Our Top 5 Omega Speedmaster Models of all Time

Much like Ford with the Mustang or Porsche with the 911, Omega’s fabled Speedmaster has been issued in an almost incomprehensible number of different versions since its inception. But just as with those iconic cars, there is always a base layer, a certain distinct and concrete form underneath which has never really altered—mainly because they nailed it right from the get-go.

Trying to list every single variant on that 1957 Speedmaster original would leave us with an encyclopedia-length article you’d never have time to read. So instead, we have boiled them down to our five favorites, those instances when the Speedy knocked it all the way out of the park.

The First Omega in Space (reference 311.32.40.30.01.001)

You may not be aware of this, because Omega don’t like to make a big thing of it, but the Speedmaster was actually the first wristwatch officially sanctioned by NASA. Not only that, it was also the first watch worn on the surface of the moon.

(I’ll give you a second to collect yourself).

What that means is that, on occasion, the brand likes to humbly remind us of their adventures beyond Earth and bring out versions of the Speedy which hint at their spacefaring accomplishments.

In the case of the FOIS, it was the first of two tributes to the CK2998 worn by Wally Schirra in 1962 as he flew aboard Sigma 7 during the nine-hour, six-orbit Mercury-Atlas 8 mission.

Released on the 50^th anniversary of the feat in 2012, the numbered but not limited edition FOIS resurrected most of the design cues of Schirra’s original, a watch he purchased himself, with NASA taking three more years of exhaustive testing before signing off on the Speedmaster.

That classifies the CK2998 as a ‘pre-Professional’ model (Omega adopted the ‘Professional’ tag after the Speedy got certified) and so it had a far different look and feel to the eventual Moonwatch we’re familiar with—and the FOIS was able to capture most of those elements.

It is smaller, for one thing, measuring just 39.7mm as opposed to the Moonwatch’s 42mm. The case also has straight rather than twisted lyre lugs, and there are no crown guards just like the CK2998.

The dial is a faithful recreation too. Vintage alpha hands are used on both the main dial and the tricompax registers, and the seconds hand is a simple lancet shape with no arrow tip. On the case back, the early Seahorse logo, known as the ‘hippocampus’ is included, and behind it, the modified Lemania Caliber 1861 works away.

But while not a limited edition watch, it was certainly a low production one, making the FOIS a real favorite among collectors.

Even so, it is a more attainable and affordable choice than the other Schirra tribute, an actual limited edition from 2016 named, confusingly, the CK2998. Restricted to just 2,998 pieces, you can expect to pay at least an extra $2,000 for that model over the FOIS.

The Calibre 321 ‘Ed White’ (ref. 311.30.40.30.01.001)

On June 3^rd, 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk, as part of the Gemini 4 mission.

Strapped to his wrist that day was a Speedmaster, another pre-Professional model but perhaps one of the most important in the Speedy’s history.

The ref. 105.003 was the reference which would eventually gain NASA approval, the one watch able to survive the space agency’s grueling trials. It would also go on to become an official Moonwatch, ‘Professional’ or not, when it experienced the lunar surface on Gene Cernan’s arm during Apollo 17.

With that much history, the ref. 105.003 was sure to receive a modern-day update at some point, and Omega obliged in 2020 with the ref. 311.30.40.30.01.001.

This is arguably as faithful a recreation of a vintage watch Omega has ever made, both inside and out. First of all the styling keys are mostly present and correct with, again, a 39.7mm case and straight lugs (the ref. 105.003 was the final straight lug Speedy). There are no crown guards as is period correct, as is the step dial and the dot-over-90 bezel.

However, that bezel is in polished black ZrO2 ceramic rather than the aluminum of old and the crystal is sapphire instead of Hesalite. But if those little deviations upset you, don’t worry because I haven’t told you about the movement yet.

The Caliber 321 is a legendary mechanism in the world of watchmaking and its reintroduction in 2019 was met with wild approval. But this wasn’t just some halfhearted homage to the real thing; the schematics for the movement were scanned from the actual ref. 105.003 Cernan wore on the moon! And things don’t really get any more authentic than that. Aside from the finishing being in Omega’s Sedna gold and not the original copper, the caliber is absolutely identical to the vintage example.

The reinvented Caliber 321 has also been fitted into other, crushingly expensive, Speedy updates in both platinum and Canopus Gold, but it is the steel-on-steel Ed White which remains at the top of many fans’ wish lists.

The Alaska Project (ref. 311.32.42.30.04.001)

This one’s a little different, but no less interesting. The Omega Speedmaster Alaska Project was released as a limited edition in 2008 and was a mashup between two relatively obscure models from the ‘70s, one of which never made it past the prototype stage.

The Alaska Project watch from 1970 (the first titanium-cased Speedy) and the later Alaska Project II were produced at the behest of NASA who decided they were in need of something even more robust than the standard Speedmaster for their next grand ambition, exploring the frigid dark side of the moon.

Curiously then, despite the name, the watch had nothing to do with the state of Alaska at all, Omega just needed a name synonymous with somewhere extremely bloody cold.

In the end, NASA abandoned the idea but we still have the watch.

Taking a normal 42mm Moonwatch as its foundation, the Alaska Project Limited Editions received a white dial, bright red chronograph hand and some funky sub dial pointers. But that’s not all. In anticipation of the environments it was required to work in, Omega also constructed a huge red aluminum housing for the watch to shield it from extremes of temperature ranging between +260ºC and -148ºC. In addition, the movement bridges and plates were coated in rhodium to protect them.

Is any of that necessary for a watch which will never leave the planet? No, of course not. But it’s pretty cool nevertheless. And plenty of collectors seem to be in agreement; prices on the preowned market for one of the 1,970 pieces issued start at around $20,000.

The Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary Edition (ref. 310.60.42.50.99.001)

Since the 20-year anniversary in 1989, Omega has launched a commemorative edition of the Speedmaster Professional celebrating man first setting foot on the moon every five years.

In 2019, on the 50^th anniversary, they gave us two, one in steel and the other in Moonshine Gold.

The brand’s own variation of the precious metal, Moonshine Gold has a paler hue than standard yellow gold and Omega used it at the half century mark to emulate a very special Speedmaster from 1969. To honor the landing, they produced 1,014 gold Speedy’s, three of them going to the Apollo crew of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, one to President Nixon (who declined his as too expensive for a public servant) and the rest sold commercially.

The model they produced for the 50^th carries over other facets of those original watches, including the burgundy red bezel and the gold dial with its onyx indexes. But it wouldn’t be an anniversary piece without a few distinctive flourishes. To begin with, this was the first Speedmaster equipped with the latest caliber 3861 chronograph movement. Turn the watch over and you can see it at work through the sapphire case back—the version in the Moonshine watch gold-plated, not so in the steel model. Around the outer edge of the case back though is something even cooler. The dates ‘1969-2019’ are highlighted in red at the top, while the limited edition numbers are at the bottom—again, restricted to 1,014 examples. On the righthand side is a picture of the Earth in blue and gold, while opposite that is a depiction of the moon. Nothing unusual in that per se, except that what it is depicted from is a piece of the actual moon. That’s right, the watch comes with a fragment of lunar meteorite embedded in its case back.

These days the Apollo 11 50^th Anniversary edition is a highly sought after example of the Speedmaster, and you can expect to pay upwards of $50,000 for one.

The 50^th Anniversary Silver Snoopy Award (ref. 310.32.42.50.02.001)

Even if you weren’t around at the time, chances are you will know all about the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission immortalized in the Tom Hanks movie of the same name.

What you might not know is that the Speedmaster played a vital role in saving the lives of the stricken crew, and in thanks for their efforts, a grateful NASA awarded Omega their highest honor, the Silver Snoopy Award.

It was the Speedy which was used by the astronauts to precisely time the firing of secondary rockets to bring their crippled spacecraft back home.

There have been three commemoration Snoopy-based Speedmasters issued since then, and it is the most recent which has always been a personal favorite.

The ref. 310.32.42.50.02.001 is definitely a Moonwatch, but its white dial with blue indexes, bezel, sub counters and especially its nylon strap give it an appearance all its own. And that’s before you even get to the cartoon beagle himself.

You don’t have to look very hard to see a medallion of Snoopy dancing among the stars taking the place of the small seconds totalizer at the nine o’clock. But turn the watch over, and you will see him again on the case back. Except this time, he’s aboard a CSM, Command and Service Module, pictured against the moon with the Earth in the background. What’s more, start the chronograph and Omega’s ‘Magic Hand’ sets the animation going, and Snoops and his CSM travel around the far side of the moon in a nod to the Apollo 13 crew, while the Earth disc completes a revolution once a minute.

It is a lovely, lighthearted tribute to what was a horrifying, heart-in-mouth event, made all the better by not being one of the Speedy’s seemingly never-ending line of limited editions.

Featured Photo: NeedPix (cc), BeckerTime’s Archive.