Love for the vintage Omega Speedmaster

Also many of you might know me as a vintage Rolex guy from the forums (bullibeer) and our images, the vintage Omega Speedmaster was always part of my passion. One of the most iconic chronographs ever made and till today you can still buy the Profession Speedmaster as manual wind watch almost identical to the end of 1960’s watches.
So in today’s market of re-issues this icon is still the timeless king.

As we where able to obtain a set of 4 different 60th Omega Speedmasters we could not resist to show you some of the Omega love and how we love to wear them.

We hope you will enjoy.

Bernhard Bulang

The set of 4 Speedmaster shows a nice line-up of the different versions from the mid 60’s up till 1969 and the last versions of the Omega Speedmaster with the applied steel logo on the dial.

Left to right we have the straight lug case Speedmaster 105.003 and the following 105.012 with the new and bigger case, crown protection and the new ca. 321 movement.
Next is the reference 145.012 and last but not least the rare transitional reference 145.022 with the applied logo on the dial and the new cal. 861 movement.

Personal i love the straight lug Speedmaster very much and one of my personal searches is for a nice earlier reference 2998 with the alpha hands. But they have become real hard to find.. and even more in a condition i would enjoy it. Also prices gone crazy on these early Speedmasters versions with big lollipop or brown dial are off the chart now.

Omega Speedmaster Ref. 105.003

The reference 105.003 was mainly produced between 1963-1965. This reference is the last version of the straight lug case. The cases are just smaller then the later versions and have a 19 mm strap size instead of the 20 mm the later cases show. But imagine in a time back then when the Rolex chronographs and Heuer chronographs mostly showed 36-37 mm case sizes, the Omega speedmaster was a big watch. For today’s lifestyle i see it as a perfect size.

As i said before the reference 105.003 was mainly produced in 1963-1965… but as i also have seen with Rolex, in the 60th not everything is as clear and easy to state clear rules as we would hope for. I have now owned 2 of these with Omega extracts… stating that the case and movement where from different years of production and the watches where sold way later. Up to 1969.. sold as a straight lugs watch long after the new case watches where introduced.
Of course Omega or Rolex or other brands would not waste their great parts and keep mix and match them in these transitional periods. I have seen many of these variations and firmly believe, there is no define list.

And to be honest i am very happy about that. As i had my part in discovering and posting each day on knowledge we got on vintage Rolex watches in the past on the vintagerolexforum.com and like german Rolexforum r-l-x.de etc.. you now see that many of the mysteries from the past have become common knowledge. Which is great for our hobby and people to get into collecting. But with more firm knowledge it also killed a lot of the excitement and fireworks on the forums.

Lets’ be honest… without the mystery of not knowing all and the guess about what these vintage watches have seen in their lifetime it would only be half the fun.
So let’s cherish the mystery.

Enough sentimental talk and back to showing som nice images…

As you can see i also use the 105.003 on an vintage JB Champion bracelet. As far as i know it was a option back then to buy them with these. As you can see many of the astronauts of the early moon missions used to wear their Omega Speedmasters on these type of bracelets. It really gives the watch a cool twist.

But of course it loves leather straps also… i love when these watches show some nice patina that matches with the strap.

The 105.003 Speedmaster on a Bulang and Sons 19 mm Caramel Strap. You can find it here…

Omega Speedmaster Ref. 105.012

The reference 105.012 was the first version with the new and bigger case. It has become famous as THE MOON WATCH, as actual this reference was worn by Neil Armstrong when landing on the moon. Also as far as i know also the other references where used by the astronauts.

Special with this early 1965 versions of the reference 105.012 is the case back. This version still has the double step case back like the reference 105.003. Later versions have the single step case back like also the 145.012 shown later.

This example also shows a great brown faded bezel.. people who know me… know i love brown faded.

Omega Speedmaster Ref. 145.012

This reference 145.012 is a very cool watch, as the dial is pitch dark almost glossy black. Real deep and cool on the wrist, especially with this amazing patina it gives it a great warm vintage vibe. As all the cal. 321 watches the case back still has the seahorse logo on the back.

As you can see .. these watches are a perfect partner to mix and match your style. As they are one of the most iconic tool watches they can go with nylon single-pass straps, leather or rubber buckle straps and of course the mixture with the thin leather single-pass straps. But also back then Omega used real great thin metal bracelets as shown on the 105.012 which look so nice on these watches.

Omega Speedmaster Ref. 145.022

Last but not least we want to show you this Transitional 145.022 Omega Speedmaster. A very rare version with the new caliber 861 movement and still the old deep dark black dial with the applied logo as we know from the earlier cal. 321 versions.
And this one is pure vintage Sex on the wrist with its grey faded bezel and deep black dial. I

These versions still have the Seahorse case back. It was original owned by a doctor in the past, who engraved his name in the casebook. As many of the chrono’s where also medical used (there are also pulsation bezels for these watches) maybe this watch helped save some lives in the past… who knows? The excitement of the mystery.

To end our little tour through the love for vintage Omega Speedmasters we added some more images from our archive of very nice and cool Omega Speedmasters.
Share the vintage Omega love .. and let us know when you want to part from a real nice example from your collection.

Bernhard Bulang

bernhard@bulangandsons.com

We love tropical…