2002 Omega Speedmaster Reduced Marui Mod

In 1988, Omega introduced a smaller automatic version of its famous Speedmaster Professional under the reference 3510.50. The new watch utilized an ETA-based caliber fitted with a Dubois Dépraz chronograph module and housed it within a case that measured 3mm smaller than its older brother (39mm vs. 42mm). While it wasn’t the first Speedmaster with an automatic movement (that title goes to the Speedmaster Mark III released in 1972), the Speedmaster Reduced—as it was nicknamed—was an important watch that allowed Omega to reach a broader audience with its Speedmaster series. Finally, those with smaller wrists, and those who preferred the convenience of an automatic movement, were able to own a piece of Omega’s celestial history.  

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Over time, the Speedmaster Reduced became a vessel for numerous limited editions, including a series of Schumacher racing dials and several panda configurations made specifically for the Japanese Domestic Market. Perhaps the most desireable of these are the first and second generation Marui department store models with creamy panda dials and black tachymeter bezels that harken back to vintage examples of the Rolex Daytona and Universal Geneve Compax. It is speculated that only a few thousand of these watches were made and sold in Japan for a limited period throughout the 2000s. 

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Omega did produce additional dials and handsets of the Marui limited editions, presumably to cover the need for replacement at service. The extra supply has allowed for those with Omega parts accounts to independently source and sell them to collectors who then fit them on a base Speedmaster Reduced and “build” a Marui for less than the cost of the now scarce originals. This particular example is one such watch, coming from the factory as a 3510.50 and later being fitted with a first generation Marui dial and handset. Of course, the original dial and handset have been preserved, and can be swapped back if this watch were to ever be sent to Omega for servicing.