My Apollo Program Omega Watch

[tim]

Thanks!

I don't know what the 1990 price was, but oddly vintage Speedmasters can be had today for roughly half the price of a new one! Plus, the vintage ones are generally more desirable as they are from Omega's pre-Swatch-takeover era (yes, Omega is part of the Swatch group, now ).

 

[mrdaniel]

Really? I had no clue that Swatch bought out Omega. I'd actually only want a vintage 1960's model. I'd want to stay true to the time period of the moon landings. Is your manual or automatic? Hopefully one day I'll get one!

 

[Dctoe]

Hey guys. I'm more of a lurker than anything else, but since this a post about watches I figured Id introduce myself. I'm a certified WOSTEP watchmaker currently working for swatch group. I mostly work on omegas myself. The 861/ 1861 is a incredible caliber. It was the caliber I did for my final exam. What I think a lot of people don't realize is that while swatch may be associated with cheap watches, they are the company that saved the Swiss watch industry during the quartz revolution. In addition to omega, they own high end brands such as Breguet, Glashutte Original and Blancpain. They do own ETA also which about 70 percent of the watch industry uses. I.E. Breitling, IWC....The original moon watch is a 861 not a 321 I believe. The current model speed masters are 1861. They are nearly identical. The only thing different is the rhodium plating on the finish. I would rather have a 1861 vs a 861 IMO. Reason being is I like the finish on the 1861 better and I just seem to have a easier time regulating a 1861 haha.

 

[tim]

The Cal. 861 and 321 are manual-wind. The 321 was produced first, and is almost certainly the only caliber used in the Apollo program, as detailed here.

 

[Luke Warmwater]

Here's my late father's moon watch which he bought in June 1969 and now belongs to me:

Space-Time Continuum by WF&DT, on Flickr

I like that NASA velcro strap. I may have to get one.

 

[lmgill]

The actors of Apollo 13 ended up keeping their film used watches, even after great protest from Omega, it turns out the 4 watches Omega loaned to production were in fact Speedmasters from the original Apollo run of Speedmasters.
Here is a good link for those interested in watches used during the Apollo program.
Omega Speedmaster Watches

Did you guys know that the Omega, was not the only watch worn on the moon? During Apollo 15, Dave Scott wore his Waltham watch during a Lunar EVA.

 

[franz bolo]

Here's my late father's moon watch which he bought in June 1969 and now belongs to me:

Space-Time Continuum by WF&DT, on Flickr

I like that NASA velcro strap. I may have to get one.

That's very cool! I got an Omega from my Dad as well.

FB

 

[tim]

Did you guys know that the Omega, was not the only watch worn on the moon? During Apollo 15, Dave Scott wore his Waltham watch during a Lunar EVA.

And the instrument clocks in the Apollo capsules were all Bulova Accutron tuning-fork watches.

 

[micdavis]

If you like the idea (and I am sure that micadavis and Larry Young might like it), I think that a member here with great skills - and if he wants to - might make and sell you the newspaper if I send him the scans.

Will someone report me for liking Apollo watches?

 

[tim]

Will someone report me for liking Apollo watches?

Yes...

 

[Thibault]

Will someone report me for liking Apollo watches?

I think everyone should do that !

Every time your posts are reported, the birds are singing again... children dare to play in the streets and the clouds disappear and let the sun shining again !

 

[RoyFokker]

The classic Omegas were awesome watches. It still aggravates me that a company with this history is now subjugated to ETA movements.

This site had some great info about it.

http://www.chronomaddox(dot)com/moonmovement.html

 

[skiffy]

Got my strap and just ordered my (replica) speedmaster. Should be here in 7-10 days. Can't wait!

 

[skiffy]

I finally got mine! It has the omega symbol on the face (which I'm super happy about) but it's a bit wonky. I might remove the bezel to fix it later - but for now I'm just chuffed to be wearing it.

Thanks mrdaniel for the inspiration - I'm one happy space cadet. I just wish I'd had it when I met the crew of Discovery's last mission earlier this year. Quite the conversation piece!

 

[Luke Warmwater]

Last spring, my late father's moon watch began to act a little wonky. I took it to an Omega dealer to get it looked at. Due to its age, they sent it to the Omega factory in Geneva where it was discovered that sometime during its life it had taken a hard hit, damaging the case and the movement.
Six months later it has come back in a brand new case. The dial is the original. Omega sent back all the parts they replaced, including the old case.
While I am glad to have the watch back in working order, something has been lost. It reminds me a bit of the joke about George Washington's axe in a museum. The handle broke so they replaced it with a new one then noticed the head was rusty so they replaced that too.
I guess I'll hang onto the old case, the one that was on dad's wrist, for sentimental reasons. I also bought one of the Velcro straps seen above; might put it on that strap.


The Alpha & The Omega by WF&DT, on Flickr

 

[Dewy]

The original moon watch wasn't an automatic. It was a manual wind.

 

[Rylo]

Ditto!! Good stuff.

-Rylo

Love it. I always wanted one of those. Thanks for posting!

 

[The Dude]

Love that watch!

 

[BB43MAN]

These are on display at Houston in the old Mission Control building lobby. I took this earlier this year on vaca. Each one had the mission patch for that mission on the face. Of course, these were collectors items but, I think there was only one set made and that was for NASA.

 

[ID10T]

Came across this thread amongst the ancient scrolls…

I am collecting parts to make a replica of the flown Speedmaster from the Apollo ASTP and Skylab era. The last batch of 321-powered Speedmaster watches were the 145.012-68 model. These watches all had unique engravings with the NASA catalogue number engraved on the back as well as a unique serial number on the case side.

I have most of the correct parts for this build and will be moving forward soon. I may get a service case to engrave the serial number into, or skip that detail, because the original 1968 case is in excellent condition. Original case back is gone so I’ll engrave the number into that.

Looking forward to this project! (I’ll probably start a new thread due to the age of this one but this is all I could find searching)

I showed my fist gen X-33 “mars watch” along with my commercial crew flight suit I made a couple years ago.