I recently built an Omega Speedmaster Professional. I figure I share my experience with my fellow watch enthusiasts. If you're considering doing the same, I hope this helps you and if you are not, I hope you at least find this educational.
Why would you do this?
Aside from the fact that its a really nice and versatile watch, the watch has been in production for probably half a century with a design that hasn't changed much and new and used parts are quite prevalent. Does it make financial sense? I would probably say no. You can build one for less than the cost of one but not by much. And you have to be willing to make some compromises if you do. So building one cannot just be about saving money. I'm not a professional watchmaker but I do enjoy modding watches and building things. So for me, it was a challenge that I wanted to accomplish.
The Movement
This is one of the hardest parts to find. You can find a genuine caliber 1861 or 861 for sale but they are quite expensive. I've been on the lookout for one for a while but I wasn't able to find one that was cost effective. I settled for a Breitling movement that was based on the Lemania 1873 (same base caliber for the Omega 1861/861). I was able to find one for a decent price as it was sold as a damaged Breitling Callisto watch (visually the only damage I saw was the chronograph reset pusher was missing). I was probably over optimistic and took the risk and bought the watch for the movement before doing a full investigation on compatibility.
What I found after purchasing was that everything was compatible except the chrono pushers. The movement has buttons that vary in length depending on the case you use. The Callisto is a small watch (36mm) and as such, the movement's chronograph button/pusher are very small in length. The Omega 861/1861 has buttons on the movement that extend more outwards than the Breitling Callisto (Speedmaster is 42mm). Other than that, everything else works (movement holder, dial, stem, hands all work). So in order to make this work, I would have to try to find the right movement chrono button part(s) and swap them in OR mod some type of extension so that the chrono pusher can press the movement's button.
Case Set
The other hard to find part is the Speedmaster’s mid case. I was able to find a complete case set for sale on ebay. It included the mid case, crystal, bezel, chrono pushers, movement holder and caseback. These parts can also be purchased separately if needed.
Dial/Hands
These parts are readily available and are not excessively expensive unless you decide to get a rare dial config (i.e. panda, white dial, racing dial, etc…). I went with the pre-owned/pre-mounted dial that was in decent condition.
Assembly
The assembly was pretty straightforward. I took the movement out of the old watch, then took the hands and dial off.
I then installed the Speedmaster dial and hands. As mentioned above, it was a direct fit.
I extended the chrono pushers by using some miscellaneous chrono pusher pins that seemed slightly longer than the stock ones.
I also used some rodico and a piece of a paper clip to make the reset button a little longer.
Its not a final solution and I eventually plan to find the correct parts and switch them out.
The only other thing I still need to get is a dust cover. Unlike other watches, the Speedmaster’s movement holder is actually held in place with the dust cover. Other watches use screws and tabs. For the time being, I used a screw/tab as well (not pictured) but eventually I will purchase a dust cover.
I really considered to keep the Breitling crown lol.
But then decided to stick with the stock look.
Performance
The watch runs about 25 seconds slow per day. The chronograph works and the minute counter works but the hour counter doesn’t seem to work. It’s acceptable for now but I will eventually have to get this serviced. This will be challenging because I will have to find a watchmaker comfortable enough to service this “franken” watch.
I also mistakenly removed the “stem bolt for hammer” pin (part 1759) and now the watch functions as a mono pusher (the button @ 2 starts the chrono and then pressing it again stops and resets the hands). That's what I get for being curious lol.
FInal Thoughts
Overall, the project went pretty well. Its still a work in progress. But with that said, I have been wearing this watch for a few days and its pretty nice. Eventually, I will have the watch serviced and replace the chrono pusher parts with Omega parts. Will post some pics of the completed watch shortly.
Why would you do this?
Aside from the fact that its a really nice and versatile watch, the watch has been in production for probably half a century with a design that hasn't changed much and new and used parts are quite prevalent. Does it make financial sense? I would probably say no. You can build one for less than the cost of one but not by much. And you have to be willing to make some compromises if you do. So building one cannot just be about saving money. I'm not a professional watchmaker but I do enjoy modding watches and building things. So for me, it was a challenge that I wanted to accomplish.
The Movement
This is one of the hardest parts to find. You can find a genuine caliber 1861 or 861 for sale but they are quite expensive. I've been on the lookout for one for a while but I wasn't able to find one that was cost effective. I settled for a Breitling movement that was based on the Lemania 1873 (same base caliber for the Omega 1861/861). I was able to find one for a decent price as it was sold as a damaged Breitling Callisto watch (visually the only damage I saw was the chronograph reset pusher was missing). I was probably over optimistic and took the risk and bought the watch for the movement before doing a full investigation on compatibility.
What I found after purchasing was that everything was compatible except the chrono pushers. The movement has buttons that vary in length depending on the case you use. The Callisto is a small watch (36mm) and as such, the movement's chronograph button/pusher are very small in length. The Omega 861/1861 has buttons on the movement that extend more outwards than the Breitling Callisto (Speedmaster is 42mm). Other than that, everything else works (movement holder, dial, stem, hands all work). So in order to make this work, I would have to try to find the right movement chrono button part(s) and swap them in OR mod some type of extension so that the chrono pusher can press the movement's button.
Case Set
The other hard to find part is the Speedmaster’s mid case. I was able to find a complete case set for sale on ebay. It included the mid case, crystal, bezel, chrono pushers, movement holder and caseback. These parts can also be purchased separately if needed.
Dial/Hands
These parts are readily available and are not excessively expensive unless you decide to get a rare dial config (i.e. panda, white dial, racing dial, etc…). I went with the pre-owned/pre-mounted dial that was in decent condition.
Assembly
The assembly was pretty straightforward. I took the movement out of the old watch, then took the hands and dial off.
I then installed the Speedmaster dial and hands. As mentioned above, it was a direct fit.
I extended the chrono pushers by using some miscellaneous chrono pusher pins that seemed slightly longer than the stock ones.
I also used some rodico and a piece of a paper clip to make the reset button a little longer.
Its not a final solution and I eventually plan to find the correct parts and switch them out.
The only other thing I still need to get is a dust cover. Unlike other watches, the Speedmaster’s movement holder is actually held in place with the dust cover. Other watches use screws and tabs. For the time being, I used a screw/tab as well (not pictured) but eventually I will purchase a dust cover.
I really considered to keep the Breitling crown lol.
But then decided to stick with the stock look.
Performance
The watch runs about 25 seconds slow per day. The chronograph works and the minute counter works but the hour counter doesn’t seem to work. It’s acceptable for now but I will eventually have to get this serviced. This will be challenging because I will have to find a watchmaker comfortable enough to service this “franken” watch.
I also mistakenly removed the “stem bolt for hammer” pin (part 1759) and now the watch functions as a mono pusher (the button @ 2 starts the chrono and then pressing it again stops and resets the hands). That's what I get for being curious lol.
FInal Thoughts
Overall, the project went pretty well. Its still a work in progress. But with that said, I have been wearing this watch for a few days and its pretty nice. Eventually, I will have the watch serviced and replace the chrono pusher parts with Omega parts. Will post some pics of the completed watch shortly.