The very first OMEGA Speedmaster, reference CK 2915, was born sixty years ago.
This chronograph, initially intended for sportsmen and automobile racing teams – as shown on the advertisement on the left – was conceived with characteristics focused on timing readability in any situation: a black dial with contrasting white inscriptions, a tachymeter scale on the bezel, and later contrasting white hands.
Produced for 3 years to about 3-4000 copies, this first Speedmaster is now very sought after, highly valued and very few examples are offered for sale: a grail for many watches collectors.
And we all know how NASA changed the fate of the Speedmaster in the mid 1960s…
OMEGA Speedmaster CK 2915.
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Speedmaster, OMEGA unveiled during Baselworld 2017 an incredible limited edition, which will probably delight the community of collectors. To achieve this, OMEGA virtually extracted the DNA of the CK 2915 to transpose it with high fidelity into the 60th anniversary model.
Most, if not all visual characteristics of the CK 2915 have been reproduced:
– a symmetrical case;
– a dial with long hour markers in a vintage caramel color, an applied vintage Ω logo and even the same typeface for the OMEGA and Speedmaster (a notable difference with the original version is the SWISS MADE inscription, positioned above the minutes scale, for visibility reasons);
– the main hands in steel: Broad Arrow for the hours, straight for the chronograph hands and Alpha for the subdials;
– a narrower Base 1000 tachymeter bezel in steel with engraved details such as the flat-tipped A of TACHYMETRE (pay attention that it will not be possible to fix this bezel on the CK 2915 as a replacement);
– a pre-Moon type caseback with a double bevel and engraved with the Seahorse, SPEEDMASTER, and the Ω logo (OMEGA added the inscription 60th ANNIVERSARY, xxxx/3557 and LIMITED EDITION);
– small-sized pushers;
– a crown with the so-called “Mercedes” logo;
– a matching steel bracelet with flat links, the center row brushed and the outside rows polished, recalling the semi-elastic bracelets of the Speedmasters of the 1950s and 60s.
Comparison between the original CK 2915 (left) and the 2017 Speedmaster 60th Anniversary (right).
Speedmaster 60th Anniversary, numbered edition of 3,557 pieces.
1957 saw 2 other models intended for a professional usage: the Seamaster 300 (CK 2913) and the Railmaster (CK 2914), which also have a 2017 descendant that will be offered as individual pieces, but also, along with the Speedmaster in a 557-piece numbered box set.
The watches of the trilogy bear an additional inscription on the dial: TRILOGY XXX (XXX corresponding to the individual box set number).
We wish a huge success to those incredible 60th Anniversary models!
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4 responses
was ck2915 crown cames with mercedes logo as well?
Hi, yes it seems that all the first references could come with it, until at least the CK 2998-2 ref
Is the Speedmaster ref CK2915 considered one of or the most important if not THE MOST important Speedmaster of all the models since it started it all?
Best,
Carl
Not an easy question …
Obviously it could be the most important just because it is the first of all, and the most expensive today (except prototypes).
But there are many many other models that have made the Speedmaster history, and this is why this watch is so iconic.
Each Speedmaster fan has his own preferred model(s).