‘Italian Albino’ 3893.20 Omega Speedmaster

The recent lacquer dial, for all the attention, was not the first. Nor was the Canopus. In fact, it goes way back to a watch called the Stafford, more on that later. But, prior to the Canopus, Alaska series, Mitsukoshi, Apollo XI 35th, and Snoopy series, there was this: the 3593.20, better known as the ‘Italian Albino’. It is a cream dial in a steel case with the 1863. And it’s one of the great Speedmasters from before the time when the Moonwatch portfolio expanded to include plastic.

The first ever white gold dial, more silver than white, was on the ref BC345.0802, nicknamed the ‘Stafford’. Omega made 20, a handful are known. Then came a very rare two-tone case with a white dial for the German market in ’81, ref. DD 145.0022, of which very little is known. Then in ’97 the same happened for Italy, the watch you see before you, all in steel. It’s known as the Italian Albino, made to celebrate the Speedmaster’s 40th in 500 examples. Rather confusingly, it goes by three references: 3893.20 on leather and this 3593.20 on bracelet, while the umbrella reference for both is 345.818. They all go by the Italian Albino nickname.

The case is steel with a display back before any standard production model had an exhibition back. Similarly its crystal was sapphire which was not the case on standard production; this is the first sapphire sandwich. Its 1863 is rhodium plated and finished to a higher standard than the standard 1861 to fit its display back. And finally, its dial is a warm white which ages to cream, sporting thick lacquer outlines around all plots to match black hands. The tells are subtle, but it’s a very lovely take on the Speedmaster and probably the only Speedmaster which can legitimately be said to be a cream dial. Or, as it’s Italian, we’ll call it a ‘panna’.

Back in ’97, Omega’s focus and fixation on limited edition models did not exist. Hard to imagine, I know. But a 500-example production for a particular market was a very rare occurrence. Fewer than half of these are likely to still be around or what we’d call ‘known’. The last decade saw them soar from trading hands around 10K in 2015 all the way up to frequent 30-35K sales at the height of 2020, thanks largely to a NOS example selling at Phillips above 40K at the Racing Pulse sale. Today, they’ve settled around 25K or so and are back to being a decided value, if you can find one. This one has an extra dimension of cool, being sold by the guy who invented Speedy Tuesday, RJ. And it’s about as cream as examples get. In the words of Mr. Withers, ‘Good things might come to those who wait’.

If you didn’t know, Fratello recently began upping their collaborative watch releases in their own store. But, simultaneous, they also starting selling a very few great vintage offerings alongside. Fittingly, these are Speedmasters under a section called ‘RJ’s Speedy Vault’, Speedmasters from the Speedmaster don. They’re all great editions and reasonably priced, great offering from a great media player. This example has a sharp case, brushing and edges defined, and very even cream dial. The lume is one of the first uses of Luminova ever, but quite warm in tone. It comes with its original box and warranty card from Fratello’s new shop.