Hi folks. Relatively new to the watch scene but I am really keen on a speedmaster reduced (3510.50). Looking for some friendly advice on things to consider or check before purchasing. The price is $2900 (£2350). I’ve heard they are extremely expensive to service, so I guess finding out when the last service was would be a first step. I’ve also seen a bit of debate on Reddit about them being common. This is not a concern for me. Thanks!
The difficulty to service this watch is highly exaggerated.
Yes, it’s more difficult to service as it’s almost two movements.
But here is the reality: your almost never need to service the chronograph module.
Because it’s separate the gears are basically never used unless you engage the chronograph which you would do only a couple of minutes a day at most. Compared to regular chronographs where at least a couple of gears are always active as they at least share the s”seconds” gear.
So when this movement needs service the watch maker can simply service the eta 2892 base instead of the module, and just put the module as is back on top. This was said to me by a high end watchmaker with 10 year experience in repairs.
And then there is also always the option of replacing the module instead of servicing it. This module has been used by breitling, anime and nerdier, longines, even tissot has had a couple of chronos over the years with this.
So I wouldn’t worry that much about it