Posts Tagged ‘Speedmaster’
145.022 Alaska II Prototype Omega Speedmaster
Grail watch gets thrown around a lot. And yet, here we are. This is not the commercially retailed 2008 Alaska Project, which I like to call the space coconut. No, this is that watch’s inspiration. ‘Alaska’ Projects were the codename given internally at Omega for wristwatches intended to be supplied to NASA for actual flight…
Read More145.012-67 ‘Ultraman’ Omega Speedmaster
For what is ‘just’ a Speedmaster with an orange hand, a great deal of lore surrounds the original Ultraman. For many years, there was contention in forums about just what was or was not kosher. Did production cover multiple years? Was the hand produced in collaboration with the Japanese TV series? Did the TV series…
Read More2998-3 ‘Lollipop’ Omega Speedmaster
A detail can make all the difference. The 2000s black series CLK AMG has just ever-so slightly anabolic wheel arches and multi-spoke alloys which allow the educated observer to mark it apart from some dime-a-dozen Germanic grocery getter. Similarly, a Japanese whisky with an age statement hidden on the corner of the label, these days,…
Read MoreOmega Speedmaster Alaska Project
The Speedmaster varies so widely between limited editions and specific references that it can near become an entirely foreign model. At the extreme of that spectrum, there is this: the Alaska Project. It more closely resembles a space coconut than any new Omega. I posted that tagline on Instagram a few years back and it…
Read More‘Holy Grail’ 376.0822 Omega Speedmaster
This unassuming Speedmaster seems an unlikely candidate for the title holy grail. Nonetheless, Speedmaster collecting legend Chuck Maddox settled on the title after tirelessly seeking one out with “the same fervor as King Arthur sought the Grail”. In the era during which Maddox wrote his articles for print, much less was known about this 376.0822.…
Read MoreTrue, 1 of 300 3570.31 ‘Mitsukoshi’ Omega Speedmaster
It’s a rule of life; Japan gets some amazing watches that the rest of the world never lays eyes on. This is more common than one might think, and not just in Japanese manufactures like GS. One of the stranger early watchmaker ‘collabs’, was between Omega and Japan’s oldest department store chain, Mitsukoshi, in 2003.…
Read MoreEd White 105.003-65 Omega Speedmaster
In 1965, Ed White became the first American astronaut to walk in space. Needless to say, he is a hero. But he was so much more: an aeronautical engineer, USAF Officer, fighter pilot, crewmember of Gemini IV and Apollo I. He puts my entirely life, and likely yours, to shame. Mr White tragically passed in…
Read More2998-2 Straight-Lug, Dark Brown Omega Speedmaster
There is no shortage of adjectives one could throw at this title . . .321, chocolate, radium, pre-moon, base 1000, and alpha-handed, I could go on. Save to say this: the 2998 is a sweet spot in pre-moon references for its alpha handset, chunky steel case, and historic significance. No, I don’t mean the moon…
Read MoreGhosted 145.012-67 Omega Speedmaster
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, I know, I’m a bit rough to look at. Perhaps that’s why I like the well-worn aesthetic of this 1967 145.012. I also find myself highly drawn to the reference, patination aside. This is what a watch guy thinks of when someone says the…
Read MoreAn Exceptional 2915-3 Pre Moon Omega Speedmaster
I find myself incessantly craving a straight-lug Speedy these days. Maybe it’s the history. Maybe it’s the timeless design. Perhaps I’m just a snob for early reference varieties. Whatever the case, I think I just found Nirvana. The 2915 was the very first Speedmaster reference and genesis for all tachymeter bezel chronographs. This -3 is…
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