Second look: The retro-futuristic charms of the Omega Speedmaster Spacemaster Z-33

Jason Marsden

The Omega Speedmaster Spacemaster Z-33 is a weird watch and happily I own one. As a special model you won’t find it in any of the usual ADs but just dedicated Omega Boutiques. Reminiscent of Sputnik or an original Lost in Space prop with styling clues directly from the 1969 Omega Flightmaster, it looks like it has been pushed out the airlock and inflated under the vacuum. But although branded “Spacemaster” this watch is squarely aimed at the terrestrial pilot.

At 20.2mm thick this makes my James Cameron appear slim.  The thickness is due to the conical Grade 5 Titanium case section atop the slightly concave but deep flanks.  Affixed on the rear is a second caseback, open sided and elevated off the primary case, allowing the alarm to resonate through the main caseback without the muffling effect of direct skin contact.  The first time I tested the alarm it sounded like a truck reversing. This of course is a necessity to overcome the noise of an aircraft cockpit.

I purchased my Z-33 from the Omega Boutique in the Beverly Centre, LA back in 2016.  I had never seen this model before and was, at that time, not a fan of ana-digi watches – an opinion which has since changed.  Strangely the watch just immediately appealed to me.  It was certainly different but as odd as it is, it does present as a cohesive and confident design.

With the one in store on a brown leather strap I immediately ordered the black rubber Speedmaster strap and matching Titanium deployant clasp.  Two days later I returned to the LA store to collect it.  The black rubber strap with deep recessed red script adds the perfect complement to the watch itself.

The obvious comparison is to put this watch alongside the Omega X-33.  In many regards the X-33 is the much more practical watch, it has been worn during many space missions, it includes a mission timer (the Z-33 does not but does have a flight timer capable of storing up to 10 flights) and of course is a lot more traditionally styled whilst still offering the combined ani-digi functionality.

The Z-33 has not held its value well, with Watchbox stating a 49% drop in value, so pre-owned is definitely the way to purchase (you can pick one up on Chrono24 for about $5000 AUD).  This value drop is no doubt a reflection of the watch’s design novelty and sheer vertical bulk that relegates it to only occasional wear or part of a large rotation.  Yet despite its bulk it does wear comfortably due to internal lugs and lightweight titanium case.

The watch has an interesting, manually activated, sleep mode that yielded about a four-year battery life within my regular watch rotation, about double the expected run time.  When the battery does get low, rather than the more usual quartz two second jump, the second hand makes five second jumps.  Under normal running the minute hand advances on the 30 second and full minute mark. The digital display is always on (unless turned off) but is illuminated with any button push or crown scroll and adjusts for ambient luminosity.  The high-end quartz 5666 7 jewel movement is thermally compensated with an expected accuracy of +/-10 seconds per year making it one of the most accurate non-connected watches available today, on par with the Grand Seiko 9F calibre and Breitling Superquartz.

With four buttons, plus scrolling and push crown the functions are many.  So much so that the watch used to have its own application-based user manual when launched in 2012.

Whilst you most likely won’t see the Z-33 fulfilling its Spacemaster nomenclature or even on the wrists of many pilots (who are more likely to wear a Garmin D2), the Z-33 is a great modern design novelty from Omega with serious functionality and remains one of the most accurate watch movements available today.  With the upswing in vintage styling popularity the Z-33 may yet be discovered by a new market, almost a decade on from its launch.