145.005 ‘Ultraman’ Omega Seamaster 321

The Seamaster 321 is one of Omega’s best kept secrets, worn by Roger W. Smith and with the same storied Lemania 2310 that went to the moon. But this, the 145.005 with its ‘Ultraman’ hand, is a secret even to most Omega enthusiasts. It’s steeped in mystery, a bit like the actual Ultraman itself before all due scholarship was performed. This is a 35mm panda-dial chronograph from the late 60s of which only a handful have appeared. And when I say a handful, way, way less than the Ultraman Speedmaster: likely between 10 and 20 are out there surviving.

This is because, in many ways, the 145.005 is the antithesis of modern Omega. Production was not autocratically uniform in 1968, but batched. If Omega had a spare run of dials back then, they’d case them. Same goes for the orange hand. Interestingly, these Seamaster orange hands came from the same timeframe at Omega as the Ultraman Speedmaster, although to my knowledge the hands are not identical. If you spend enough sexless nights on Omega Forums like the rest of us, you’ll see some dedicated souls have created a table of orange hand lengths. This hand is set off against a very attractive panda dial that is equally unfrequent to see.

Unlike the actual Ultraman, production numbers of these Seamaster chronographs have seen far less scholarship: not even a definite estimate. The 10-20 is based on the handful we’ve seen for sale over the last decade. But we do know they’re the real McCoy, Omega has one just like this in the museum. And the vast majority went to the US, judging only by extracts. Interestingly, the seller has offered a theory that these may have been produced for the 1968 Mexico Olympic games, as many known production dates were just before the start. This is the first I’ve heard of that hypothesis but it is rather interesting. There aren’t many dark, unlit corners of watch knowledge left. This is one. And until it’s researched, it’s one debonair, bewitching chronograph and a value relative to anything else from Omega as uncommon or beautiful.

It’s quite the example as well. First off, the dial is great. No damage, spotting, nothing, and light honey tritium. The hands are a little more harshly aged but look entirely original to me as well. Its case is full, these lugs don’t have much to give to start. Most impressively though, it’s on its original bracelet and comes with its original box and an extract. A homerun. It comes from a well-regarded Dutch retailer, who are doing a great job of making a name for themselves in Omega specifically.