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Omega was quick to capitalize on its<br />

NASA-Speedmaster connection. Courtesy<br />

Steve Waddington from his site, www.oldomegas.com.<br />

the 105.012 model: If the 105.012<br />

you’re looking at is a -63 or -64<br />

with a non Professional dial, it’s<br />

probably fine, and with a 105.012-<br />

65 either dial is correct, but a Pro<br />

dial on a 1964 or earlier model<br />

should be viewed with caution.<br />

The Replacements<br />

In 1965 Omega decided again to<br />

change the case reference number<br />

of the Speedmaster line, which<br />

now consisted of two models, the<br />

plain and bombé lug versions. The<br />

main difference between the outgoing<br />

105.003 and 105.012 models<br />

and their 145.003 and 145.012<br />

replacements is the shape of the<br />

caseback. The earlier models had<br />

a “two-step” slope to the angled<br />

part of the caseback, while the<br />

new models had a single angle.<br />

The 145.012s uniformly have<br />

Professional dials, but about halfway<br />

through the production run<br />

Omega changed the chronograph<br />

seconds-hand from a “spear-<br />

Far left: 1971 Omega ad showing the Mark II Professional which we’ll discuss<br />

in the next segment of this series. Ad at left shows a 1969 Omega 105.012 with<br />

pre-Professional-dialed 105.012 with a listed price of £66 or $160 1969 U.S.<br />

dollars. Both are courtesy of Steve Waddington’s www.old-omegas.com site.<br />

The author’s 145.012-67.<br />

The -68 model is the last<br />

of the c.321-movement<br />

Speedmasters.<br />

point”- shaped counter-balance to<br />

a counter-balance with slab sides.<br />

Save for the diamond-shaped luminous<br />

element near the top of<br />

the chronograph seconds hand,<br />

the entire hand would have a triangular<br />

shape. Other than that,<br />

production of the 145.012 would<br />

proceed unchanged to the last<br />

half of October 1968.<br />

The 145.003, on the other<br />

hand, is a rare bird.<br />

How rare? I’ve been collecting<br />

Speedmasters actively for nearly<br />

nine years and I’ve seen exactly<br />

two of them. For many years the<br />

145.003 was considered a myth,<br />

like the Loch Ness monster, with<br />

Omega saying they made them.<br />

With no pictures or other sightings,<br />

it was difficult to confirm<br />

their existence. However, an Italian<br />

collector has posted pictures of<br />

an example that a fellow Italian<br />

collector owns.<br />

To the Moon<br />

Over the years there has been much<br />

discussion and even debate in the<br />

Omega collecting community as to<br />

which model Speedmasters actually<br />

made it to the moon. The answer is<br />

an open one. We can confirm that<br />

at least three different Speedmaster<br />

case references made it to the moon<br />

(along with a Waltham Chronograph).<br />

While we can exclude any<br />

models made after 1972, we can’t<br />

confirm or repudiate other models<br />

made before then. The models we<br />

can confirm are 105.003, 105.012<br />

and 145.012.<br />

Next edition in this series: Speedmasters<br />

of the 1970s. Chuck Maddox<br />

hosts a collector’s blog at www.chuckmaddoxwatch.blogspot.com.<br />

C<br />

INTERNATIONAL WATCHDECEMBER 2007 www.iwMagazinE.CoM 231

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