Omega Surprise Launches The Brand New 40.85mm Speedmaster Pilot

In 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first steps on the lunar surface wearing Omega Speedmasters. That same year, Omega didn’t rest on its laurels. Instead it launched one of its most – let’s say – esoteric designs: The Flightmaster. It was so esoteric that even the letter “f” in its name was lowercase on the dial. The late ‘60s were crazy man. Well, as you might expect from a watch replete with all manner of colorful flourishes, it became a cult icon. For years, friends of mine have been patiently awaiting its return. Today, Omega sort of brings it back, only it’s not called the Flightmaster, and it only looks like one a little bit. Meet the new Speedmaster Pilot, it is by far the most in-your-face Speedy in the modern lineup and it comes with some neat tricks up its sleeve.

As is the case for any major release like this, I will wait for any meaningful observations until I see the watch in person. For now, I will tell you what we know. The first thing we know is that Omega is on an absolute tear to end the year. We saw the First Omega in Space, followed by two new steel version of the Seamaster Diver 300m, which were then rapidly followed by a new titanium and bronze gold take on the No Time To Die Seamaster (just without the James Bond parts). Not to mention some killer releases pre-Olympics via the black lacquer Seamaster Aqua Terra, and the fan-favorite white Speedmaster Moonwatch. This was Omega’s year, and that may not be the last time I say that on this site.

The Speedmaster Pilot was no doubt a surprise launch, but it comes on the heels of a leak of sorts on the watch forums. A pilot flying a Lockheed U2 “Dragon Lady” wore one and snapped a photo which sent the watch internet for a tizzy. The details of the watch began to spread including the case size and movement. Basically everything about that watch ended up being accurate except for the fact that the leaked watch was specific to those U2 pilots and only had a passing inspiration from the Flightmaster design. What we have today is a regular production commercial product that brings color to the forefront.

Let’s start with the diameter. For those assuming this was just a standard Speedy case or larger, think again. It comes in at 40.85mm but 14.45mm thick. That means this sits in between the FOIS and the Moonwatch. When you first look at it you will notice that the layout is quite similar to Speedmaster Racing models with its two-register date format, and you would be right. In fact, it even shares the same METAS Omega 9900 automatic movement. But now you’re thinking, “but those watches are 44mm-plus in diameter.” And you would be right. So that means that Omega was able to take that movement and fit it into this smaller case. Of course, that also is the reason for the 14.45mm in thickness.

But staying on that point a moment (and again, I have not seen the watch yet), Omega also utilizes a boxed sapphire crystal which sits fairly tall above the rest of the watch. Crystal height is taken into account in any watch height description, and knowing who Omega is quite good at adjusting design for better perceived thickness, I this one will wear just fine. Lug-to-lug we are looking at only 49.6mm which means this a really nicely proportioned Speedy. The flat-link bracelet here is familiar except for the fact that it is fully brushed, down to the vintage-inspired clasp (with micro-adjust). In fact, everything about this watch is brushed. This is something that we saw on the now discontinued Railmaster, and it really adds to the toolish charm.

As much as I love waxing poetic about case dimensions, you take one look at this thing and you know it’s all about the dial and bezel details. This is where the Flightmaster-inspired elements come to the forefront. Let’s start with the markers which are giant blocks of lume without any borders. They aren’t inlaid either. They are just big blocks resting on the dial, an approach that Tudor has recently taken in the Pelagos line. This carries over to the hands which share that naked lume look and also means that this watch makes luminescence a priority.

The dial here is a grained matte texture with a rhodium-colored outer ring. The "Flight Qualified” text sits in yellow under the Speedmaster wordmark (where the word Professional would normally go). Orange plots also sit above each of the massive lumed markers.

Then there are the two subdials. At three o'clock, you have both a 60-minute and 12-hour counter in the mold of a “burn rate” indicator. Here you’ll see a  triangular matte-orange hand. At nine o'clock,  you have a small seconds display, meant to look like a target/sight indicator, with a matte-yellow hand and a “horizon” in blue. The aforementioned hour and minute hands are PVD-coated matt black with those blocks of white Super-LumiNova. The chronograph seconds hand has an orange airplane tip, again a nod to the Flightmaster.

This watch has an aluminum bezel insert which features orange tachymeter text, the collector favorite “dot over 90” and the “diagonal to 70” dot which, as you might expect, features a dot diagonal to the number 70. This is all to say that this is a watch that honors history while also pushing Omega and the Speedmaster to a new place. The Racing dial with its six o’clock date aperture (an indicator of the automatic movement within) paired with the incredibly simple closed caseback (perfect for engraving) signals this mix of old and new. We were not beating the doors down for a Flightmaster sequel, but Omega gave us one anyway and the result is both surprising and delightful. 

With a price of $9,500, I am looking forward to seeing this one in person soon and you can be sure that we’ll have follow up coverage. But for now, what do you think of the new Speedmaster Pilot? You can see more at omegawatches.com