If ever you find yourself playing a game of word association with a fellow horophile, we’d like to bet the instant response to ‘Speedmaster’ would be ‘space’ - thanks (of course) to astronaut Buzz Aldrin making Omega’s celebrated chronograph the first watch worn on the surface of the moon during 1969’s historic Apollo 11 expedition.
But while the Speedmaster’s space credentials undoubtedly make it special, it’s worth remembering that this was a watch originally intended not to be worn while orbiting the Earth but while ‘speeding’ across it by automobile.
Rivals such as the TAG Heuer Carrera and the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona might all be regarded as quintessential driver’s watches – but the Speedmaster was on motorists’ wrists several years before either of them.
It first appeared in 1957 with a black dial, luminous hands and a chunky, 39 mm case that made it an instant hit with the automobilists at whom it was specifically targeted.
“'Our picture shows two sports car enthusiasts racing the clock,” read one of the very first Speedmaster advertisements.
“The clock being no clock at all - but the new Omega high-precision wrist computer. When the co-driver stops the large second hand at the end of the test mile, he reads off at a glance the time as well as the speed, the latter on the tacho-producto-meter etched into the rim of the case.”
From the racetrack to outer space
It was another five years before astronaut Wally Schirra saw the Speedmaster’s out-of-this-world potential, taking one with him as an unofficial piece of operational equipment on the Mercury Eight mission of October 1962, well before it enjoyed its ‘finest hour’ wrapped around the wrist of Aldrin’s space suit as a NASA-approved instrument.
Since then, Speedmasters have made multiple outings beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and in multiple forms, too – not least the X-33 version equipped with Omega’s Calibre 1666 quartz movement, a 42mm, titanium-cased, multi-function watch ‘launched’ in 1998 after being designed in collaboration with astronauts.
The references that collectors covet
Many collectors seek-out the original X-33 and its later variants (especially examples with NASA provenance) but, for traditional Speedmaster fans, the quintessential reference is the 105.003 with the gorgeous Calibre 321 hand-wound movement (that was phased-out after 1968 in favour of the upgraded 861).
Omegaphiles refer to the 105.003 as the ‘Ed White’ on account of it being the model worn by the Gemini 4 astronaut when he made the first American spacewalk in June 1965 – although ‘space flown’ Speedmasters of any description are even more sought after.
In 2023, an example that was carried on Soyuz TM-17 three decades earlier before spending a year on the MIR space station sold at auction house RR for $118,776 - while in December 2024 Zurich’s Koller Auctions sold the 2015 Speedmaster worn in space that year by cosmonaut Gennady Padalka for Sfr 143,750.
But the most valuable Speedmasters, have proved to be those not worn in space, but the ones given to celebrated Apollo astronauts after their return to Earth.
An 18-carat gold version presented to Neil Armstrong sold for a stellar $2.1 MILLION when it crossed the block at specialist space auctioneer RR in Cambridge, Massachusetts in April 2025.
The watch was number 17 of 26 created specifically for NASA astronauts, with Armstrong receiving his at a gala dinner in Houston, Texas, on November 25, 1969 - just four months after he became the first person to walk on the moon.
Three years before, RR also sold watch number eight from the series, the one presented to Wally Schirra, for $1.9m.
But – as we suggested at the beginning - there’s more to watches bearing the Speedmaster nameplate than simply the connection with space.
Coincidental to the Apollo 11 moon landing, Omega launched the ‘Mark’ series of Speedmaster models which were produced until 1986, starting with the Mark II and ending with the Mark V.
Aimed at extending the line with a more modern, contemporary design while retaining the original model’s ‘professional’ qualities, the Mark versions had substantial, ‘barrel’ shaped cases with integrated bracelets and were made in multiple guises.
Among the most sought-after today are those with so-called ‘racing dials’ – a tachymetre scale surrounding a minute track highlighted in orange and red beneath orange and white hands (a combination revisited in 2004 for the limited edition, round-cased Speedmaster ‘Japan Racing’).
Mark IIs were also offered in gold with matching bracelets, while the Mark III range included the first self-winding Speedmaster Professional in the form of the ST 176.0002 launched in 1971.
The unique feature of this watch was that it featured the ‘Pilot’ line of cases used for both the Flightmaster and certain Seamasters – making it the only Speedmaster professional to share a design with both chronograph and non-chronograph models.
The use of the self-winding movement pre-dated by two years the appearance of another celebrated and collectable Speedmaster model: the 125.
This was produced in just 2000 examples to mark the 125th anniversary of Louis Brandt founding the pocket watch assembly workshop that became Omega, and was the world’s first automatic chronograph wrist watch to be awarded chronometer certification.
Other vintage Speedmaster variations include the so-called ‘Teutonic’ references (made specifically for Europe’s German-speaking countries and featuring bi-metal cases and bracelets) and the versions that, until recently, have been somewhat looked down upon by the purists: the Speedmaster ‘Reduced’ range.
Introduced in 1988 with a smaller, 39mm case than the professional, a less sophisticated movement ( which was based on the ETA 2890-2 with a Dubois Depraz chronograph module) and, consequently, a lower price, the ‘Reduced’ was intended to be a more accessible Speedmaster.
Multiple variations were produced, including gold versions, others with champagne or two-tone dials and others still which were made in small numbers for the Japanese market.
But the best known – and now becoming more and more collectable – were the ‘Racing’ versions produced in collaboration with Formula 1 star Michael Schumacher and made in a variety of finishes, often to celebrate the driver’s career landmarks.
The most commonly seen are the red or yellow dial models supplied inside miniature F1 tyres that separated in half to reveal the watch.
Today, ‘full set’ examples can still be had for around Sfr 3,000 – although a yellow model presented to Schumacher during the launch of the ‘Racing’ collection in 1996 sold at auction in 2007 for Sfr 51,920 (a fraction of what it might be worth now).
A legacy beyond the moon
But my favourite story about a racing driver and a Speedmaster is the one told to me by the late, great motoring expert Alain de Cadenet, who died in 2022 aged 76 having led an extraordinary life as a multiple Le Mans 24 Hours competitor, aviator, postage stamp expert, collector and television presenter.
Seldom seen without his beloved Speedmaster on his wrist, he had acquired it from a Zurich jeweller in 1968 while towing a Ferrari 206 SP to the Nurburgring. He put it on his wrist after walking out of the shop - and wore it almost continually until his death 54 years later.
“It was with me through all eight of my Le Mans races and while flying lots of interesting 'planes, including Spitfires,” he once told me.
“I think when you find something in life that is as good as it gets, you hang on to it. I've never found a watch I would rather wear.”
And if a Speedmaster was good enough for the man who built his own car to race at La Sarthe, used a 1931 Alfa Romeo to get around London and favoured a Venetian-made bed with a horsehair mattress - surely it's more than good enough for the rest of us?
FAQ
Q: What is the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch?
A: The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is the chronograph astronaut Buzz Aldrin wore on the Moon's surface during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, making it the first watch worn there. Omega had launched the Speedmaster in 1957 as a racing chronograph, years before NASA adopted it for space missions.
Q: What is a tachymeter?
A: A tachymeter is a scale, usually engraved on a watch's bezel or dial, that converts elapsed time into speed over a fixed distance. Omega's original 1957 Speedmaster advertisement described this feature as a "tacho-producto-meter," letting drivers read off speed directly from the chronograph's second hand.
Q: How much does an Omega Speedmaster cost?
A: Omega Speedmaster prices vary widely: current production models start around CHF 3,000, while rare vintage examples reach far higher. An 18-carat gold Speedmaster presented to astronaut Neil Armstrong sold for $2.1 million at auction in April 2025, and Wally Schirra's presentation watch fetched $1.9 million.
Q: What is the difference between the Omega Speedmaster and the Rolex Daytona?
A: The Omega Speedmaster and Rolex Cosmograph Daytona are both driver's chronographs, but the Speedmaster came first, launching in 1957 versus the Daytona's 1963 debut. Both remain rivals today alongside the TAG Heuer Carrera, though only the Speedmaster carries an official NASA space-flight qualification.
