1985 Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.022 Box & Papers
Ref: 145.022
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Omega box and Omega paperwork including the original purchase receipt. The watch comes paired with its original 1171/1 20mm stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp, all links are provided. The watch is from September 1985 and is in worn, vintage unpolished condition but overall in incredibly good condition, as you can see from the photos, coming fresh from its first service. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rq9cIB088XusiocGJJqSx25cfsc1QeX_?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 2:31 - https://youtu.be/hm13BLBtHIw
The Watch
Here we have a 1985 Omega Speedmaster Professional 145.022 Box and papers coming from the original family, it had never been serviced in their ownership, retaining its red dot between the case and case back put on by Omega when it was put together, this dot has since been broken due to its first service we had done. With an unpolished 42mm stainless steel case leading to the characteristic twisted lugs, the crisp lines transition effortlessly around the case, and a lug-to-lug length of 48.5mm and a case thickness of 13.5mm ensure a comfortable fit on the wrist. Down the right side, we have the chronograph pushers which sit close to the case and a signed crown in the centre. A fixed tachymeter sits on its black bezel. The dial is protected by Hesalite crystal, an outer minute track with slim baton indexes that mark the hours. Three recessed Sub-dials are 60 seconds, 30 minutes, and 12 hours. Sword hands and an elegant long central chronograph seconds hand that accurately hits the minute track. The dial has perfect symmetry. Hands and indexes are lumed with their original Tritium which has an even patina. The screw-down case back is engraved with “Flight - Qualified By NASA for all Manned Space Missions” and “The First watch worn on the Moon” a fitting testament to man's achievements in space. Inside we have the manually wound Omega Cal. 861, 18 jewels hand-wound chronograph beating at 21,600 bph, as a manual wound movement based on the Lemania 1873, it is the direct descendant of the original moon watch that used the Cal. 361 movement. The watch comes with its original 1171/1 20mm stainless steel bracelet with a signed folding clasp, all links are provided, and this watch is sold with its original Omega box and Omega paperwork including the original purchase receipt.
Personal Note
I had the great privilege of buying this watch from the original family, I discuss this in more detail in our "Drop Video" on YouTube for those interested. This 145.022 remains in Unpolished Condition and appears to have been worn sparingly throughout its 38+ years of ownership under one gentleman, it came to us still with the red seal on the caseback (Meaning it had never been opened) which we subsequently broke to provide the watch with its very first service! You'd be hard pressed to find a better example, with its box, paperwork and receipt all from one owner!
The Brand
They were formerly known as the La Generale Watch Co. in 1848 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. They were 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.