Hands-On With The Omega Speedmaster Moon 345.0809

The Omega Speedmaster Moon 345.0809 or “Speedy Moon” is one of those grail watches of mine. It’s not the small production of 1,300 that makes it so desirable for me, but rather its complications combined with the classic Speedmaster design.

It is no secret that the Speedmaster is my favorite chronograph. I love the design of the case, the clean and readable dial, and the history of this watch. Now, the Speedmaster Moon 345.0809 combines two of the complications I love the most — the chronograph and a moon phase indicator. It makes the dial a bit more cluttered, but the beautiful moon and stars on a disc make up for that. The “Speedymoon” was produced between November 1985 and January 1989. Let’s have a closer look at the one we have here.

Omega Speedmaster Moon 345.0809

Moon phase watches were not new for Omega in 1985. In fact, Omega designed various watches with this popular and aesthetically pleasing complication (read our article on the Omega Cosmic Moonphase to find out more).

…29.53 days…

The moon disc makes one full rotation in approximately 29.5 days, from new moon to new moon. In real life, however, it takes a little longer to get from one new moon to the next (29.53 days to be more precise). This is why watches with this complication require a correction every 2.5 years.

The moon phase complication is still popular, and Omega has a few of them in the Speedmaster collection today. However, we look at the first Speedmaster Professional with a moon phase indicator. The “Speedymoon” 345.0809.

The Speedymoon

Although there were only 1,300 Speedmaster Moon 345.0809 watches ever made, there are a few variations. There are three different moon phase discs, for example. One with two large moons with five stars in between like we have here. Then there’s a version with two large moons and seven stars in between them. The rarest version is with two moons that have a smiling face.

Also interesting to note is that Omega used no less than three different bracelets for this Speedmaster Moon 345.0809. The 1447, 1450, and, later, the 1479. The latter one is less common, as it was only used on the last few 345.0809s that left Omega in Biel.

Our sample watch here is fitted with reference 1447 which has 805 end pieces. It is interesting to see that in such a short time, and with such low production, Omega used different parts for the same watch. Almost unthinkable today.

Caliber 866

The movement inside the Omega Speedmaster Moon 345.0809 or “Speedymoon” is a Lemania based caliber 866. This movement is a caliber 861 with the addition of a calendar, and moon phases indicator. Just like the base caliber 861, it is a copper-colored movement. The calendar (located in the same subdial as the moon phase disc) and moon phase are corrected by the small pushers in the case band. The upper corrector is used to advance the moon phases disc and the lower corrector for the date.

Be careful

The prices of the Speedmaster Moon 345.0809 have gone up quite a bit in the last 10-15 years. Expect to pay around €15,000 for a good example, and even more when if you want one with its box and papers. This also means that — unfortunately — people try to sell you a “Speedymoon” that has service parts (or redials) without mentioning this in their advertisement. The easiest giveaway is often the dial, where the dates from 9 till the 21st are facing outwards.

These are often service dials. It is still an original Omega part but does affect the value of the watch. The same is applicable for a wrong handset or different bracelet reference. But those are easier “fixes” than a service dial or fake dial. You will also find that parts of the later Speedmaster Moon reference 3576.50 or 3876.50 (2003 and later) are used for the 1980s “Speedymoon”.

There’s more Moon phase

Around the same time (1986), Omega introduced one more Speedmaster reference with a moon phase indicator: 345.0810. There are 700 of these watches, 300 in a gold/titanium combination, and 400 in titanium only. This Speedmaster Moon 345.0810 was based on the Teutonic (Mark V) models and only delivered to the German market.

In total, Omega used 2,000 of the caliber 866 movements. It was not until 1999 before Omega introduced a new Speedmaster with a moonphase complication. The white gold 3689.30 used caliber 1866. This movement is based on the current hand-wound caliber 1861. Since then, there has always been a Speedmaster with moonphase complication in the Omega collection. More information via Omega online.