

This international achievement was then commemorated the following year by Omega who issued a limited series of 400 special Speedmaster timepieces targeted at the Italian market.
The well preserved dial of the present piece bears the mission emblem painted on the dial without the Speedmaster Professional inscriptions and long hour markers crossing the outer minute track.
The exclusive Apollo-Soyuz watches were distributed by Fratelli De Marchi in Turin, the sole Italian distributor at the time, whose very rare custom bracelet is still mounted on the present watch today.
The offered timepiece bears the number 342 on its caseback, flanked by the circled “I” (standing for the Italian market) and Omega logo. Furthermore, the special engraving of the Saturn IB American launching vehicle can be seen over a world map background. This treasured Speedmaster accommodates a set of larger 5.5 mm pushers and a modified caseband which differentiate it from the regular ref. 145.022 models. As for all the examples of this limited series, the present Speedmaster example utilises a cal. 861 numbered between 39.180.XX and 39.181.XXX.
Instantly recognisable among collectors, the Apollo-Soyuz Speedmaster is the second limited edition ever released by Omega.