I thought it might be a good plan to introduce one of the most famous cult watches to this group of car lovers over at MotoringExposure.com. Every week, I try to feed them with interesting horological facts and articles and it took actually quite long (to my taste) to talk about one of my favorites, the Omega Speedmaster Professional.

Probably nothing much inside you didn’t already know about the Moonwatch, but you never know of course Click here for my article at MotoringExposure.

What the Speedmaster Automatic ref. ST376.0822 (also referred to as the Holy Grail Speedmaster) was for Chuck Maddox, is the Speedmaster Professional Moonphase (ref.3689.30.31) for me. This white gold Speedmaster Professional (yes, labelled ‘Professional’) was introduced during BaselWorld 1999 by Omega. In the same year I bought my first serious watch, which happened to be a Speedmaster Professional (caliber 321) as well.

Photo by FratelloWatches

The 18 carat white gold Speedmaster Professional Moonphase was only available for a limited time and commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Apollo XI landing in 1969. The caliber 1866 movement is based on Omega’s caliber 1861, which you probably recognize as being the handwound chronograph movement of the Speedmaster Professional. Caliber 1866 is based on Lemania caliber 1884, except that this one features a moonphase disc, a date and has a higher grade of finishing (as with Omega caliber 1863 used in the ‘Moonwatch’ models with display back).

Although this watch is in essence the same as the regular Moonwatch, the silvered dial and moondisc (silvered moon in relief on a metallic blue disc) makes this watch something special. The look of the 18 carat white gold case probably won’t be noticed by anyone as opposite to stainless steel, but the weight of this watch is significantly higher ofcourse. I love the feel of this white gold watch, but I would be hesitant to wear this time piece on a daily basis, since white gold is a bit more vulnerable for scratches (even though I am a desk-astronaut ).

Photo by FratelloWatches

The blued hands match nicely with the metallic blue moonphase disc. The date and moonphase can be corrected through the two pushers at approx. 10 o’clock, for which you will need a toothpick to set. The tachymeter bezel is like the regular Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch (ref. 3750.50),  made out of black aluminium ring.

Photo by FratelloWatches

This Speedy Moonphase in white gold was introduced (and delivered) with leather strap only. The single folding clasp is made out of 18 ct white gold ofcourse. As you can see above, the caseback has the same ‘The First Watch Worn On The Moon‘ inscription as the stainless steel Speedmaster Professional 3750.50. You can ask yourself if this makes any sense, since this watch is really different from the official NASA EVA watch. However, the original Moonwatch differs from the current steel version as well.

I could only find this watch in an Omega catalogue of 2000 which I had in my bookshelf. Later catalogues don’t include this watch anymore. The original list price for the ref.3689.30.31 moonphase Speedy was 9890,14 Euro. However, at the time of introduction, the Euro currency wasn’t ‘live’ yet, so the catalogue also prints the price tag of 21.795 Dutch Guilders. A normal stainless steel Speedmaster Pro was 3495 Dutch Guilders at that time.

So, having this watch here for a short period of time, only makes me want it more A quick scan on the internet learns me however, that this watch still doesn’t come cheap (if you can find one). I actually found a few of them for sale, and the one I noticed needs to fetch 8.450 Euro (or 11.914 USD). I think that you actually could get some discount back in 1999 when you bought this watch, so the price level didn’t change much. A solid (gold) investment so to speak.

I believe that this is one of the rarest Speedmasters ever, perhaps as rare as the Speedmaster Automatic ref. ST376.0822 (Holy Grail), Teutonic Speedmaster Moonphase (ref. 3450810) or the gold BA 145.022 Speedmaster, given to the astronauts, president, vice-president etc.

8.450 isn’t exactly change for me, so I need to look at some alternatives. Ofcourse, I know about the current Speedmaster Professional Moonphase in stainless steel and the first one in 1985 (ref. 145.0809), but these models do have the same chique appearance that the white gold 3689.30.31 has. Luckily, Omega introduced another Speedmaster Professional Moonphase in 1999 called the ‘Speedmaster Replica Moonphase’, based on the Broad Arrow 1957 replica model. On a nice leather strap, it approaches the white gold version well enough. However, the only downside is that the blue hands are not as discreet as they are on the white gold Speedy Moonphase.

Press Photo of the ref. 3575.20 by Omega

As you can see, the bracelet needs to be replaced by a leather strap However, the hour markers and hands are harder to replace. When the hour markers would be made out of white gold, it would be a lot better already. The dial looks awfully white here, but in fact it is ‘cream’ in the flesh. Omega’s catalogue photos didn’t do the watch any justice in 1999. This watch can be found in superb condition, complete with box and papers for below 3000 euro. List price was 4100 euro.

In 2001, Omega introduced even a better version though. The Speedmaster Professional Moonphase (Broad Arrow, ref. 3575.30) of 2001 is a variation of the model above, but with silvered or white gold hands, hour markers and a stainless steel bezel inlay. List price and going prices are comparable of the 3575.20 above. Both models ofcourse have the Omega caliber 1866 movement inside, with the same grade of finish.

Below, you’ll see a picture I found on the internet (somewhere) of the version I would love to own some time. And the price makes that owning this watch is more realistic than the white gold Speedmaster Professional Moonphase would be.

Fact is that I really love the metallic blued hands, baton shaped, like the original Moonwatch has. The silvered hands are nicer than the blued hands on the Broad Arrow version imho, but I wonder how readable the dial is. The bracelet needs to go ofcourse. I never understood why Omega is using these bracelets for the Speedmaster series. The vintage bracelets tapered a bit towards the clasp, which gave it a more classic look. This bracelet belongs to the Seamaster line, or other diver’s watch.

Thanks to Horloge Platform Nederland for lending me this white gold beauty! Make sure to read their review on this watch.

Tags: Lemania, Moonphase, Moonwatch, Omega, Speedmaster Professional

Although the moon landing was years before I was even born, I always had an interest in the space race. The fact that the Omega Speedmaster Professional was the first watch worn on the moon, probably has a role as well in that interest. Last year, when we celebrated the 39th anniversary of the moon landing, I wrote an extensive blog post on the moon landing, NASA and the role Omega played in it with their Speedmaster Professional watches.

a Dutch (Rotterdam) newspaper from 21 july 2969 covering the moon landing

This year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Omega introduced the 40th anniversary Speedmaster Professional watch during the BaselWorld 2009 expo. After seeing it in the flesh, I wasn’t very enthusiastic to be honest. The red tip at the chronograph second hand is too loud to my taste. The sterling silver Apollo 11 patch in the 9 o’clock subregister is very nicely done though.

However, this is ofcourse not the watch that is similar to the one that landed on the moon in 1969. As written before, the Speedmaster Professional watches with reference numbers st105.003 (Aldrin), st105.012 (Armstrong) with serial number 24002981 and st145.012 (Collins) with serial number 26552506 were the first watches worn on the moon, all with movement caliber 321. If you want something modern but yet similar, I suggest you get the regular Speedmaster Professional watch with hesalite crystal and stainless steel caseback (not the transparent one that is), ref 3570.50. Milking out the moon landing to market a new limited edition Speedmaster every 5 years (and other limiteds in between) has become a bit sad, and I think I am not alone on this one.

If you are going to spend 3850 euro on the Speedmaster Professional 40th Anniversary edition, you can actually better spend it on a REAL moon watch, like the aforementioned 145.012, 105.003 or 105.012. These vintage beauties with movement caliber 321 (column wheel chronograph manufactured by Lemania) can be had for 2500-3000 Euro in good condition. Some years ago, I wrote this article about the different Speedmasters through the years (1957 till modern models) and how to identify them correctly. It might be useful when looking for a vintage Speedy.

My friend Chuck Maddox, has written excellent articles about these vintage Speedmasters and was an absolute space freak himself, one of the articles which is definately a classic is the one that tries to definatley answer the big ‘which watches have been worn on the moon’-question. You can read the entire article by clicking here.

Although I am not wearing my vintage Speedmaster Professional 145.012 on a daily basis anymore, it does get wrist time at times like these, to commemorate the moon landing in 1969. I also think this watch is one of the nicest chronographs around, even nicer than, let’s say, a Rolex Daytona for example. However, for the Rolex fans there is the GMT-Master ref.1675 that is known to be the favorite of astronauts in their private/spare time. As the Speedmaster watches were official NASA equipment and had to be returned, the Rolex GMT 1675 was the way to go for most astronauts.

The Speedmaster is one of the purest chronographs around in my opinion, an incredible readible dial, bulletproof handwound movement, a plastic crystal that magnifies the superb dial and – ofcourse – an incredible history. NASA did only choose official for the Omega Speedmaster Professional after running several exhaustive tests.

Oh yeah, if you want to take a peek at one of the most special Speedmasters around, make sure to check out the gold Speedmaster Professional that was produced between 1969 and 1972. Only 1014 pieces were ever made, with a box in the shape of a moon rock. The one below is owned by a friend of mine, who proudly wears it! I covered this rare Speedmaster in this article last year. The first 28 pieces were given to the president of the United States (Richard M. Nixon at the time, who received number 1), the vice-president and the active NASA astronauts.

To all Speedy owners, enjoy this day!

Some pre-Basel 2009 news from our friends in Bienne, Switzerland. Every 5 years, Omega introduces a tribute Limited Edition Speedmaster Professional for the original ‘Moonwatch’ that landed on the Moon 21 July 1969, on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin.

This coming July 21st, it will be 40 years ago that Aldrin had his caliber 321 Speedmaster Professional strapped on his space suit and Armstrong left his watch in the Lunar Module because of a defect electronic timing system. Check my earlier post on the exact Speedmaster models used during this mission. You can find it here: http://www.fratellowatches.com/archives/2008/07/21/omega-speedmaster-it-is-39-years-ago/.

As you might know, I am a big fan of these Speedmaster Professional watches. They embody everything a perfect chronograph should be. Timeless casing, excellent readability, easy to operate chronograph buttons (no screw-down pushers), fit for stainless steel bracelets and leather straps, proven hand wound chronograph movement by Lemania (Omega caliber 1861) and a great history!

Enough ranting about my favorite chronograph, let’s see what this new 40th Anniversary Model is about.

The original Apollo 11 patch has been placed on the subdial of 9 o’clock. This patch was designed by astronaut Michael Collins. He was the third Apollo 11 astronaut, and remained aboard the Apollo 11 capsule as Command Module Pilot while his colleagues Armstrong and Aldrin were jumping around on the surface of the moon.

This Omega Speedmaster Pro 40th Anniversary Model will be presented in a black watch box and includes a 42mm (same size as the watch) silver medal featuring an engraving of the Apollo 11 mission patch on one side with the words “APOLLO 11, 40th ANNIVERARY”. On the reverse side, the medal is engraved, “THE EAGLE HAS LANDED”; “LAUNCHED JULY 16 1969”; “LANDED JULY 20, 1969”; and “RETURNED, JULY 24, 1969”. Also in the black presentation box is an envelope containing a black polishing cloth with information commemorating the historic space flight.

This watch could cause another watch to leave from my preciously built collection of watches I am afraid. Currently, I am wearing my 1969 Speedmaster Professional a lot, also to keep my 1967 Speedmaster Professional with caliber 321 movement ‘fresh’ and in prestine condition. This all-new 40 year younger watch will be a great addition to these two vintage beauties.

I am very excited about this watch, so excited even, that the red chronograph hand tip and red printing on the dial does not bother me at all. There will be 7969 pieces made of this 40th Anniversary Model, which although is not THAT limited, they might get sold out relatively quickly because the Speedmaster community is still growing every day. Try to get a hold of the older anniversary models..!

Some other blog posts you might find interesting are:

Rare gold Speedmaster Professional from 1969
It was 39 years ago
Speedmaster Professional with racing dial
Velcro straps, the real deal

Leave your thoughts about this watch in the comments or click Perpetuelle.com for their Omega Forum to write about your thoughts on this Speedy.

Omega has this almost irritating habit of introducing Limited Edition Speedmasters for about every event. However, try to get a NASA patch model (such as the Snoopy Award edition or any of the Apollo 11 editions) and you probably feel stupid for not see that one coming

Speedmasters are, besides being linked to the NASA programme, also connected to racing. Initially, the Speedmaster was created as the watch for car drivers, as you can see on the picture below (pre-NASA programme).

In 1968, Omega even produced a Speedmaster Professional with a so called ‘racing’-dial. Not to be confused with the later 1970s Speedmaster Professional Mark II with racing dial. This 145.012 (1968) model is printed in the Time Capsule (by Imai) book and in the Omega Journey Through Time book (page 604 in the English version). I found a low-quality picture of this particular model somewhere on the web, so forgive me for being unable to credit and being unable to provide you with a better picture:

This was the first and last Omega Speedmaster Professional with a racing dial. Later on, as I wrote before, a Speedmaster Mark II was equipped with a racing dial and muchos later on, Omega introduced the Speedmaster Reduced series. These series were focussed on Racing as well. Just recently, when the Omega – Schumacher connection was established, Omega started to create some ‘Racing’ / Schumacher Legend models with caliber 3303 (Broad Arrow caliber). However, non of these are marked as a ‘Professional’ model.

In 2004, Omega produced a limited number of 2004 Speedmaster Professional (ref. 3570.40.00) watches with a racing dial. Compared to the original 145.012 with racing dial, the hands are ‘inverted’. The hour and minute hands are orange of the Japanese model, as where the original model’s hour and minute hands are white and the chronograph hand is orange. The same goes for the hands of the chronograph subregisters.

Pictures by JK.

If you are a Speedmaster collector, this piece might be missing in your collection, as I think 2004 pieces are really limited. I wonder how many actually left Japan, as Japan is a Speedmaster-collectors country. There is currently one for sale on Chrono24, for approx 3000 euro.

I hope you don’t get tired of my Speedmaster posts and rants..