Welcome to my Top Swiss Chronographs Column Wheel Boutique! Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1903, the company formerly operated as La Generale Watch Co. until incorporating the name Omega in 1903, becoming Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co. In 1984, the company officially changed its name to Omega SA and opened its museum in Biel/Bienne to the public. Britain's Royal Flying Corps used Omega watches in 1917 for its combat units, followed by the U.S. Army in 1918, and NASA in 1969 for Apollo 11. Omega has been the official timekeeper of the Olympics since 1932 and is the current timekeeper of the America's Cup yacht race. Omega was a main partner of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Omega experienced a resurgence with advertisements that focused on product placement strategies, such as in the James Bond 007 films. Omega Speedmaster is a line of luxury chronograph wristwatches produced by Omega SA. While chronographs have existed since the late 1800s, Omega first introduced this line of chronographs in 1957. Since then, many different chronograph movements have been marketed under the Speedmaster name. Astronaut Walter Schirra was the first person to wear one in space in 1962 during his Mercury-Atlas 8 mission. The manual winding Speedmaster Professional or "Moonwatch" is the best-known and longest-produced; it was worn during the first American spacewalk as part of NASA's Gemini 4 mission, and was the first watch worn by an astronaut walking on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission. The Speedmaster Professional remains one of several watches qualified by NASA for spaceflight, and is still the only one so qualified for EVA. The Speedmaster line also includes other models, including analog-digital and automatic mechanical watches. The Speedmaster was not originally designed for space exploration. Instead, it was introduced in 1957 as a sport and racing chronograph following on from the early chronographs of the 1920s and 1930s, including the Omega 28.9 chronograph, which was Omega's first small wrist chronograph, complementing Omega's position as the official timekeeper for the Olympic Games. The first Speedmaster model, the reference CK 2915, was powered by the Omega Calibre 321 movement. This movement was developed in 1946 by Albert Piguet of Lemania, which had been acquired in 1932 by Omega's parent company, Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère, (SSIH). The "Speedmaster" name was coined from the model's novel tachymeter scale bezel (in brushed stainless steel) and by the convention set by prior Omega brands Seamaster and Railmaster.[8] The model established the series's hallmark 12-hour, triple-register chronograph layout, domed Plexiglas crystal (named Hésalite), and simple, high-contrast index markers; but, unlike most subsequent Speedmaster models, it used Omega's broad arrow hand set. In 1959, a second version, CK 2998, was released with a black aluminum base 1000 bezel and later in 2998-2, tachymeter 500 bezel and alpha hands. This was again updated in 1963 by references ST 105.002, which kept the alpha hands and then less than one year later ST 105.003 with straight baton hands and ST 105.012, the first Speedmaster with the "Professional" appellation on the dial, with an asymmetrical case to protect the chronograph pushers and crown. All of the early Speedmasters used the same Calibre 321 movement, which was only replaced in 1968/1969 with the introduction of the Calibre 861 movement, used in the "Moon watch". The watches used for Apollo 11's mission were the 1967 "pre-Moon" 321 versions. Chronographs were first developed for use in artillery for battle, but soon came to be indispensable for use in high performance machinery, specifically by pilots, but later also by race car drivers, submariners, who also relied heavily on split second timing for what was essentially blind travel, were known for the use of chronographs. The ability to time, and therefore calibrate, fuel consumption, trajectory and other variables allowed for both more efficient travel as well as better pilots and race car drivers. When President Eisenhower decreed that test pilots would be the only permissible option for Project Mercury, the inclusion of a chronograph of some sort was virtually assured. The Speedmaster has also seen iterations within motor racing, in particular the automatic Racing models. Originally this differ from the Professional models having a slightly smaller 38 mm and 40 mm cases and an automatic movement, as opposed to the professionals 42 mm case and manual wound movement. Michael Schumacher was one of the brand's key representatives during the early 2000s and had his own dedicated line of the 38 mm Racing models. Notable Omega wearers: - Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States of America - Wally Schirra, one of the first Americans in space; also the first astronaut to wear a Speedmaster on a space mission in 1962 - Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon as an Apollo 11 astronaut - Buzz Aldrin, second man on the Moon as an Apollo 11 astronaut - Daniel Craig, actor - George Clooney, actor - Tom Hanks, actor; famously wore a Speedmaster Professional while portraying Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 - Richard Hammond, presenter from Top Gear and The Grand Tour - Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands - Mark Knopfler, musician - Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon and many many others. Now there is a chance for you to join this great company of outstanding people. Movement: - self-winding Omega 1151 calibre - based on ETA 7751, the famous "workhorse" - full calendar chronograph - 44 hours power-reserve - 25 jewels - frequency: 28.800 A/h, 4 Hz - rhodium-plated finish Case: - 316L stainless steel - polished/fine brushed - 39mm excl. crown, 41,5mm incl. - 13,6mm thick - length lug to lug: 44,5mm - unique watch number 5******9 (for buyer only), best proof of authenticity Crown: - 316L stainless steel - polished - pull/push - Omega convex logo Sapphire crystal with antireflective treatment Case back: - solid 316L stainless steel with Speedmaster engraving Dial: - graphite-grey/black, matte, with three sub-dials - dates at outer rim, separate central hand with yellow arrow - luminescent hands and Arabic numerals - Omega logo at 03:00 o'clock - days of the week window at 11:00 o'clock - month window at 01:00 o'clock - three chronograph sub-dials: - 30 min totalizer at 12:00 o'clock - 12 hours counter with chic red hand at 06:00 o'clock - running seconds at 09:00 o'clock - AM/PM sub-dial at 09:00 o'clock - minutes and seconds markers around the inner rim - chic red chronograph central second hand Bezel: - black tachymeter scale on steel - multilayered - polished - fixed Strap: - brand-new black leather, RIO's alligator grain on cow - length: ca. 20,5cm, incl. wristwatch itself - width: 18mm by lugs, 16mm by clasp Pin-buckle: - original Omega - 316L stainless steel - polished with Omega logo Weight: 73 grams Water resistant to 100meter/10ATM/330feet. High recognition value. Distinctive design. Full set. Distrubutor's stock: the warranty card isn't stamped. For watches older than two years, “original warranty” in my description means that the warranty card is included. Excellent condition, never worn: the wristwatch comes from luxury watch-shop showcase. Leather straps often suffer from temperature in shop windows due to powerful spotlights, that's why the strap is replaced with brand-new one. My personal authenticity and quality warranty: you will get warranty card (as pictured), fully completed, stamped and signed. My impeccable seller reputation speaks for itself: look at my feedbacks and sales ratings. Insured, registered shipping worldwide with Intl. Express service: it’s not cheap, and yet fast and reliable, two days in Europe, three days worldwide. What you see is what you get. These are my own photos of the actual watch up for auction. NO EXTRA COSTS for EU Buyers! The offered Omega Speedmaster 3820.53.26 is one of the most collectible non-Moonwatch Speedmasters. This reference has become increasingly desirable because: - discontinued for many years; - unusual colourful "MK40" dial; - compact 39 mm case; - triple-calendar chronograph; - connection with the Hodinkee Anniversary Speedmaster; - association with Schumacher and 1990s Formula 1. I love this beautiful chronograph. Do you?