Omega Speedmaster*** 145.022-69 Apollo XI*** 1971

OUR ARCHIVE » Omega Speedmaster*** 145.022-69 Apollo XI*** 1971

OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo XI Caseback Ref. 145.022-69
Serial: 31313476
Circa: 1971
Reference No.: 145.022

CASE: 42mm Stainless Steel, lyre lug moonwatch case, acrylic crystal, black tachymeter bezel & Straight Writing Apollo XI tribute case back

DIAL: Black matte dial with tritium hour markers

MOVEMENT: Caliber 861, hand wound mechanical chronograph, 17 jewels

BRACELET: Omega stainless steel 1116 bracelet (same style as on BA 145.022 gold model)

CONDITION REPORT: Mint and 100% original. The dial is mint and the luminous material is intact with only a slight aging to a cream color patina. The hands are original and the tritium is intact. The bezel is original and in excellent condition without any visibile damage. The rare Apollo XI case back is in perfect condition with all engravings remaining sharp and looking almost new. The bracelet does show some signs of wear and a slight stretch, which is typical of the 1116 reference bracelet.

NOTES:
There are three different casebacks associated with the reference 145.022-69. The first being the pre-moon style ‘Seahorse’ caseback, the ‘Straight Writing’ case back mentioning ‘Flight-Qualified by NASA For All Manned Space Missions’ around the straight writing ‘The First Watch Worn on the Moon’ and the last and rarest version has the same straight writing in the middle and OMEGA SPEEDMASTER – APOLLO XI 1969 in an arc around it. These were predominantly delivered in 1971 to Japan.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph, also known as the "Moonwatch", is famous for being the watch worn by astronauts during the first Moon landing.
NASA’s harsh and intense qualification tests leading up to the Apollo 11 mission examined several watches from Switzerland’s top manufacturers such as Breitling, Rolex and Omega; the testing was concluded in March 1965 with the final selection awarded to the Omega Speedmaster, because it stood apart from the rest as it continuously kept within 5 seconds accuracy in its per day rate. As a result, it became the official watch of the U.S. space program.

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