapphire (normally my preferred crystal) doesn’t -- a look that’s perfect for this watch. Yes, when you look down and see that iconic dial on your wrist, you can’t help but smile.

A couple of months ago, I was back in DC, and of course I had to go back by Air & Space to get some photos of my “new” Speedy with the legendary ones.

So here I am to admit that I was wrong. For all the impracticality of a chronograph in the modern world, one does exist that could overcome that for me and become one I love to wear. #NeverSpeedy no more, and not even just #SpeedyTuesday. #SpeedyAlldayEveryday. Long live the Moonwatch!