Omega Speedmaster*** 145.022-68 Transition*** 1969

OUR ARCHIVE » Omega Speedmaster*** 145.022-68 Transition*** 1969

OMEGA Speedmaster 145.022-68 Transitional Applied Logo, Cal 861, 1969
Serial: 27324900
Circa: 1969
Reference No.: 145.022-68

CASE: 42mm, stainless steel, steel with black DO90 tachymeter bezel

DIAL: Black matte dial with applied logo and trititum indexes

MOVEMENT: Calibre 861, hand-wound chronograph, 17 jewels

BRACELET: Leather strap

CONDITION REPORT: The dial is in perfect, mint condition with nice cream patina of the tritium hour markers. The luminous material in the hands is original and has darkened over time. The case is worn, but unpolished. The DO90 bezel insert is in excellent condition, only a slight dent in the metal part of the bezel at the 60, which is barely noticeable.

Notes: According to the Omega Museum archives the present watch was manufactured March 17, 1969 and delivered to USA.

In 1968, Omega launched its Calibre 861 to replace the 321. The 861 was more precise, with its higher frequency, while more efficient to manufacture as it has a shuttle cam. Column wheel movements, like the 321, are expensive to produce and require very fine adjustment to function properly, so for mass-produced inexpensive movements a simpler solution is required. For example, the 861 contains a shuttle cam (or navette).
The transitional models of 1968 with the new reference 145.022 instead of 145.012, kept the same dials as the 1967 professional models. They had the Omega metal applied logo.

SOLD