Omega Speedmaster*** 145.022-69 Apollo XI*** 1971
OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo XI Caseback Ref. 145.022-69
Serial: 31619838
Circa: 1971
Reference No.: 145.022
CASE: 42mm Stainless Steel, lyre lug moonwatch case, acrylic crystal, black tachymeter bezel & Straight Writing Apollo XI tribute case back
DIAL: Black matte dial with tritium hour markers
MOVEMENT: Caliber 861, hand wound mechanical chronograph, 17 jewels
BRACELET: Omega stainless steel 1116 bracelet (same style as on BA 145.022 gold model)
CONDITION REPORT: Excellent overall condition. The dial is mint and the luminous material is intact with only a slight aging to a cream color patina. The hands are original and the tritium is intact. The bezel is original and in excellent condition without any visibile damage. The rare Apollo XI case back is in perfect condition with all engravings remaining sharp. There is a slightly polished effect in the center due to the previous owner wearing the watch on a NATO style strap. The 1116 bracelet remains in excellent condition.
NOTES: According to the Omega Museum the present watch was manufactured on July 1, 1971 and delivered to Japan. The watch comes with box, hangtag, instruction manual, blank warranty and archives extract.
There are three different casebacks associated with the reference 145.022-69. The first being the pre-moon style ‘Seahorse’ caseback, the ‘Straight Writing’ case back mentioning ‘Flight-Qualified by NASA For All Manned Space Missions’ around the straight writing ‘The First Watch Worn on the Moon’ and the last and rarest version has the same straight writing in the middle and OMEGA SPEEDMASTER – APOLLO XI 1969 in an arc around it. These were predominantly delivered in 1971 to Japan.
The Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph, also known as the "Moonwatch", is famous for being the watch worn by astronauts during the first Moon landing.
NASA’s harsh and intense qualification tests leading up to the Apollo 11 mission examined several watches from Switzerland’s top manufacturers such as Breitling, Rolex and Omega; the testing was concluded in March 1965 with the final selection awarded to the Omega Speedmaster, because it stood apart from the rest as it continuously kept within 5 seconds accuracy in its per day rate. As a result, it became the official watch of the U.S. space program.
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