1968 Omega Speedmaster Professional Cal. 321 145.012 DON
Ref: 145.012-67
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as “Watch Only” and, therefore, comes without its Omega box or paperwork. It is paired with its 1039 Omega 20mm stainless steel bracelet with sprung loaded ends, secured by a signed folding clasp, and will fit up to a 7.1-inch wrist. The watch is from Circa 1968 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, with signs of honest wear across the watch, as you can see from the photos. The dial and hands have been professionally relumed in the past. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kBUSgdSH0KlORZanBZDqm8TCPIW3QZWm?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 1:35 - https://youtu.be/NixJ5A0hrxQ
The Watch
Here we have a classic 1968 Omega Speedmaster Professional Cal. 321 145.012 DON; this Speedmaster reference was released in 1968 before the 1969 Moon landing and was one of the last to be powered by the Cal. 321. During the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, Astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard wore the ref: 145.012 on the moon, and their watches were added to the National Air and Space Museum in 1977. The 42mm stainless steel asymmetric case curves over your wrist with the characteristic twisted lugs, and a lug-to-lug length of 47mm and a case thickness of 13.5mm ensure a comfortable fit on your wrist. Brushed and polished surfaces transition with crisp, well-defined edges; down the right side, we have the taller piston pushers and a signed push/pull crown in the centre. A fixed stainless steel bezel, a black anodised aluminium Tachymetre scale insert has the characteristic “Dot Over Ninety”, holding a domed plexiglass crystal above a black step dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed baton indexes and double pips at 12 o’clock marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a 30-minute register, at 6 o’clock a 12-hour register and finally, at 9 o’clock a small seconds register, each with a stick hand that hits its mark, sitting recessed in the dial, slender sword hands are complemented by an arrow point chronograph hand. At 12 o’clock, we have the applied Omega motif and “Speedmaster Professional '' underneath, completing this distinctive sports chronograph. On the reverse, a screw-down case back engraved with “Speedmaster” and Hippocampus in the centre, which represents Neptune, the God of the sea; it was conceived by Pierre Borie after seeing a picture of Neptune riding a chariot pulled by seahorses; it is the reason why the seahorses are wearing a bridle. Inside a manually wound Omega Cal. 321, 17 jewels, beating at a leisurely 18,000 beats per hour, column wheel chronograph based on a Lemania 2310. The watch comes paired with its 1039 Omega 20mm stainless steel sprung loaded bracelet secured by a signed folding clasp and will fit up to a 7.1-inch wrist.
Personal Note
It's not every day you get the opportunity to acquire a fantastic example Speedmaster Professional reference 145.012 with an original "Dot Over 90" bezel, a 1039 bracelet with sprung ends and a wonderful dial! This Speedmaster reference was released in 1968 before the 1969 Moon landing and was one of the last to be powered by the Cal. 321, during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission, Astronauts Edgar Mitchell and Alan Shepard wore the ref: 145.012 on the moon, and their watches were added to the National Air and Space Museum in 1977. This is a real piece of history having a 1968 example like this one, do not hesitate to add it to your collection today!
The Brand
Formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848, it was founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds. When he died in 1879, his sons carried on his dream. In 1880, they moved to 96 Rue Jakob-Stampfli, where they remain today. The brothers produced their first mass-produced calibre, the Labrador In 1885. Just a few years later, in 1892, they produced the first minute-repeater. In 1903, they renamed the company Omega until 1982, when they officially changed their name to Omega SA. During WW1, Omega watches were used as official timekeepers for the Royal Flying Corps and the US Army. In 1930, Omega and Tissot merged together to form Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH). In 1931, another group was formed - Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). Where SSIH was primarily French-speaking, ASUAG was founded by the more German-speaking members of the Swiss watch industry. In 1948, they introduced the first edition of one of its most symbolic watches: the Seamaster. Omega first introduced the Constellation in 1952. At the time, it was Omega's flagship timepiece. The first models had a Cal. 354 bumper movement in them. Later, in 1955, Omega introduced the Automatic Cal. 50x, followed in 1959 by the Cal.55x (no date) and 56x (date) versions. Many of the Constellations came with pie-pan dials, diamond indexes, and fancy lug configurations. All the gold Constellations of that time have the Observatory of Geneva's hand engraved on the back. The stainless steel and stainless steel/gold versions had a gold medallion on the back with the Observatory of Geneva. The eight stars above the Observatory stand for the many exploits of Omega in the world Chronometer competition. Celebrating the fact that all Constellations are Chronometer Certified. In 1962, when astronaut Wally Schirra wore a Speedmaster on his Mercury Sigma 7 Mission, making it the first Omega watch to enter space. After rigorous tests, NASA used Omega for all their Apollo missions, including the 1969 Moon landing of Apollo 11. Today, Omega is still the first choice of astronauts. In 1969, President Nixon famously said it was “too valuable” and turned down the first-ever all-gold Speedmaster Professional Deluxe. As a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Omega and many Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe formed Centre Electronique Horologer (CEH). Prototypes began to appear in 1967, and their production started in 1968. Then, In 1972, Omega introduced the reference 198.030, which included the Omega calibre 1250, a ‘tuning-fork electronic movement which was made under licence from Bulova. Later we saw a merger of SSIH and ASUAG into SMH, or Société de Microélectronique et d’Horlogerie. This merger took place in 1983. In 1992, the company acquired Blancpain, and in 1998, it officially branded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.