When James Bond – I mean Daniel Craig – rolled into the Planet Omega event in New York last November, his watch choice set the watch Internet on fire. Against his choice of dark grey suit, his very bright white dial was conspicuous, to say the least. Even more so because the watch didn’t technically exist yet. This mystery white-dialed Speedmaster had touches of “Alaska Project” and the white-dial Canopus Gold models, but it was a bit different. Now we know exactly how different. Today Omega properly and officially released this mystery white Speedmaster.
When it comes down to it, this is another (quality) Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional in steel at its core. That means it’s got the classic asymmetrical case that’s 42mm wide, 13.2mm thick, and 47.5mm lug-to-lug. The watch is a “sapphire sandwich” with sapphire crystals front and back and has a “Dot Over 90” black aluminum bezel. Inside is Omega’s Master Chronometer-certified caliber 3861 chronograph movement. As expected on a “sapphire sandwich,” the bracelet has brushed and polished links and an integrated extension. If a bracelet isn’t your speed(master) you can get it on a black micro-perforated leather strap with red and white stitching, or an anti-bacterial rubber strap with a moon surface pattern ion the underside. But before you get bored, we haven’t come to the good stuff yet.
Omega’s new release comes with a glossy lacquer white dial. It’s a first for a regular Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional in steel. While the original Omega Speedmaster colors (black dial with white hands) were chosen for peak legibility, this combination does the same, equally as well. The watch features black hands and markers and a blackened logo, while both “Speedmaster” and the tip of the chronograph hand are in red, giving a pop of color to the dial.
The new white-dialed Omega Speedmaster Professional is a permanent part of the collection for the time being – no worries about limited editions – though I would imagine demand will be quite high. Am I going to be getting a Speedmaster this year? Until this minute I didn’t plan to but this is a great release.
Frankly, I didn’t get caught up in the hype of Craig’s “teaser” of this watch. I saw it, thought it was cool, and moved on with my life, knowing that eventually, the watch would come and I could see for myself. Now I need to see it hands-on. But on paper, there’s nothing major you could say to discount the Speedmaster Professional. The bold, white lacquer dial just takes the Speedmaster that collectors know and love and makes it a strikingly refreshing new option.

I went through my “Speedmaster phase” that many enthusiasts do, where I fell in love, obsessed and memorized all the details to tell the references apart, and quickly forgot nearly all of it. I’ve been looking for a Speedmaster that would catch my eye and this, with a nod to bits of history – the DON bezel, white dial for the “Alaska Project,” the red text like you saw on a recent white-dialed Seamaster – might finally be the one that does the trick.