Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch

The Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch

A 42 mm hand-wound chronograph with a black dial, three counters and a tachymeter bezel, qualified by NASA in 1965 and worn on the Moon by Buzz Aldrin in July 1969. The case has not changed in silhouette since, which is why a Moonwatch from any decade reads as the same watch and why it is the most collected Omega.

Every Moonwatch on Dialist is listed by a verified dealer, inspected before shipping and covered by buyer protection. The current reference is the calibre 3861; the Snoopy editions are the ones that trade above retail.

Four calibres, one case

The Speedmaster of 1957 (CK2915) was a racing chronograph with the Lemania-based calibre 321, a column-wheel movement Omega makes again today in small numbers. The asymmetric case with crown guards arrived in 1964 on the 105.012, the reference that went to the Moon. In 1968 the 861 replaced the 321 with a cam-switched, higher-beat movement, and the Moonwatch kept that engine for nearly thirty years.

The 1861 of 1996 is the 861 rhodium-plated; the steel 3570.50 and then the 311.30.42.30.01.005 carried it until 2020, while the display-back sapphire sandwich (3573.50, 311.30.42.30.01.006) ran the decorated 1863. In 2021 the 3861 brought a Co-Axial escapement, a silicon balance spring, a 50-hour reserve and Master Chronometer certification, with a reworked bracelet and a stepped dial. The hesalite 310.30.42.50.01.001 and the sapphire 310.30.42.50.01.002 are the two current steel references.

What to know before you buy

1. 01

   Crystal

   Hesalite is the acrylic NASA specified: it scratches but never shatters and polishes back to new. The sapphire sandwich adds a display back and costs more; collectors are split.