The Omega Speedmaster and Swiss fake Rolex Daytona, introduced in 1957 and 1963, respectively, are probably the most famous chronographs ever made. These two stalwarts of the industry emerged in a different world. One in which the space-race rivalry between the Soviets and the USA was heating up, motor-car racing was making a huge comeback after a hiatus during the war years, and Elvis Presley could still fit into his trousers.
Since then they’ve both experienced the peaks and troughs of the watch industry rollercoaster, with the 1:1 replica Omega Speedmaster going to the Moon, the Daytona setting the auction world alight thanks to the greatest celebrity endorsement ever, and both battening down the hatches during the long siege of the quartz crisis.
And not only are they still standing, they’re more popular than they’ve ever been, basking in true icon status.
Still, in the current market, a brand-new AAA replica Rolex Daytona UK in steel sells for more than twice that of an entry-level Speedmaster and it’s generally seen as the more desirable watch, with waiting lists longer than those of a top-of-the-range Ferrari.
In contrast, you can probably pick up a brand-new cheap fake Omega Speedmaster down your High Street today, while pre-owned copy Omega Speedmaster Moonwatches are also widely available and start from around £4,000.
But is the best quality fake Rolex Daytona’s dominance over its long-term rival justified? Not in our humble opinion, and this is why…
The Daytona Was A Slow Burner
These days they sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars and send the auction world into raptures, so it’s hard to believe that the Swiss made replica Daytona tanked when it first came out.
Aside from the fact that chronographs weren’t yet fashionable for consumers, top replica Rolex UK was so strongly associated with simple, robust models like the Submariner, GMT and Datejust that this sporty chronograph was met with a collective shoulder shrug.
Indifferent customers had to be enticed with hefty discounts and other dangling carrots. Imagine walking into a jewellers today and the salesman practically begging you to buy one with the offer of 50 per cent off and a free set of cufflinks.
The luxury fake Omega Speedmaster’s association with space travel ensured it was much more popular, plus Omega had previous form with complex timing functions due to its long links with the Olympic games.
Rolex’s NASA Reject
Much like the way England football fans still like to talk about 1966 and Alf Ramsey’s World Cup-winning glory, high quality copy Omega has never let the industry forget that the Speedmaster was the first watch on the Moon.
And that must be a constant thorn in Rolex’s side, because the Rolex Daytona replica for sale wasn’t far off being selected for NASA’s space missions itself.
In 1964 when NASA research boffins were looking for a timepiece to accompany its astronauts in space, they asked ten watch brands to volunteer a model for testing. Only four replied: Omega, Longines-Wittnauer, Hamilton and Swiss movement super clone Rolex—who volunteered their 6238, a pre-Daytona chronograph that would eventually evolve into the Daytona we know today.
Inexplicably, perhaps thinking that the NASA mission involved time-travelling back to the 19th century rather than the Moon, Hamilton delivered a pocketwatch, immediately disqualifying them.
The Wittnauer-Longines and Rolex replica watches online at least made it to the starting line, but they failed on an early thermal vacuum test.
This left the Omega fake Paypal to go it alone for the rest of the tests, which it passed with flying colours.