3510.20, SPEEDMASTER REDUCED, ALBINO

A ref. 3510.20, the Speedmaster Reduced known to collectors as the Albino. The white dial flips the Speedmaster script: dark hands and subdial markings on a pale field, framed by the black tachymeter bezel. The case is the reduced-size Speedmaster, at roughly 39mm, with crown guards and the familiar Speedmaster lugs. Inside is an automatic chronograph, the calibre 3220, so the watch winds itself as you wear it. The whole chronograph layout is scaled down without losing the look. It was with us on a steel bracelet.

Omega introduced the Speedmaster Reduced in 1988 as a more compact, self-winding take on the Moonwatch. Rather than redesign the watch, Omega shrank the case and fitted an automatic chronograph built on an ETA base with a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module. The result was a Speedmaster that wore smaller and asked less of its owner each morning. The Reduced stayed in the catalog for years in several dial colors, and the white version stood out from the start. Collectors gave it the Albino nickname for the way it inverts the classic black Speedmaster. Today the Reduced is one of the best-loved ways into the Speedmaster family.

We sourced this watch for the dial. The Albino takes the most recognizable chronograph layout in the world and turns the color inside out, and it works beautifully. The white makes the subdials pop and gives the black bezel a sharper edge. Add the self-winding movement and the reduced case, and you get a Speedmaster that wears easily on a wide range of wrists. Most Speedmasters are black, and that is part of their power. This one makes the case for a different look without leaving the family. Curated with intent.