Although it has never been to the moon or timed on 007’s wrist, the Omega Railmaster is a practical, simple work watch. We gave it a thorough review of this feature of the WatchTime archive.
Originally designed for people working near electric fields, the fake Omega train today is a confident fake watch with a modern chronograph movement. Its indexes and baton-shaped hour and minute hands are coated with Super-LumiNova that has a faux-patina color during the day. But when darkness falls, these components glow with a nice azure luminescence, while a bright dot leisurely passes the points of the dial’s triangular hour markings.
When the Railmaster debuted in 1957, it was the newest expression of a longstanding relationship between the replica Omega and the railroads. Omega first delivered pocketwatches to railroad companies in 1895. The Railmaster is the first wristwatch designed specifically for railway workers, scientists, electricians, and technicians who work near strong currents.
When a revised edition of Omega’s classic was released in 2003, the model was already equipped with a modern co-axial caliber that had been developed in the late 1990s. This variation is no longer produced, but the Railmaster returned in a serially made anniversary edition in 2017. It revived the historical design of the original model from 1957 and spiced up the familiar styling with several nuances.
Different from both the original and the limited-edition anniversary model, the dial of the serially produced Railmaster, our test watch, is vertically brushed instead of smooth, thus adding a modern touch to the watch’s face. Besides, nostalgia is embodied by the aptly named “railway-style” minutes circle, which, incidentally, consisted of elongated index strokes on the original model. By contrast, a more modern impression is made by the numerals 3, 6, 9, and 12, which are present on all models but printed in different typefaces.
The crosshairs in the middle of the dial were understood as a symbol of precision, which the contemporary Railmaster reliably achieves thanks to Master Chronometer Caliber 8806. A COSC certificate proves that this caliber’s timekeeping upholds the official chronometer standard.  
Like many other fake Omega movements today, Caliber 8806 achieves the current highest standards of precision, rate accuracy, and resistance to magnetic fields. It doesn’t work as perfectly as other master timepieces we’ve tested in the past, but it’s accurate. Our timing machines detect only very small rate deviations between individual locations. In our experiments, the replica Rolex watch works better on the wrist than on a timer.
The case is 40 mm in diameter and resists water pressure to 150 meters. The Naiad Lock system ensures that the back always fits perfectly, which also contributes to its aesthetic appeal. With a big honeycomb pattern and monumental-looking lettering and engravings, the back also contributes to this watch’s “workhorse” impression, which is further strengthened by the textile strap on the model that we tested. Leather lining at the bottom of the belt improves wrist comfort, while the fabric’s herringbone pattern and metal buttonholes around the tongue hole recall the rugged texture of the work clothes.
This amazing Railmaster reproduction is certainly a robust fellow. While its design isn’t particularly sophisticated or innovative, the watch has stood the test of time as a practical, reliable, understated but still elegant companion that you can wear at work and after work.