1967 Omega Speedmaster Professional 321 "Pre-Moon" 105.012
Ref: 105.012-66
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Service Pouch & Service Card
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with an Omega Service pouch and 2019 Omega Service papers. The watch comes paired with its Omega Service-replaced 20mm stainless steel bracelet and secured by a signed folding clasp, all links included. The watch is from Circa. 1967 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, as you can see from the photos, it has a Service replaced bezel, hands, pushers & crown. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17YcIsZAZLU38zVRc3IlojNppW33mDL5e?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 2:46 - https://youtu.be/n7uax6skZLA
The Watch
Here we have a classic 1967 Omega Speedmaster Professional 321 "Pre-Moon" 105.012, this was the last Speedmaster reference released before the 1969 Moon landing and was the last to be powered by the Cal. 321. The 42mm stainless steel asymmetric case curves over your wrist with the characteristic twisted lugs, and a lug-to-lug length of 48mm and a case thickness of 14mm ensure a comfortable fit on your wrist. Brushed and polished surfaces transition with crisp well-defined edges, down the right side, we have the recessed service-replaced piston pushers and a service-replaced signed push/pull crown in the centre. A fixed service-replaced stainless steel bezel has a black aluminium Tachymetre scale holding a domed Hesalite crystal above a black step dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed with Tritium-coated 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 Service-replaced 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 Omega Service-replaced 20mm stainless steel bracelet and secured by a signed folding clasp.
Personal Note
It's not every day that the opportunity to buy a wonderful Speedmaster Professional "Pre-Moon" with the infamous Calibre 321 comes your way, so when it does, you jump on it! This reference 105.012 comes with a 2019 Omega Service and in that service, they did replace the bezel, hands, bracelet, crown and pushers and it still looks absolutely amazing with clear vintage hints throughout! Plus, with this work, it makes it one of the most affordable 105.012 in the UK right now!
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 an astronaut's first choice. 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 with their production starting 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 rebranded itself from SMH to the Swatch Group. Then, in 1999, they purchased and integrated Breguet into the Swatch Group.