Manufacturer: Omega Year: 1988 Reference No: ST 345.0809 Movement No: 48’223’678 Case No: 48’223’678 Model Name: Speedmaster Professional “Speedymoon” Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Manual, cal. 866, 17 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Stainless steel Omega bracelet, endlinks stamped “808”, max length 195m Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel Omega deployant clasp, stamped “1450” Dimensions: 42mm diameter Signed: Case, dial, movement, and bracelet signed Accessories: Accompanied with Omega guarantee card dated 22nd August 1988, stamped by Hong Kong retailer Cathay Watch Co. Ltd, and Omega box. Further delivered with Omega Extract from the Archives confirming the date of manufacture of the present timepiece on 11th March 1988 and delivery to Hong Kong.
Catalogue Essay
Loved on earth and beyond, the Omega Speedmaster is the legendary chronograph that went to the Moon, hence its moniker “Moonwatch”. In 1985, the firm decided to launch a variant of the Speedmaster with a pleasing complication that couldn’t have dreamt to be a better fit, the moonphase. Being the first model to include this indication, the reference ST 345.0809 is the only model with a sub-dial that has all calendar numbers with their feet facing towards the centre. With a relatively short 3 years production run, only 1,300 pieces were ever made, thus it is particularly rare and desired by collectors who have named it “Speedymoon”. Despite its short production span, the model had three different variants with tritium hour markers and painted moon disk that come with distinct features: smiling moon being the rarest, the small moon with 7 asymmetrical stars and finally like the present example, a large moon with 5 symmetrical stars.
Inside the Spillmann steel case with elegant twisted lugs houses the Lemania based movement cal. 866, an upgrade from the robust famed calibre 861. Offered in excellent condition which features the attractive large moon and aged creamy luminous accents with vintage charisma, the timepiece is further sports the 1450 steel bracelet with correct 808 end-links.
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.
