Omega · July 31, 2026
Selling an Omega Speedmaster 145.022
A single reference that spans twenty years — how the transitional early 145.022 differs from the common later one, and what that does to a direct offer.
Market guide: This article explains valuation factors. It is not a customer testimonial, completed transaction, promise or appraisal.
The reference 145.022 is unusual because it is one number covering roughly two decades of production, from around 1968 until the late 1980s. Omega denoted the production batch with a suffix — the familiar "-68," "-69," "-71," "-74" and onward — printed on the caseback. To a casual seller they are all just Speedmaster Professionals. To a buyer, the suffix is the first thing that decides which conversation you are having, because an early transitional 145.022 and a mid-1980s one are not the same watch commercially even though the case number is identical.
Under the crystal is the Caliber 861, the cam-actuated hand-wound chronograph that replaced the earlier column-wheel 321 when the 145.022 arrived. It is a robust, serviceable movement that watchmakers still know well, and its long run is exactly why parts and expertise are not a problem the way they can be on scarcer vintage Omegas. That reliability keeps the floor under the whole reference, but it also means the number is set by what is above the movement: the dial, the hands, the bezel and the case.
The variants that move value cluster at the early end. The first 145.022 batches are the ones collectors chase — applied-logo dials, the so-called "dot over ninety" bezel insert seen on some transitional pieces, and configurations that overlapped with the last of the pre-1969 production. Because those details were produced only briefly, an original early example with the correct combination sits in a different tier from a 1980s watch that has been in steady drawer use for forty years. Where a specific dial or bezel trait is claimed, it has to be confirmed under magnification rather than taken from a listing title.
Later 145.022 examples are the ones most families actually own, and there is nothing wrong with that — they are honest, wearable, mechanically sound Moonwatches. They are simply common, which caps the ceiling. When someone reads a headline auction number for a 145.022 and expects it, the gap is almost always the difference between a documented transitional piece and an ordinary later one. We would rather show you which side your watch falls on than let you find out at the table.
Condition on these is read differently than on a modern Speedmaster. A vintage tritium dial that has aged evenly to a warm tone is desirable; one that has been swapped for a later service dial is not wrong, but it is worth less to a collector and needs to be disclosed. Omega service centers over the years routinely fitted new dials, hands and bezels and returned the originals in a bag. If you still have that bag, the parts inside can matter more than what is currently on the watch — do not throw it out before you sell.
Case condition is the other lever. These watches are more than thirty years old, so some wear is expected and honest wear does not scare a buyer. Heavy polishing does. The Speedmaster case has defined facets on the lugs, and a shop that has buffed them round to make the watch "look new" has quietly erased the sharpness a collector pays for. If your case is unpolished with its original brushing intact, say so, because that is a genuine plus and it is the kind of thing photographs alone rarely settle.
Service history feeds directly into the offer because a hand-wound chronograph that has not been opened in fifteen years is a known cost, not a mystery. A 861 that is running strong, resetting cleanly to zero and keeping reasonable time is reassuring; one that stops, sticks or runs fast usually needs a full service, and that reserve comes out of the number. A recent, receipted service from a competent watchmaker is worth mentioning up front — it removes the single biggest unknown a buyer has to price for.
Completeness helps but does not dominate the way it does on a current model. An original bracelet of the correct reference for the period, an extract from the archives, or the early boxed paperwork all add confidence and audience. Their absence is not fatal on a vintage piece — plenty of desirable 145.022s trade watch-only — but a correct-period bracelet in particular can move the number meaningfully because collectors want the watch as it left the counter.
So how does this shape a direct offer? We start by pinning the exact production batch and confirming that the dial, hands and bezel are consistent with it, then we grade the case for originality and the movement for service risk. A clean, unpolished, correctly configured example earns the top of the range for its batch; a serviced, later, watch-only piece earns a fair but lower number, and we tell you why in plain terms rather than hiding it inside one lump figure.
Planning ranges for the 145.022 are wide precisely because of everything above — an ordinary later example and a documented transitional one can sit thousands of dollars apart, and any figure we mention online is provisional until the watch is in front of us. If you want to see where a 145.022 sits alongside the modern Speedmasters we also buy, our Omega Speedmaster page lays out the family, and from there a few good photographs of your caseback, dial and clasp are enough for us to place your watch in the right tier before anyone meets in person.