SPECIFICATIONS
Exceptional Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II reference 145.014 with a stainless steel case and Omega 861 chronograph movement inside, from 1970.
Stainless steel case measuring 41.5 mm
Original bezel
Original crown
Original bump pushers
Original mineral crystal
Omega 867 movement inside
ANALYSIS
The Omega Speedmaster is a line of chronograph wristwatches produced by Omega SA. Although chronographs have been around since the late 1800s, Omega first introduced this line of chronographs in 1957. Since then, many different chronograph movements have been marketed under the Speedmaster name. Astronaut Walter Schirra
was the first to wear one in space, in 1962, during the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission. The hand-wound Speedmaster Professional, or “Moonwatch,” is the best-known and longest-produced; it was worn during the first American spacewalk as part of NASA’s Gemini 4 mission and was the first watch worn by an astronaut walking on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, which 600 million people watched from Earth. The Speedmaster Professional remains one of several watches qualified by NASA for spaceflight and is still the only one so qualified for EVAs. The Speedmaster line also includes other models, including analog-digital and automatic mechanical watches. Over the years, Omega has also sought to improve the functional aspects of the basic Speedmaster Professional. In 1969, it produced the Speedmaster Professional Mark II, which redesigned the model with a cushion-shaped (or tonneau-shaped) case and equipped it with a new caliber that replaced Omega’s in-house 321. This piece is exceptional for its state of preservation: a chocolate brown dial (a characteristic color of this reference) with perfectly preserved tritium, and all the original satin finishes on the case (radial on the upper surface and horizontal on the sides).
Beneath the typical six-notch caseback, which features the perfectly preserved Seahorse design in the center, is the manually wound cam-operated chronograph caliber 861. Created in 1968 based on the Lemania 1873, this movement has 17 jewels, runs at 21,600 vph, and has a 40-hour power reserve.
