Omega Releases A New Speedmaster Copy of the Daytona Le Mans

I woke up this morning expecting to write about the Benrus DTU Shield, but something sparked a little emotion in me, and I just need to write a little introducing article about it. My inbox was full of Omega press releases announcing the arrival of a new Speedmaster Moonwatch ref. 310.30.42.50.01.004, and our instagram account @watchreviewblog – was also flooded with the big news. Omega has released a very attractive, new variant of the Speedmaster, this time with an eye catching inverted black and white dial.

The Resemblance

It looks stunning, but there’s one glaring issue, the dial looks like a near identical copy to the coveted Rolex Daytona Le Mans released way back in 2023. The new Speedmaster introduced today has the same glossy deep black dial with pitch white sub-dials, arranged in identical fashion to the Le Mans. The overall concept is essentially a clone, but Omega has of course kept the same detailing as seen in previous Speedmaster releases. They did not copy the indices, bezel, or bracelet, all of these remain inherently Omega. Most importantly they did not copy the signature trait of the Le Mans, which is the red 100 on the tachymeter bezel. The assembly of the watch, and the way they achieve the inverted panda appearance on the dial is also unique from the Le Mans, with this new release using a layered design of two lacquered plates, the bottom being white and the top black.

Looking up close at the dial reveals that this is indeed a Moonwatch with a new dial, but why can’t Omega think outside of the box when it comes to their overall concepts? This is a brand that has the fire-power to lead the industry but instead they choose to follow the crown. Omega even released an 18k Moonshine gold version of this watch, ref. 310.60.42.50.01.002, which looks eerily similar to the yellow gold Daytona Le Mans ref. 126528LN – this is just astounding!

There is another side of the coin to explore though, and that is the Speedy Tuesday 1 limited edition that was released in 2017. It also has a reverse panda dial, so can we really label this new release a copy of the Daytona? It certainly muddies the water, after all, reverse panda dials have been in production for decades from a multitude of different brands. Maybe this release was just poor timing from Omega, and they should have gone their own direction until the time was right.

Even though this new Speedy release is resembling the Le Mans a little too closely, it’s still a great watch in terms of its quality and heritage, with the latter being one of the most important facets to Speedmaster enthusiasts. Luckily, it’s also still equipped with their legendary in-house Calibre 3861, viewable through the sapphire exhibition caseback.

While the Moonwatch is as iconic as it gets when it comes to chronographs, I can’t help but think that Omega is cutting it a little too close to the Daytona on this one, and to be honest it’s a bit of a letdown from the brand. The brand has clearly taken note of the astronomical grey market pricing of the Le Mans, and is attempting to piggyback on this demand with a more affordable variant – but who wants to be romping around with a $10,400 clone of the Le Mans?