Fresh out of the box, my new best super clone Omega Railmaster watches appeared decades old. That, of course, was the point: The dark brown edges of the dial faded to the lightest touch of beige at the center, while the hands, numerals, and stabby triangular indices took on an aged yellowish-tan color. One of the most important watches in Omega’s history, the Railmaster originally debuted nearly 70 years ago—and this latest incarnation was designed to look as if it hails from that era.
Let’s go back to 1957, when Omega released three watch models so significant, most companies would kill to put out even one in the course of their entire history. The Railmaster was part of what would become known as Omega’s “Holy Trinity” of watches, intended to make the wearers of each respective piece the, ahem, masters of their domains. The other two designs are the foundational pieces of Omega: the Speedmaster and Seamaster. Those 1:1 replica watches UK would go on to live very full lives—the Seamaster was issued to military divers (and, eventually, James Bond), while the Speedmaster went to the moon as NASA’s only flight-qualified timepiece.
Meanwhile, the cheap fake Omega Railmaster watches was developed for, well, railroad engineers. Scientists and non-train-based engineers were also invited to the party. The watch’s superpower was its antimagnetic properties. The Railmaster debuted with resistance to 1,000 gauss, an important feature for those encountering magnetic fields while working the railways. These types of antimagnetic watches were popular around this time (think of Rolex’s Milgauss) and the Railmaster was Omega’s answer to the problem. However, unlike the Seamaster and Speedmaster, the Railmaster was only in production for a few years before it left the catalog. (It’s hard to make a compelling argument for a dedicated antimagnetic watch these days when it’s a standard feature in nearly every new release.)
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks wearing the Railmaster that Omega loaned me, despite not doing well in any STEM subjects in school, nor working on trains professionally (much to my toddler’s dismay). If you’re looking for a vintage-looking watch with totally modern manufacturing, the Railmaster fits the bill perfectly. The perfect copy Omega watches is light and thin without any unnecessary flourishes. There is a logo, the swooshy cursive Railmaster text, three numerals, and a small seconds complication at 6 o’clock (instead of the third seconds hand, the small seconds replaces it with another miniature dial).
The rising interest in vintage watches over the past decade has had a serious impact on the industry. Brands are reviving their iconic archival models and squeezing diameters down to match the size of their AAA super clone watches from the ’60s. But the influence of the vintage market might be most visible at Omega. When I first tried on my Railmaster, the feature that most stood out was the fake patina—also known as “fauxtina”—meaning the toffee shade used across the indices and hands that mimics the aged look of a decades-old vintage watch. Omega has used the technique liberally across special versions of the Seamaster and Speedmaster, and it’s long been a feature of the Railmaster over its many iterations. The fake aging is a catch-22 for a brand like Omega. The treatment is a tad much for me (and, not to channel Holden Caulfield, a little phony), but the vintage appearance is legitimately what Railmaster collectors love to see from this historic model.
Swiss Omega replica watches has brought back the Railmaster in many forms since it first left the catalog in the early ’60s. The first rerelease was in 2012, but despite getting updated with all Omega’s modern bells and whistles—like its signature coaxial escapement—that version didn’t last long. The brand tried again in 2017, when it put out exact re-creations of all three members of the original 1957 trilogy. That same year, the brand released what it called the Omega Seamaster Railmaster, a hybrid model with a brushed dial that came in interesting colors like “denim.” That design was the biggest departure from the original Railmaster, but it was also discontinued in 2024. Little did we know then that it would make room for this more faithful rendition out today.
So why bring the Railmaster back in 2025? This is shaping up to be the year of the humble watch release. At Rolex, the brand’s flagship release is the Land-Dweller, the top fake Omega watches designed for “the heart of the city or deep in the country,” according to a press release put out at the time of the piece’s release. “It conveys, through the lens of Rolex, the essence of personal achievement: a journey, marked by victories quietly obtained and challenges overcome.” Meanwhile, Omega, in a press release, called out the Railmaster’s “vintage style and working-class heritage” as reasons for its popularity. Is this another spin on the quiet-luxury trend, which the watch industry has twisted in all sorts of convenient ways this year? Brands are sensing collectors are looking beyond going to the moon or the bottom of the ocean in 2025. And what could be simpler than watches meant for hanging out on earth and riding the rails?
This year’s best-selling super clone Omega Railmaster watches rerelease slides seamlessly into the Omega catalog. The watch’s design is based on the existing Seamaster Aqua Terra and comes in a very wearable 38 mm. The dial doesn’t try to play any funny tricks, and the $6000 price is on the low end for an Omega. The new Railmaster comes with the history and aged looks of a nearly 70-year-old watch, but all the modern comforts of a new luxury Swiss timepiece. Hopefully, this version of the model is here for good.