Few Speedmaster Homages-Why?

I'm not advocating for these, I'm just curious. The Speedmaster and the Submariner are pretty definitively the two most iconic and easily recognizable watches ever. But we see a ton of Submariner homages, some that are pretty much identical (in terms of design only, not even close to finish or precision). But there's not a ton of strict Speedmaster homages. Even the Pagani design one still looks noticably off. I'm not asking for a strict Speedmaster homage, I just was thinking about why so few of them. Is it because Rolex is generally more recognizable, chronographs are harder to make, or is the Submariner design just easier to copy? Let me know your thoughts

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Good question 

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Chronographs are notoriously difficult to make.  And, on top of that, the calibre 3861 is based on an old Lemania 1873 design.  What most folks have easy access to is stuff that's based on something like the Valjoux 7750.  

In the case of Chinese fakes, it's super easy to get a cheap and good Daytona, because there's so much demand from the muggle buying public, and as such the Chinese rep manufacturers have invested in manufacturing to make movements that enable replication.

Not so with the Speedmaster.  There isn't enough muggle demand for it, for the Chinese rep guys to invest the fixed cost R&D into replicating the movement.  If you're a Speedmaster fan, you're an enthusiast.  And if you're an enthusiast, you really aren't going to settle for a $500 Chinese rep.

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Phylida had a nice one using the ST19 movement for a while, but they've apparently stopped making it.  I think it might have been due to the difficulty in sourcing ST1902s, which were needed for the 6 o'clock register.

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You would be surprised how many there are, just not as many as the Sub for all the reasons @Omeganut  said. You can bet your wallet Pagani Designs has one and if someone is looking for one, they truly do not have to look hard. Looking at the knock-off central that is AliExpress there are 14 pages of Speedmaster "inspired" watches. I would also argue the Swatch is a homage. 😉

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The Speedmaster is an homage to the Rodania Geometer from the early 50's

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I think most chronos on Ali are homages, but not all of very well known models. Pagani makes a speedmaster homage, as does Corgeut

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uhrensohn

I think most chronos on Ali are homages, but not all of very well known models. Pagani makes a speedmaster homage, as does Corgeut

Neither of them are chronographs.  They're three-handers using Seagull movements with subdials.

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JBird7986

Neither of them are chronographs.  They're three-handers using Seagull movements with subdials.

well, no, both are mecaquartz, using the vk63 from Seiko.

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A mech chrono is expensive to own and maintain. You can buy a lot of VK63 watches for the price of just one mech chrono cleaning. Buy mech for the flex or the mecaquartz for the value. BTW 99 % of the people you meet don't know the difference between them.

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I have an Occam's rasor answer which is disparaging to the appearance of the Speedmaster. Maybe other people like the look. I don't know.

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Hey...wait a second...isn't there a plastic one for like 260 bucks or something?🥹

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It's scary how scary good the replicators have gotten. One more reason for me to buy from indie watch makers whose products are valuable mostly to enthusiasts and crazy watch nuts like us 🤔

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DariusII

Hey...wait a second...isn't there a plastic one for like 260 bucks or something?🥹

Definitely not $260….😉

Also, aren’t they already homaging, this homage…? 

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Homages and Paganis  are here to stay.