PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteA Craigslist listing led one collector to a Speedmaster 105.003-64 that looked, in photos, as though it might have a tropical dial. The surprise was different: when the watch arrived, its tachymeter bezel showed a vivid blue color. That is the story Phillips recounts in its catalogue for the watch’s 2021 New York auction—not a verified first-person interview—and the blue bezel, rather than a tropical dial, became the focus of the collector’s research.
What the collector found after the Craigslist listing
In Phillips’ account, the owner first spotted the Omega Speedmaster 105.003-64 in a Craigslist classified advertisement. The listing photographs suggested a dial that might have aged to a tropical brown. After buying the watch, the collector realized the dial was not tropical. Seeing it in person revealed the more unusual detail: a vibrant blue tachymeter bezel. Phillips says the owner then began investigating the bezel’s story. Phillips’ 2021 auction catalogue presents this as the collector’s experience; it should not be mistaken for an independently verified interview.
Phillips reports that the watch sold for $30,240 at its 2021 New York auction. That is the realized price for this particular lot on that date, not a current valuation or a guide to what another 105.003 should cost.
What “Ed White” means
“Ed White” is the collector nickname for Omega Speedmaster reference 105.003. It refers to astronaut Edward White, who wore the model during the first American spacewalk, on Gemini IV in June 1965. The name identifies a reference family, not just the particular blue-bezel watch in the Phillips story.
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
- Model 310.30.42.50.01.002
Phillips dates production of reference 105.003 to 1964–1969 and describes it as the last straight-lug Speedmaster. It was a manual-winding model associated with Omega’s caliber 321. Sub-reference suffixes include -63, -64, and -65; the Craigslist discovery was a -64. Individual examples and auction lots can differ, so a suffix alone does not establish a watch’s condition, originality, or history.
The Speedmaster’s NASA association
Auction catalogues describe the 105.003 as an important early space-qualified Speedmaster. Phillips says NASA tested the reference in 1965 and selected it as the official timepiece for Gemini missions. Sotheby’s says it became officially “Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions” on March 1, 1965. These are specialist auction-house accounts; the available material here does not include a NASA primary record for those claims.
Rank #2
- Stainless steel case
- Black dial
- Swiss-automatic movement
- Case diameter: 40mm
- Water resistant to 330 feet
Dorotheum’s 2026 listing says the 105.003 was among watches subjected to 11 extreme stress tests under NASA engineer James H. Ragan, and that the Omega was the only watch to pass that test series. That figure and description belong to Dorotheum’s account; the underlying NASA test document is not established here.
Why the blue bezel matters in this story
Phillips characterizes the blue tachymeter bezel as rare and says its research identified approximately 22 similar examples in particular date and serial-number clusters. That is Phillips’ count for examples of this bezel, not a census of all Speedmaster 105.003 watches. The auction catalogue’s account turns on this distinction: the buyer initially expected an unusual dial, but the in-person discovery was an unusual bezel.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Rank #3
- Model 310.32.42.50.01.001
The catalogue also attributes a post-spacewalk remark to White: “I’m coming back in…and it’s the saddest moment of my life.” The wording and attribution are presented by Phillips; without a primary transcript, they should be treated as an auction-catalogue attribution rather than a firmly independently sourced quotation.
How to assess another vintage 105.003
The Phillips anecdote is not a substitute for examining a watch offered for sale. Auction catalogues show that seemingly similar 105.003s can differ in specification, originality, condition, documentation, and included accessories. For example, Dorotheum describes a separate 105.003-63 accompanied by an Omega certificate and fitted with a replacement service movement; those details do not apply to the Phillips 105.003-64.
Rank #4
- OMEGA Speedmaster Racing Chronograph 326.30.40.50.01.001
- Reference and provenance: Check the stated sub-reference, serial information, and any supporting provenance or documentation against the specific watch being offered.
- Visible components: Assess the dial, bezel, hands, and case individually. A color or aging description in listing photos is not a condition assessment.
- Originality: Ask which components are original and which, if any, are replacements or service parts. A replacement movement can materially change how a particular example should be understood.
- Movement and service record: Confirm the movement caliber and request available service documentation. Do not assume that a reference designation alone proves the movement’s present condition.
- Accessories and papers: Verify whether a bracelet, end links, papers, Omega archive extract, or other items are actually included; offerings vary by lot.
- Price context: Compare estimates and realized results only with the sale date, currency, and lot-specific condition in view. A single result such as Phillips’ $30,240 sale in 2021 is not current price guidance.
What the hunt ultimately uncovered
The Phillips catalogue tells a compact vintage-watch discovery story: a classified-ad purchase, a mistaken first impression of a tropical dial, and an unexpected blue tachymeter bezel that sent the owner looking for answers. Its broader appeal rests on the 105.003’s place in Speedmaster and spaceflight history, but the unusual detail—and the end point of this particular hunt—was the bezel.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Rubber
- Rotating bezel, gmt
- Automatic-self-wind movement
- Case diameter: 40mm
- Water resistant to 330 feet
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
