105.012-66 Omega Speedmaster

The 105.012 is the one that made the Moonwatch the Moonwatch, thanks Neil. It was the first to be called 'Professional'. It debuted the now formulaic asymmetrical lyre lug case with integrated crown guards (whether made by HF or CB, HF here). It's rather significant it you stop and look back. And yet, it's not like we talk of 105.012 with the same ease or frequency as we do 2915, or even 6263. Why not? This is a chronograph that is unimpeachably great. That it was more widely produced and, as a result, not 100K per example is its strength. 

It was also the actual watch of Apollo 11, which Omega might have mentioned once or twice since. Buzz wore his, Armstrong left it behind because the Bulova capsule clock failed. Importantly, it still has the calibre 321, Lemania ébauche, arguably most storied chronograph architecture of all time. The fact that this ébauche has been to the moon and inside of a 5970 defies belief. Taking of the reigns from pre-moon production, this was a decidedly different era of production, much more focused on being a tool than racing. 42mm proportions were massive back then, but they allowed the dial to be even more clear than 39mm. The case was pure function. It is, in a word, focused. It was, as such, worn by people who did things: Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

No 105.012 has ever been a 'rare' watch, save perhaps Buzz Aldrin's actual one which has since gone missing. But good ones are increasingly less common by the day. The supply of things like this is genuinely thin. This example has its original box and papers, retailed by Gübelin in 1967. More important than the paper, the dial is beautiful, 'Wide T' with gorgeous patina. The case is not touched and it's all as you'd want, on a 1506 dating to 66. It's a great, very significant chronograph. And one that can still be aspired toward by most readers, which really places it in a rather small bunch of significant, beautiful watches you might actually buy without taking up smuggling. What a thing. 

This example hits full marks. The pushers are fat stem, the crown is a flat foot. Its bezel has an honest fade with even light patina. The tritium is verging on pumpkin. I could go on, but I'll stop short and just say it's great. It comes from a well-regarded Omega focused collector and retailer.