Manufacturer: Omega Year: 1967 Reference No: ST105.003 Movement No: 24’538’143 Model Name: Speedmaster, “Ed White” Material: Stainless steel Calibre: Manual, cal. 321, 17 jewels Bracelet/Strap: Leather Clasp/Buckle: Stainless steel pin buckle Dimensions: 39mm diameter Signed: Case, dial and movement signed Accessories: Delivered with an Omega Extract of the Archives confirming the date of production of the present timepiece on 10th May 1967 and its subsequent delivery to the United Kingdom.
Catalogue Essay
Omega wristwatches have long been associated with NASA and the American manned moon flights of the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1964, their reference 105.003 “pre-professional” chronograph was released in three sub references the -63, -64 and -65 and it was the last model featuring straight lugs. That year Omega submitted two references 105.003-63 to NASA for rigorously testing and upon satisfactorily meeting all their requirements, NASA chooses the Speedmaster for its Gemini program, which preceded the Apollo program and sought to develop space travel techniques for the Apollo moon landing. In time, the model became known as the “Ed White” for the astronaut Edward Higgins White II, who on June 3, 1965 became the first astronaut to walk in space.
Produced between 1966 and 1969, the present example Speedmaster ref. ST105.003 featuring a -65 sub-model was made originally in 1967 and delivered to the United Kingdom. Preserved in excellent overall condition with an attractive tropicalized dial enhancing its vintage appeal, it is further delivered with an extract from Omega confirming the production of the present timepiece. Offered in all honest condition with correct components, these well-preserved pre-moon references are getting harder and harder to source for top quality examples.
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.