The Speedmaster is, and always will be, an icon. Not only within the world of watches, but in culture as well. Before the famous Speedmaster Professional ref. 145.022 made it onto the Moon via the Apollo 11 missions, several other Speemasters saw their own notoriety whether it was on the arm of another astronaut, a formula 1 driver, or on the wrist of a Naval flight navigator Lieutenant. The watch presented here is the latter. 

This Speedmaster ref. CK2998-61 is an impressive watch in its own right, being the last of the alluring CK series of the Speedmasters, and retains all of its original and charming components. Aside from being a very original watch, this Speedmaster accompanied Lt. Ralph O. Snyder of the U.S. Navy, during the Vietnam War. Impressively Lt. Snyder was a Naval Flight Navigator operating within the Heavy Photo-Reconnaissance Squadron 61, or VAP-61 based out of the Naval Air Station in Agana, Guam. 

This Omega Speedmaster ref. CK2998-61 was truly used as a military instrument. Being that GPS did not exist yet, Naval navigators utilized celestial navigation to maintain and track their intended course, and of course, an accurate timekeeping tool was absolutely necessary, and this specific Speedmaster was Lt. Snyder’s timekeeping tool of choice. And according to Lt. Snyder, this Omega served him very well during many long day and night flights over the Pacific Ocean and Vietnam.

Accompanying this Speedmaster is the original Guam/Saipan Navy Exchange layaway receipt, the watch's original hangtag and booklet, a promotional photo of the A3D-2P Naval Plane, a photo of Lt. Ralph O. Snyder wearing the watch while in uniform, and a letter from Lt. Snyder himself. This historical Speedmaster would be collectible in its own right, however with its incredible past and provenance, this Speedmaster ref. CK2998-61 is truly something special.

SPECS

CASE & BRACELET

The straight lug case has been lightly polished in the past and shows honest signs of use, the lug chamfers retain a soft presence, though this is very common for this case design and the lugs remain very full and symmetrical. The original "dot over 90" bezel has achieved a beautiful grey coloration and displays very subtle signs of use. The case retains its original "flat-foot" Omega crown and original pump pushers. The case back retains its original factory engraving of the hippocampus and "Speedmaster" text in very crisp and visible condition. The original Omega 7915 flat-link stretch bracelet with 6 end pieces is in excellent condition for its age and retains 24 links.

DIAL & HANDS

The original matte black "Swiss Made" step dial with an applied Omega logo is exceptionally well preserved, showing almost no signs of aging and absolutely no blemishes. The early tritium lume plots have age to a handsome golden patina and exhibit no degradation when inspected under U.V. light. The original alpha hour and minute hands, and center chronograph hand have aged a few shades darker than the hands and exhibit no degradation under U.V. light inspection. The sub-dial hands remain original as well. 

ACCESSORIES

The watch comes complete with its original Guam/Saipan Navy Exchange layaway receipt, the watch's original hangtag and booklet, a promotional photo of the A3D-2P Naval Plane, a photo of Lt. Ralph O. Snyder wearing the watch while in uniform, a letter from Lt. Snyder himself, as well as and Omega Extract From The Archives. Watch is functioning and keeping time perfectly, previous service history is unknown.