Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back | Celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11

Omega Speedmaster: To the Moon and Back | Celebrating 50 years since Apollo 11

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 24. OMEGA |  SPEEDMASTER REF 105.003-65 'SOFT GRAY DIAL',  A STAINLESS STEEL CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH BRACELET, MADE IN 1967.

OMEGA | SPEEDMASTER REF 105.003-65 'SOFT GRAY DIAL', A STAINLESS STEEL CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH BRACELET, MADE IN 1967

Auction Closed

July 19, 08:01 PM GMT

Estimate

20,000 - 30,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

OMEGA

SPEEDMASTER REF 105.003-65 'SOFT GRAY DIAL'

A STAINLESS STEEL CHRONOGRAPH WRISTWATCH WITH BRACELET, MADE IN 1967

Dial: gray

Caliber: cal. 321 manual winding movement, 17 jewels

Movement number: 24'537'868

Case: stainless steel 

Closure: stainless steel Omega bracelet with folding clasp, stamped 7912 and dated 1.65, endlinks stamped 6

Dimensions: 38 mm diameter, bracelet circumference approximately 210 mm

Signed: case, dial and movement

Accessories: Accompanied by an Extract from the Archives confirming date of manufacture on May 10, 1967 and subsequent delivery to Germany. 

Superseding the reference 105.002, the Speedmaster 105.003 was produced from 1964 to 1969. This model is extremely important wristwatch in the history of Omega as it was officially announced as Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions on March 1, 1965, after surviving a series of merciless tests carried out by NASA. Omega thereafter became the selected supplier of timepieces for the Gemini and Apollo space missions, shifting from the initial racetrack-orientation to a new heroic destiny that would lead the Speedmaster to the moon landing in 1969.


The reference 105.003 was released three months after the launch of the Professional reference 105.012 and produced in three almost identical iterations over the course of five years: the -63, -64 and -65. A most famous version, the 105.003-65 was officially worn by astronaut Edward White as he was the first astronaut to ever walk in space, during the 1965 Gemini IV mission. The watch has since then received the nickname Ed White to celebrate this historical moment.


While the 105.003-65 marks the beginning of Omega as a NASA space exploration tool, it also defines the end of the straight lug era, as the reference 105.012 would introduce a new visual identity to the Speedmaster, with baton hands and a larger twisted lug case with crown guards. Omega internally renamed the Ed White reference “ST 145.003” in 1967, however the inner case back kept bearing the 105.003-65 reference until 1969.


In addition to the importance of this reference in the history of the Speedmaster, this particular example is fitted with an original and extremely rare soft gray dial. While the majority of dials in this color are today in poor condition, this examples has survived beautifully.