If you're looking at this, you already know that the Omega Speedmaster Professional is one hell of a timepiece.

Arguably the most important chronographs ever made, Speedmasters set the bar for every purpose-built mechanical chronograph that followed, and for good reason. Originally designed to meet the rigorous demands of spaceflight, the Speedmaster was the first timepiece to be officially Flight-Qualified for Manned Space Missions by NASA, and was of course the first watch worn on the moon, by Astronaut Buzz Aldrin in 1969. The design of the Speedmaster Professional has remained virtually unchanged since its beginnings, a true testament to its functional and aesthetic perfection.

As a collectable, excellent examples of vintage Speedmasters are becoming increasingly difficult to locate, and desirability of these iconic chronographs is reaching critical mass. They are no longer commodities being bought, sold, and traded - they are being kept and treasured as the grail watches they truly deserve to be.

One of our most commonly requested items, we are constantly looking for the best examples of all manually winding Speedmasters, and have just turned up this stunning example from early 1968. Featuring a "Pre-Moon" case back with the Omega Hippocampus logo (not all of the extra text engraved on later versions commemorating the landing), the real delight on this piece is the applied-logo dial (a polished and raised element is used for the Omega logo at 12:00). Considered a "transitional" model, this is a rare configuration made only during the first quarter of 1968, as Omega used up the remaining applied-logo dials from the earlier models on watches powered by the then-new Calibre .861 movement. Starting partway through 1968, Omega made the switch to printed logo dials, a design choice that remains to this day.

With a warm, evenly patinated dial and a super clean case, this is a fantastic example of a rare execution model of one of history's great timepieces, and we don't expect it to last long!