The 18k gold BA145.022 is the ultimate showpiece for any Omega collector – with deep enough pockets – looking to own a more precious iteration of one of the ultimate tool watches. Food for thought; while most all luxury tool watches can be had in a range of precious metal options, the Moonwatch has always had an extremely limited number of non-steel variants. Should you manage to pick up a BA145.022, you should know you are joining the ranks of US national heroes and politicians, who were directly involved in making the Apollo XI mission a success.

This 145.022 gold Speedmaster was originally shipped in a so-called “Moonrock box” – given how old this model is, it’s no wonder said watches are increasingly rare. Information via: Fratello Watches.

Excluding those that were given out, there are only 976 existing units of this BA 145.022 since 1969. Finding a complete set is almost impossible – and I say “almost” because I did manage to, rather miraculously, get my hands on one of them, thanks to my partner Mr. Sin at Classic Watch Repair, who is a prominent private collector. Besides being in new old stock (NOS) condition, it also comes with the original Omega sterling silver watch box and a hand signed Omega certificate of authenticity.

Omega Speedmaster Professional 3578.51 ‘Snoopy ‘Eyes On The Stars’ (2003)

Everyone loves Snoopy! Alright, that may be an exaggeration, but even so, Omega’s featuring of Snoopy remains one of the more laid back and fun, yet in some weird way, historically accurate mix-and-matches in the world of luxury watches. What’s even better? The Snoopy Moonwatch comes with a series of interesting stories that relate to its actual design features. The first Snoopy dial was introduced in 2003 as the Omega Speedmaster Professional 3578.51, limited to 5,441 pieces because the mission lasted for 142 hours, 54 minutes, and 41 seconds. The seconds sub-dial featured Snoopy in a spacesuit, along with wordings “Eyes on the stars.”

The story officially started in 1968 when NASA decided to use a beagle to symbolize a watchdog over mission safety. At the time, Peanuts creator – Charles M. Schulz, was a huge supporter for NASA, who offered to design a dedicated sterling silver award pin for free, featuring Snoopy in a spacesuit. This eventually turned into the Silver Snoopy Awards, which is given out to less than 1% of NASA employees to recognize their outstanding performance and dedication for space flight safety and mission success.

On October 5th 1970, NASA officially awarded the Silver Snoopy Award to the Omega Speedmaster after Apollo XIII. During the crisis, the Speedmaster chronograph was used for two critical time measurements to re-ignite the engines of the barely functioning lunar module, eventually leading the crew safely back to earth.

There are only two Speedmaster references related to Snoopy and both are limited editions. The second release was the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy Award 311.32.42.30.04.003 circa 2015, which was to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Apollo XIII mission, limited to 1970 pieces. It comes in a white dial with a glow in the dark Snoopy, as well as a more detailed enamel case-back compared to the 3578.51 Snoopy Speedmaster. You can read in greater detail about the 45th Anniversary Snoopy Speedmaster here.

We hope that you have enjoyed this quick selection of quirky and rare Speedmasters and again, we are looking forward to hearing which references you’d like to see us hunt down for live images and features on the site, along with cool stories and trivia that you feel like sharing. omegawatches.com