Appreciation for Speedy Panda

I have had a total of 6 pieces of Omega watches in my collection now, 4 of which had been flipped @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.my/2017/12/2013-2017-flip-list.html. At the immediate period, I only have 2 pieces- one made for sea (2017 Seamaster Planet Ocean) and one made for space (2015 Speedmaster Panda).

The Spacemaster Panda that I have above was still under Omega warranty till June 2018, and came from the more exclusive white-dial Omega Speedmaster family. Even though this ain't a diver watch, check out the crazy lume below :

During a previous watch gathering, some fellow collectors thought that this was the Speedmaster Mitsukoshi. Most collectors may be more used to seeing black-dial Speedmaster watches, so white-dial pandas generally attracted more attention in the wild. Readers could compare my Panda, with that of the Mitsukoshi as per the pictures below. 

But nope, my Panda differs from the Mitsukoshi. And my Panda came equipped with the hard-wearing military-grade Cordura strap matched with Omega clasp. The Cordura strap was the de-facto choice for war-purpose clothing, so you could imagine that it would last for umpteen years under normal watch-wearing experiences.

Fratello covered about this attractive model some years back, and it was one of the few Speedmaster in Omega's collection that was a nod back to the old Moonwatch days of the past.

Ever since Omega released the vintage-inspired Speedmaster CK2998 in 2016 at RM23k, I have noticed offers coming in from fellow readers or watch enthusiasts that have chanced upon this blog while searching for info about the Speedy Panda. 

And eventhough this Speedy Panda was officially no longer in production, you could still find NOS from grey resellers in this very day, although the local price had increased to some RM29k and warranty was provided by the grey resellers instead of the manufacturer. This Speedy Panda came in 2 reiterations- Cordura strap and stainless steel bracelet. Note that the Cordura strap comes at a RM2k premium compared to the stainless steel strap, so you would only need to pay RM27k for the latter version.

I would opine that the one with Cordura strap made it looked more professional and toolish, befitting its role as a Moonwatch of sorts.

I ordered a new pair of shoes for this Speedy Panda, and it just arrived from overseas. Behold the hand-made strap of calf leather, in vintage bronze brown colour. What a combination it made to the Speedy Panda, so much so that I couldn't resist slapping it on and giving it some well-deserved wrist shots today. Ooh la la...