My 25 Years Of Owning The Omega Speedmaster Professional

On this very day, October 1st, 25 years ago, I bought my first Omega Speedmaster watch. I was a student at the time and obsessed with watches, specifically, Omega Speedmasters. My first purchase was a Speedmaster 145.012 with caliber 321.

One evening, I was cycling in the city center of The Hague and passed a watch shop. I turned around and stopped in front of the window. Two Omega Speedmaster Professionals were on display among many other new and pre-owned watches. One was a Speedmaster Professional 3590.50 with a caliber 861, and it was just a few years old at the time. The other was the Speedmaster Professional 145.012 with caliber 321 inside and on a simple black leather strap. Though it’s unthinkable today, the 321-powered Speedmaster Professional “pre-Moon” was a few hundred guilders cheaper than the modern Speedmaster Professional.

October 1st, 1999 — My first Omega Speedmaster purchase

It was a Friday, I remember, and this Speedmaster had been sitting in the window of this watch shop in The Hague for at least a few weeks. But there was quite a build-up to the moment I stepped into the shop and bought the watch. In the second half of 1999, I was doing an internship for my university and had a lot of time to research Speedmaster watches. I was a “regular” on TimeZone and WatchUSeek and was in touch with well-known collectors, including Chuck Maddox (read our interview with him here) and Bill Sohne.

I’d already been familiar with the Speedmaster for several years by then, but the moment I dove in and started learning all there was to know about them, there was no way out. I got hooked on this model, and I found it to be one of the best-looking chronographs in the world (and I still do). The timeless case shape, the black-and-white dial and white baton hands for superb readability, the tried-and-tested hand-wound movement, and the Plexi (Hesalite) crystal that magnified the dial all added up to me wanting one almost desperately.

Details didn’t matter (that much)

At the time, there were not many sources describing every detail of the Speedmaster Professional, let alone per reference. There was Chuck Maddox’s website and a few books from the 1990s covering Omega and the Moonwatch but not in much detail.

Unlike today, details didn’t matter too much since there was hardly any documentation on details. The Dot Over Ninety bezel was something that only became a “thing” much later. Initially, I aimed for the Speedmaster Professional with caliber 861, but my student budget allowed me only 2000 Dutch guilders (about €900 at the time). So, on that Friday, October 1st of 1999, I stepped out of my student apartment with the money in my pockets and went to the watch shop in The Hague where I had seen the watch a few days before.

An imperfect Speedmaster 145.012

The Speedmaster Professional 145.012 with caliber 321 was not perfect. Some of the hands had paint missing, and the bezel was pretty scratched up. I bought it anyway and was the happiest kid in town. I wore the watch daily, both to university and bars, and it went wherever I went over the next few years.

One of the first things I did was request an extract of the archives from Omega. As the records showed, the watch was shipped to Finland on October 22nd, 1968 (my dad’s 18th birthday).

A ref. 1450 bracelet from the 1980s — Image: Brussels Vintage Watches

Adding a bracelet to my Speedmaster 145.012

Meanwhile, I decided to buy a bracelet for the watch and bumped into a NOS ref. 1450 bracelet at a vintage watch dealer in the Netherlands for another €150 or so. The bracelet’s end links didn’t fit the 145.012 case perfectly, so I had to file them down a little bit. I also decided to have the hands restored and replace the bezel with a new (modern) one for around €50. After a few months, I decided I wasn’t happy with the restoration work, so I replaced the handset. At the time, it was impossible to get an original set of 321 hands except for the tear-drop chronograph seconds hand.

So, as you can see, the minute and hour hands are not period correct. There has been a correct handset lying around the Fratello office for a few years now, but until I started writing this article, I didn’t think of it, to be honest. I need to get that sorted out at some point.

I also got a display back to show the caliber 321. My watchmaker ordered a spare case back for the 145.012 and fitted it with a crystal. The only thing it needed on top was a spacer ring. Normally, the Speedmaster Professional uses a soft-iron inner case, which needs to be removed for the display back. The spacer ring ensures that everything is fixed when the case back is closed. There’s no room for any parts to move. At the time, the custom case back was probably around €100.

The Speedmaster 145.012 as a daily wearer

This Omega Speedmaster 145.012-67 was my everyday watch for many years until I also started buying other references. I added some modern ones, like the “Sapphire Sandwich” ref. 3572.50, and a few vintage ones from the 1970s. I had my 145.012 serviced for approximately €350 and had the Plexi crystal replaced when applying Polywatch didn’t work anymore. The 145.012-67 only failed me once, in 2001 or so, and it needed a specific part for the 321 movement. An Omega dealer in Germany and its watchmaker helped me out promptly with that repair, which cost around €140.

Although I had some other Speedmasters, the 145.012 remained my favorite. It was on my wrist during many business trips and holidays. During one of my business trips in 2005, I wore it for weeks while visiting Egypt, Tunis, and Morocco. It was such an easy wearer, kept great time, and was quite an under-the-radar watch.

Adding another bracelet

A few years later, I sourced a bracelet that belongs to this specific reference, which is the 1039 model with spring-loaded links for some flexibility. Although I like the 1450 a lot, it was not a period-correct bracelet by any means. It only came about in the mid-1980s and could be found, for example, on the “SpeedyMoon” ref. 345.0809.

In 2015 or 2016, 321-powered Speedmasters became much more expensive, and I decided to give the watch a bit of a rest. But that was not before I sourced a period-correct bezel with the famous Dot Over Ninety marking. A friend of mine had a few spare parts left, including the Dot Over Ninety bezel, and I purchased it from him and had it fitted by my (and his) watchmaker. In total, including the installation, the bezel replacement was probably around €800.

When I bought a brand-new Omega Speedmaster Professional 3570.50 in 2012 (the first one I bought new), that one became my go-to Speedmaster. My Speedmaster Professional 145.012 only comes out when I am attending a Speedy Tuesday event or another Speedmaster get-together or when I want to wear it for a day or so when I am not traveling.

Repairs and service costs

I have spent quite a bit on service, repair, and parts, but that also includes some “learning money” for my regrettable decisions and mistakes. The good thing is that it didn’t happen to me with later purchases; that’s worth something. My Speedmaster 145.012 is in good technical condition, so it runs well; it’s just the handset that I want to have replaced. The case shows some battle scars, but that’s also a reminder of my great time as a student and my travels during my first (consultancy) jobs.

Here’s to the next 25 years with my Speedmaster

It’s not the perfect 145.012, but it’s my imperfect Speedmaster, and I love it. On top of that, it will always be my first Speedmaster, so it won’t leave my collection anyway. In hindsight, buying all the necessary parts back in the late 1990s/early 2000s would have been wiser. However, as I wrote before, the details concerning Speedmasters weren’t so important at the time. As long as they had genuine Omega parts, that was fine. That mindset changed over the years, and now vintage Speedmasters should have original or period-correct parts. I would at least emphasize the latter these days.

In hindsight, I should have waited for a 105.012 to cross my path, but the desire was so great that I couldn’t pass up the 145.012. I waited too long to add a 105.012 to my collection, and in recent years, the prices have gone up so much that I don’t want to pursue it for now. But regardless of whether I ever buy one or not, I will happily hold on to my Speedmaster 145.012 for the next 25 years.