The 145.022 is the long-running, hand-wound Speedmaster Professional produced from 1968 through 1988 — the reference that overlapped with the later Apollo missions, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz. (Apollo 11 itself was on the earlier 105.012 / 145.012; the 145.022's place in the lunar story is real but later.) It transitioned from caliber 321 (the Lemania-based column-wheel chronograph) to caliber 861 within its production run. For collectors, the 321-era examples are the prize.

What it is

The 145.022-68 (1968 transition) carried over the caliber 321 from the earlier 145.012; 145.022-69 onwards used the caliber 861 (a cam-actuated successor designed for serviceability). The reference is the bridge between the "DON-bezel, dot-over-90" vintage Speedies and the modern caliber-1861 Moonwatch. Dial variants — stepped, pre-stepped, T-Swiss-Made T, applied logo, printed logo — are the rabbit hole; a one-owner full-set with original strap and box outperforms a parts-mongrel by a multiple, not a percentage.

Buying notes

Common things to check: dial originality (the 145.022 dial market is the most service-replaced family in the Speedmaster catalog — a service dial is a real value loss versus an original tritium one); hands (replacement luminous-paint hands are common); bezel (a Tachymetre bezel with original sharpness vs a service replacement is one of the bigger value swings); caliber (a 321 example commands a multiple over an 861 — verify the movement number against published production tables); case (over-polished cases lose the crown-guard chamfer and that's irreversible). Listings that decline to photograph the movement should be treated with the same skepticism as a vintage Rolex listing that won't show the dial under the crystal.

Market read

Caliber-321 examples have firmed materially over the last five years as the 321 became scarce on the open market; clean tritium-dial 145.022-68 / -69 examples now trade in five-figure territory. Caliber-861 examples (1969+) remain reachable in the low four-figures for honest project pieces and the low-to-mid four-figures for full-set survivors. The caliber-321/861 split is the largest single price discriminator on the reference.

Service expectations

Service availability is the standout concern: the caliber 321 is no longer routinely serviced by Omega (the 2019 re-issue uses a new design); finding an independent watchmaker capable of restoring a vintage 321 is the buyer's homework. A 321 example with a recent professional service from a known watchmaker is worth real money on top. For caliber-861 examples, service is standard and inexpensive — most professional watchmakers handle the movement.