Omega rewrites its smallest icon, inside the new Speedmaster 38 collection

For years, the Speedmaster 38 sat apart from the Moonwatch, smaller, softer around the edges in oval subdials. That era is now over.

Omega has taken its compact chronograph with a seven-piece collection that spans from utilitarian steel to full diamond pavé, each one sharing a single design language for the first time.

The rebuild

Every model in the new lineup measures 38mm across, 14.75mm thick, and 44.96mm from lug to lug, with 100 metres of water resistance carried through the entire range.

Gone are the oval counters that defined the line, in their place, round subdials borrowed straight from Moonwatch heritage.

The dial text has been quieted, the bezels widened, and each one now wears the ‘dot over 90’ detail.

A new five-link bracelet, styled after Omega's most famous chronograph, ties the whole collection together.

Six of the seven watches keep a date window at six o'clock, powered by the automatic Caliber 3330. One model breaks from the pattern entirely and it happens to be the one collectors will likely talk about most.

The collection, dressed down to dressed up

Black No-Date

A matte black dial, white hands, and a black aluminium tachymeter bezel with no date, clutter, and a different caliber 3332 engine in place of 3330.

It is the closest this collection comes to the original Moonwatch spirit, and the clearest echo yet of the long-discontinued Speedmaster Reduced, the compact automatic that disappeared from Omega's catalogue after 2010.

White and Blue

Steel, crisp, lacquered white dial, blue hands and markers, and blue ceramic tachymeter bezel. Cleaner and more graphic than the limited-edition Milano Cortina piece it succeeds.

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Silvery

The dressier register of the range. A warm grey aluminium bezel wraps an opaline silvery dial, with hands and hour markers finished in Omega's Sedna Gold tone and brown detailing tucked inside the subdials.

Moonshine Gold and Green

Steel in 18-carat Moonshine Gold across the bezel, crown, pushers, and bracelet links. A green aluminium bezel and silvery opaline dial keep it from tipping into excess.

Sedna Gold ‘Cappuccino’

The signature warm-toned colourway returns with ivory dial, brown subdials, and brown aluminium bezel, set against 18-carat Sedna Gold hardware on an otherwise steel case.

Ice-Blue Diamond

The pivot into jewellery territory begins here, an ice-blue dial, rhodium-plated hands and markers, and a bezel set with 52 diamonds.

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Mother-of-Pearl Diamond

The collection's final word, the same diamond-set case and 52-stone bezel, now with a white mother-of-pearl dial and a date window at six. The most ornamental piece Omega has come up around this case in years.

What's notable here is the range. Omega has used the smaller case as a canvas for everything from tool-watch austerity to full diamond spectacle, all under one coherent design.

For purists, the black no-date model will be the one worth watching. For everyone else, there are six more ways in.