Pre-Owned Omega by Analog Shift Speedmaster 'Ed White' 105.003-65

Why We Love It

The Speedmaster is the most important chronograph ever made.

Sure, chronographs such as the Rolex Daytona or the Heuer Carrera are classics - icons even, but they don't match the stature of the Speedy with regards to importance in history.

This 'Ed White' Reference 105.003 dates to circa 1967 and features a 38.5mm straight lug HF case and is powered by the Calibre .321 movement, considered to be one of the best chronograph mechanisms ever designed. A correct 'Dot Over 90' (DO90) bezel shows even wear and patination, a sign that the piece was enjoyed by the previous owners. Last but not least, the dial and handset remains in fantastic, evenly patinated condition.

Everyone should own a Speedmaster at one point in their collecting endeavors, and this example would make an exceptional addition to any collection.

The Story

History was made on a desert steppe in southern Kazakhstan. From the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched. After Vostok 1, during which Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, the launchpad from which both missions were launched was named “Gagarin’s Start.”

And it was from Gagarin’s Start in March 1965 that Alexey Leonov would make history once more in Voskhod 2.

After Voskhod 2 orbited the Earth, Leonov’s crew member, Pavel Belyayev, helped him strap an EVA backpack to his Golden Eagle spacesuit. Then Belyayev inflated and pressurized the spacecraft’s Volga airlock. Equipped with the EVA backpack, which gave him 40 minutes of oxygen, Leonov entered the airlock.

Belyayev sealed the spacecraft behind him, and Leonov opened the hatch and pushed out as far as his 17.6 foot tether would allow. He could see the vast expanse of Europe beneath him, stretching wide from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Caspian Sea. For 12 minutes he stayed outside, as the cameras attached to the outside of the airlock recorded his historic spacewalk—the first ever attempted by man.

Two months later, his American counterpart, Ed White, would follow in his footsteps.

On Ed White’s wrist was an Omega Speedmaster, Reference 105.003.