Manufacturer: Omega Year: 1970 Reference No: 145022-69 ST Movement No: 29'602'692 Model Name: Speedmaster Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Mechanical, 861, 17 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Omega bracelet, 170 mm. maximum length Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Omega folding deployant clasp Dimensions: 42 mm. diameter Signed:Case, dial and movement signed Literature: For another example of the present watch, please see The Master of Omega by Alberto Isnardi, pages 56 and 57
Catalogue Essay
This Speedmaster is a very original and well preserved example and features the 'Lyre' lugs. The watch is fitted with a 1171-1 bracelet, which was introduced in the early 1970s. Furthermore, the watch is also fitted with a 'pulsation' bezel insert. Speedmaster can be found fitted with tachymetre, telemeter or pulsometer. Examples fitted with the 'pulsation' calibrations are considered the rarest of these three variants.
Omega's rich history begins with its founder, Louis Brandt, who established the firm in 1848 in La Chaux de Fonds. In 1903, the company changed its name to Omega, becoming the only watch brand in history to have been named after one its own movements. A full-fledged manufacturer of highly accurate, affordable and reliable watches, its sterling reputation enabled them to be chosen as the first watch company to time the Olympic Games beginning in 1932. Its continued focus on precision and reliability ultimately led their Speedmaster chronograph wristwatch to be chosen by NASA in 1965 — the first watch worn on the moon.
Key models sought-after by collectors include their first, oversized water-resistant chronograph — the reference 2077, early Speedmaster models such as the CK 2915 and 2998, military-issued versions of the Seamaster and oversized chronometer models such as those fitted with their prestigious caliber 30T2Rg.