Vintage Omega Speedmaster Professional "Straight Writing" 145.022-69 Cal. 861
After the Apollo 11 mission which landed man on the moon on July 20, 1969, Omega saw fit to commemorate having their Speedmaster, the first watch to make the groundbreaking voyage, marked as such. From 1970 to mid 1973, Omega produced some Speedmasters with a commemorative caseback promoting the achievement that came to be known as the "straight writing" caseback. While a later circular caseback design became the standard for decades, the increasingly scarce "straight writing" watches have become prized by collectors for their place in history as well as their rarity.
We're proud to offer an excellent example of this rare Speedmaster Professional, reference 145.022-69. This Speedmaster features the aforementioned rare straight writing caseback only produced from 1970 to 1973 and has a later serial in the series according to the reference book Moonwatch Only.
Condition is per the photos and as follows:
Case: 42mm stainless steel case in excellent vintage condition as shown. The case shows minor wear throughout with small scratches and nicks but appears unpolished with extremely crisp edges throughout and original appearing brushing on the case sides.
Bezel: Original and correct "DNN" tachymetre bezel in excellent condition with no dings or missing paint as shown.
Dial/Hands: Original matte dial in excellent condition with a light creamy patina on the hour markers. Hands are original with matching patina, there is some missing tritium on the minutes hand as shown in the photos.
Caseback: Rare commemorative straight writing moonwatch caseback (145.022-69 inside) showing slight wear from a tool mark. Caseback engravings are deep and crisp and thecaseback appears unpolished.
Crystal: Very clean and clear acrylic crystal with no major scratching and no chips or cracks.
Movement: Omega cal. 861 hand wound chronograph movement in excellent condition and keeping good time. All functions work as they should and the chronograph resets to zero. 32.8M serial number indicates circa 1973 production. Original anti-magnetic dust cover is still present as shown in the photos.
Bracelet/Strap: Original Omega 1171 bracelet with the correct smaller 7 hole clasp sized for approximately a 7.25” wrist.
Box/Papers/Accessories: None.