Weekend Watch Lists – Top 10 Omega Speedmaster References

It’s weekend! We decided to come up with some easy-to-digest content for the weekend, as you’ve probably been doing enough reading all week. From now on, we will publish our Weekend Watch Lists feature every weekend, to show you overviews with information about the consumer watch market. Our overviews are based on data from on-line watch consumers. Per list we will indicate the countries from which we used the data, as this will vary to keep it interesting. It will be interesting to see how much taste in watches can differ per country and continent. Data is retrieved from Chronolytics.ch, watch market research company that operates under the flag of Ebner Verlag (publishing house of magazines like WatchTime, Uhren Magazine, Chronos etc.).

Last week, we showed you the Top 10 Rolex Submariner watches by reference number, both new and vintage. This week, we thought it was time for the watch that we cover here so much with our Speedy Tuesday feature: a Top 10 Omega Speedmaster references overview. We requested an overview on all Speedmaster reference numbers as well as an overview with all Speedmaster references that were produced between 1957 and 1980. The latter one to generate a Top 10 vintage Omega Speedmaster references overview.

We didn’t filter on specific countries or regions, just world wide. This means that the country where most requests came from, have the largest influence on the list.

Top 10 Omega Speedmaster references

Although we like to leave things up for your own interpretation, let’s have a closer look at this list. There is little surprise in the fact that the regular good ol’ Omega Speedmaster Professional is ranked no.1. By far, as in this list you will also find the new reference number for this classic ‘Moonwatch’ model as well as a slightly different reference number for the model on a leather strap (oh, and the moon phases version). Interesting to see that the 2013 released Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon (find our article on the DSotM here) is positioned as no.2. We were already told that the Dark Side of the Moon performs exceptionally well at dealers and boutiques, but didn’t think it was actually doing THAT well. The First Omega in Space model (2012) at #8 and the first Speedmaster model with caliber 9300 (#9) are also interesting in this list (check our review of that model here). There is quite a bit of demand for these models as it seems. Last but certainly not least, there is space for the reference 145.022. This reference number was used till the 1980s when Omega decided to use their PIC reference number (smaller numbers, which they let go again since a few years). The discontinued Speedmaster Reduced still has a lot of demand, a popular automatic (and smaller) version that has the looks of the 42mm Omega Speedmaster Pro Moonwatch (click here for our article Speedmaster Pro versus Speedmaster Reduced).

Top 10 Vintage Omega Speedmaster references

Now this is interesting! As we already suspected the 145.022 to be the most popular reference (as most of the Speedmaster related e-mails we get from our readers mainly concerns this reference), it is out performing any of the caliber 321 movement models. This perhaps has to do with the higher price of the latter ones, or the fact that you need to get a 145.022 while they’re still affordable. Even though the 105.012 – and 105.003 for that matter – are more desirable than the 145.012, they are positioned behind the model that Apollo XI astronaut Collin’s had on his wrist. The 145.012 is the model with caliber 321 that gets most interest from the masses. This perhaps also has to do with either price and availability. It is basically the ‘cheapest’ caliber 321 Speedmaster you are able to get. Further down the list are the Mark II, Mark III (click here for a write-up on car journalist Ben Oliver’s own Mark III) and Mark 4.5 (click here for the Speedmaster Mark 4.5 from 911 specialist Magnus Walker). The Mark IV didn’t make the Top 10 Omega Speedmaster references list. Interesting to see that the CK2998 – although very sought-after – is ranked #7, this has probably to do with the average prices on these pieces. They are becoming very rare, especially in decent – good condition. The 105.002 (basically the same as the CK2998 but with the new reference number coding) closes the list with a 10th position. The Speedmaster 125 – only 2000 pieces made – was a bit of a surprise to us, a clunky (but funky!) timepiece, being the first automatic chronograph chronometer ever (we did an in-depth article on the Speedmaster 125 here). Even though it was limited to 2000 pieces only, they are readily available (probably has to do with its dimensions and outspoken 1970s design). Did you miss the CK2915? Correct! Low on the supply part, especially GOOD ones, and demand is also relatively low due to the high prices. People still rather buy Daytonas for +40.000 Euro. ; – )

Note that the results are not (only) based on search queries. There is a more complex methodology behind this data mining, in order to give the best representation of the demand for watches out there.