Omega Speedmaster Instruction: How To Use The Tachymeter Bezel & Chronograph Function

Omega Speedmaster Instruction: How To Use The Tachymeter Bezel & Chronograph Function
In this video, we will be discussing the classic Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch and how you can use its various functions and features. Click here to shop our full collection of Omega Speedmaster Watches: www.bobswatche...
To read more about how you can use your Omega Speedmaster watch, read the instructions here: www.bobswatche...
For over half a century, the Omega Speedmaster has been the official go-to timepiece for astronauts. To this day, the classic manually-wound Omega Speedmaster remains the only wristwatch to be qualified for both spaceflight and EVA (spacewalks).
The Omega Speedmaster has an instantly recognizable design and its distinct tachymeter bezel, which can be used to measure both speed and distance, is a core element of its overall aesthetic. However, even if you’re the lucky owner of an Omega Speedmaster watch, that doesn’t automatically make you a pro at using it.
There may be elements of the Speedmaster’s design that you may love for their aesthetic value, but you might not fully understand how to take full advantage of them. With that in mind, it might surprise you to learn just how easy the Omega Speedmaster is to operate. First we’ll look at the chronograph functionality of the Omega Speedmaster and then we’ll go into detail about how you use its clever tachymeter scale bezel to measure either distance or speed.
How to you use the chronograph on the Omega Speedmaster
The traditional dial of the classic Speedmaster is black with three sub-dials located at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock. The counter positioned at 3 o’clock provides a 30-minute scale, the 6 o’clock houses a 12-hour counter, and the 9 o’clock dial is a running seconds indicator. The chronograph second hand is the large, thinner hand, centrally mounted to the dial. It can be used in conjunction with the tachymeter scale to calculate either speed or distance.
The classic Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch will time events up to 12 hours. All you need to do is start the chronograph by pressing the pusher located on the side of the case at the 2 o’clock position. Pressing this same pusher once more will stop the stopwatch mechanism. To reset the chronograph, simply press the pusher located at 4 o’clock while the chronograph is stopped. This innovative yet simple design is also used on many other popular chronograph wristwatches such as the Rolex Daytona.
How to use the Tachymeter bezel on the Omega Speedmaster
If you look at the bezel of the Omega Speedmaster, you’ll see that it’s equipped with a scale graduated from 60 to 500 units. Whether you’re measuring in kilometers or miles, this feature will enable you to accurately compute average speed based on a known distance, or allow you to measure the distance based on your average speed.
Rather than relying on an algebraic equation to calculate these values, the centrally-mounted chronograph seconds hand used in conjunction with the Omega Speedmaster’s sleek and easy-to-use tachymeter scale performs these calculations for you.
You’ll need to have an accurate knowledge of the distance you will be traveling before you start measuring your speed - or conversely, you will need to know your average speed in order to calculate distance. You press the top pusher to start the chronograph when you pass the first distance marker, and then press it again to stop the chronograph once you pass the second distance marker. You can then check where the chronograph seconds hand has stopped and read the value that it points to on the bezel’s tachymeter scale to see how fast the object or person was traveling.
While the chronograph dial of the Omega Speedmaster watch and its accompanying tachymeter scale look incredibly impressive, they are intended to serve specific functions and represent the defining elements of this iconic watch collection. Many collectors will never really use these features to their full extent; however, knowing how to use the Omega Speedmaster can be incredibly useful should you ever need to manually calculate either speed or distance.
Thanks for watching our video on how to use the Omega Speedmaster. Don’t forget to subscribe to our KZbin channel so that you can stay up-to-date on all our latest watch-related video content.
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[@totallyfrozen]

The most helpful take away for me was learning that the units does not matter. I had confused myself as to whether the bezel was written considering miles or kilometers. Now I understand the units are external to the watch. The watch simply measures the time between 2 points whether miles or kilometers. Thanks so much!

[@msfasa]

Another good way to look at it is it's measuring the frequency of anything in an hour. So for example, if the seconds hand lands on the 400 after you hammer one nail, it means you can hammer 400 nails in an hour (assuming you keep a consistent pace).

[@IPerfectDark]

The dude panicked and mis-spoke at the end. He should have said "miles an hour" because you're using a mile marker in the road, but he said KM. Sure, if it was a KM marker you'd get the figure in KMph, but he said mile marker.

[@lumberjackfromastoria]

just got the moonswatch and i was wondering how things worked! this was useful

[@JeffreyOcaya]

Same 😂

[@MatthewLopez-dj9oq]

The watch can count up to 30 minutes and up to 12 hours. How does it display an elapsed time of between 31 and 59 minutes?

[@wiscobuckeye]

I have this watch. The hour hand does move halfway between the hour markers every 30 minutes, which makes it super easy to tell exactly how long the chronograph has been running.

[@erichancock4618]

I had same question.... Why is it not a 60 min chronograph vs 30??

[@PylotGuy]

Thanks bob, this really helped me as I’m getting into high end luxury watches ! I wanted to know what the different features between this and the sea master is now I do ! Thank you

[@livingmodern]

Not sure this was captured but by clicking the bottom pusher WHILE the chrono is going you get the split second time, and if you push the bottom again the chrono will jump to where it was internally. I'm not a runner but I guess that's what they do to capture each lap time.

[@WildcatWithLove]

This is not the case for my Speedmaster.

[@artb1974]

The tachymeter can measure numbers of anything per hour. Think, cycles per hour on any machine… etc. you just have to use your imagination. Great video!

[@mattwestergard4160]

Clear and short video - nice job!

[@kenshirohokuto]

Thanks, can you do a tutorial to how start it and set the right time?

[@ryantinney]

These new videos have been terrific!

[@wav3r328]

Please, i can't get it. How the minute dial shows Minute between 30-59? Is hour dial in the middle position of 2 indexes at the time? and minute dial goes second round? How it shows 02:48:51?

[@DislikeFRIDAY]

i was wondering the same thing. Apperently the hour counter on Six o clock position jumps ' Half an hour' so its between the indexes. Here is a 2 min Vid from a RLX daytona which has the same dial setup. the let it run for half an hour: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXKTYYenrLp0iJY&ab_channel=Crown%26Caliber Edit: Here is a Vid of the speedmaster manual, apperently the hour marker has a continous motion. i think its just on the same gear as the normal hour hand so it has the same speed. it does in fact not jump. Here is an animation of omega: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qGbPeIltbrCGrtk&ab_channel=OMEGA

[@typerightseesight]

i like my triple sensor from gshock. but this seems so more primitive its almost interesting. except I have always wanted to know how fast i was going on a skateboard.. lol.

[@molos3466]

400km/h on a rocket?

[@bimeshkoirala]

The ISS or during the apollo re-entry. Other than that the Tachymeter wont be correct unless you have a reference to look up to and compare it to the measurement you have made on the watch

[@ivanlukapaurevic8698]

Hi, would you be able to identify a really rare Moonwatch from 1968/69 which has a red stopwatch hand and a telemeter instead of a tachymeter. I could provide you the serial number, exact model and picture. I did not find a similar one and would like to know if it's a limited edition. I don't have any paperwork but the watch is 100% genuine.

[@neilcampbell4833]

does the large seconds hand run all the time or only when you use the chronograph

[@mildjosh]

only when you use the chronograph. I used to think that the big seconds hand was for time, the seconds hand can be found in the left small circle.

[@JeffreyOcaya]

Thanks for raising this question and for the one who answered it. You have confirmed what the video kind of implied.

[@avarmauk]

Does it have to be 1 mile or km? What about an odd number like 3.1km? Can you still calculate?

[@TrentonLipscomb]

Multiply the result by 3.1. So in the example, if you travelled 3.1km in that amount of time, it would be 400 * 3.1 == 1240kph. It'd work for 0.1km, too: 400 * 0.1 == 40kph.

[@avarmauk]

@@TrentonLipscomb Thank you sir

[@user-dv7tq9it9z]

What, 400 miles per hour?

[@fabreezethefaintinggoat5484]

great info

[@RawDollar]

400mph or 400km per hour?? What are u talking about

[@mdscownz]

It can be used to measure any unit of distance per hour. The tachymetre can also be used to measure distance if your traveling at a fixed speed.

[@kaisoerfjord6794]

BEWARE, OMEGA PRODUCTION ERROR - All Speedmasters with cal.1861 or cal.1863 movement (manual wound) paired with 5th of a second markers on dial (seconds divided into 5 parts) or paired with 4th of a second markers, and all with cal.3220 movement (automatic) paired with 5th-second markers on dial, have INACCURATE READING of the chronograph hand due to NO FIT between dial-markers of fractions-of-a-second and the movement’s beat-frequency per second. Cal.1861/1863 beat at 6 vibrations per second (6VPS) and require a 3rd or 6th of a second per marker between the seconds; the cal.3220 beats at 8 VPS and require a half or a 4th or 8th of a second between the markers. This affects Speedmasters with reference no. 311.10.39.30; 311.33.42.30; 311.30.42.30.01; 3590.50; 3572.50 et cetera (if they have 5th of a second markers paired with a 6 BPS movement - cal.1861 or 1863); 311.30.42.30.03 (a 4th of a second per marker); and it affects Speedmasters with ref. no. 3510.50; 3510.12; 3520.50; 2598.80 etc. (if they have 5th of a second markers, i.e. each second divided into 5 fractions of a second, paired with a 6 beats per second movement - cal.3220 or 1151 etc.). Incidentally, those with ref. no. 311.32.40.30.01.005; 311.30.42.30.01.004; 311.33.40.30.02.001; percent 311.32.42.30.04.003; 522.30.42.30.04.001 (cal.1861); 311.30.42.30.99.002 (cal.1863); 3876.50.31 (cal.1866) that have a 1/3 of a second per marker (each second divided into 3 parts, i.e. 2 sub-markers between each marker of a full second), are correct. Even Tudor had the same production error/design flaw, on all their Valj.-based 28,800 BPH (8 BPS) movement equipped Heritage chronographs, having 4 dividers between each full second marker, making it a 5th of a second per marker, with a CHRONO-hand that jerks forward 6 times per second and always miss the first and the third quarter-second-marker). Only now do we see it corrected. And only now have we recently seen Omega NOT cheating in this regard, more than 50 years after they stopped making their 18,000 BPH (5 BPS) movement, cal.321. They even cheated NASA, in the 1960s, equipping the astronauts with a 6 jerks per second chronograph hand over a dial with only 5 fraction-of-a-second markers. How lame and criminal isn’t that ? Even their so-called 1957 reissue has a 21,600 BPH (6 BPS) movement paired with each second divided into 5 fractions on the dial. Right, a CURRENTLY ONGOING mass sale of factory error/design flaw equipped CRAP, useless for what it is marketed as, a precision instrument for accurate split second timing. Criminal.

[@homosexualpanic]

This is interesting, have you got any links to references for this at all? I have looked but can't find anything

[@msfasa]

Didn't all Speedmasters have this design flaw before the 3861? Including the 861 and 321? (I assume they were all at 6 hz as well)

[@rico7292]

Your bezel is rotated a lil bit.its not accurate. 60'marker point is not in the line with the 12 marker. Same with the all. I have the same problem with my speedy. Drive me crazy😅

[@Hard_7_Iron]

Yeah…thats correct…I travel at 400 MPH. Hahahaha thanks.

[@lhogie1962]

This watch used batteries?

[@raplopez4258]

That was confusing, 400 miles OR kilometres?

[@kwatson7777]

depends on the unit you're measuring, it could be either. as long as you hit the button at one marker and stop it at the next, it's measuring your speed based on the distance between those two markers.

[@raplopez4258]

@@kwatson7777 i Guess a unitless ratio then

[@puttz2]

Slow down on the talking mate!

[@owenlaprath4135]

OUCH! Do you always talk this fast? Just STOP, take a breath or 27, and SLOW DOWN!

[@mjaymo]

Yeah because you will cover a KM in the same time as a Mile.. 🤦

[@bmw_de]

The unit doesn't matter. If you pass 1km in an hour you are traveling at 1km/h, if you pass 1 mile in an hour, you are traveling. at 1 mph it works with any point of reference. Say you stop the time between blocks. So the unit would be blocks/hour. The tachymetre doesnt have a unit of lengh, its just time

[@Senninha1960]

MPH or KMH, no, it's set for MPH only.

[@darthbela9410]

A Kent Hello A Kent, it’s not that easy to say or thinking about there are different “Tachymeter” scales. It depends on the measured distance! For example if you measuring a miles it shows mp/h if you measure a kilometre it will show kp/h. (Or units per hour) - Or if you like T=3600/t (T is the value on the scale, 3600 seconds per hour, t seconds measured after one mile or kilometre). More important is that these calculated values are an average speed.

[@Senninha1960]

@@darthbela9410 ok that makes sense 👍👍

[@johnnykool5083]

Who drives 400mph ?

[@Therollingpanda]

So essentially the tachymeter can be used if you’re travelling kilometres or miles, and if you time the amount it took to pass one of these the number the tachymeter shows will be how many of those runs you can do? IE time for one KM tachymeter shows 400, this means you are doing 400Km/H?

[@specialperson335]

@@Therollingpanda doesnt matter if you are using miles or kilometers, the time unit is always per hour. So the amount of distance doesnt matter because if you pass it in the same time you will get the same number, however 400 mph is faster than 400 kph obviously. But a kilometre is shorter so you will reach the full km faster.