I have worn my 145.022 for years. I don’t baby it, but it is never around the water and is well taken care of.

The other day, I knocked it against a door frame. 24 hours later, the crystal was fogging up. I’m instantly out $300 (includes replacing all gaskets, new pushers, new crown & tube, and labor; the OMEGA-certified watchmaker couldn’t identify the source of the leak, so he recommended replacing everything), and I won’t have my Speedy for 6-10 weeks.

It got me wondering about how durable the 145.022 models are in comparison to the modern Speedys. Does anyone have any insight? I know the 145.022 was designed to withstand g-forces in a rocket takeoff, so I figured it could take a knock against a doorway... yet here I am.

I wear my watch every day, and I know this won’t be the last time it’s bumped into something despite my best efforts, so I’m really bummed out. I never thought of the Speedy as a dainty watch, and I don’t want to worry about a surprise $300 service caused by everyday use - which got me thinking about if modern Speedy references are more durable then the 145.022. As much as I love my 145.022, it was the deal of a lifetime, and I would’ve been equally content with a newer Speedy - so now I’m wondering if it would be a better fit for me.

 

If the crystal was fogging up, then water ingress occurred on your watch to some degree. Chances are, some water entered your watch when you weren't noticing because the seals on your vintage watch hadn't been replaced in years.
It's likely that the bump didn't do much, if anything at all, to foul your watch. Shocks affect the mechanisms of the movement and effects of shock typically manifest themselves in timing deviations and abnormal behavior.

In terms of durability, the modern Speedmaster is the same as its vintage 145.022 ancestors, provided that watches in question do not have pitting, and have had their seals annually inspected and replaced.

 

The Speedy Pro has changed very little over the years. As someone who owns a 1976 145.022 and a 2020 311.30.42.30.01.005, I would argue that the modern version is better in some respects (improved bracelet and clasp, super luminova indices and hands that won’t degrade like tritium, rhodium plated movement parts in the 1861 vs copper plated and unplated parts in the 861). That being said, the modern version is no more or less durable than a properly maintained 145.022.

 

In my opinion, it's foolish to not service your watch for long periods of time. Seals degrade and movement parts wear. Mind you, I mean more the watches you wear every day.

Because vision, I routinely smack my watches on things, so I feel your pain.

 

A 145.022 from 1969 is just as durable as a new hesalite watch.

the parts are all the same... well 2 parts are interchangeable.

 

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I greatly appreciate it.

I haven’t had my Speedy serviced since 2015 (it was a full service including new gaskets, crown, and tube), so perhaps this factored into it. I had the amplitude checked earlier this year, and it was excellent and keeping great time (-2 secs/day), but perhaps after 5 years of near-daily wear & tear, the gaskets’ durability was compromised. It’s been indoors with me at my home office for the last few months during the COVID lockdown - no water outside of incidental exposure during hand washing.

However, it did get remarkably humid the few days around the time the cloud under the crystal appeared... even though it was indoors 95% of the time, maybe that humidity change was the final straw for one of the gaskets?

I know OMEGA recommends servicing the watch every 5-8 years, which I was just bumping up on (4 years and 11 months). Since it was running great, I was going to stretch it another year or two; but I’ll certainly keep this event in mind for next time.

 

The pushers on speedy pros of all ages are the weak spot.
It’s really not the age that did it.

 

The modern and vintage watches are similar enough that there really isn't any significant difference in their durability.

The common point of failure on a Speedmaster of this type is the crown. It is used every day to wind the watch, for setting, back-hacking the movement, etc. So it will be the first seal to go bad usually. Here is a photo of a Speedmaster crown gasket:



You can see that the O-ring inside, that was originally a circular cross section, has become flattened over time as the seal has deteriorated and become harder - sort of a natural vulcanization process. The constant wear and tear on this seal makes it the most likely place for ingress of water.

The case back has the gasket fully contained by the case back, and in my experience it's rare that you have a leak there. The pushers are not easy to get water into...here is the side view of the pusher as it sits before it is installed into the watch:



If you look at the underside, you can see the serrations on the pusher tube and the cap - water has to get by this interface first...



If we disassemble the pusher, this is what the tube looks like, and this part is screwed into the case. Inside the tube is the O-ring...



There is a post on the pusher cap seen here, and the outside diameter of this post is pushed inside the seal in the tube, and it stays in contact with the seal at all times:



Note that the exact same pushers, crowns, gaskets, and crystals are used with the modern Speedmasters as are the vintage 145022's.

Cheers, Al

 

With humidity, the moisture can originated from your own sweat. When I wear a leather band in the summer, it is often soaked by the end of the day.

 

Thanks for letting us come this close. Great post!

 

All I can say, bought my " 25 years Apollo 11 " Speedmaster in 1994 and it stopped running in 2016... daily beater, 22 years without a service !
It made me visit the Omega Heritage team in Bienne - Switzerland... but have been disappointed with Omega's Apollo 50th anniversaries so far...

 

22yr w/o service, you stressed it too hard, it deserved a better treatment.

 

Runs flawlessly after theservice...

 

almost the same parts
almost same durability

 

All- thanks for the insights and sharing your experiences. And Archer, thanks so much for the detailed breakdown, and your insight regarding the crown seal.

It reminded me that, over the course of 5 years of ownership, there were several times I wound the watch after washing my hands, and realized water had splashed onto the crown during my hand washing; I was winding a wet crown. Though I always stopped after realizing it, it seems possible this may have contributed to the deterioration of the rubber seal.

I’ve also worn my watch while exercising over the last year, and though I’m not a huge sweater, perhaps some of it got into the crown seal and also broke it down - plus, just being out in the humid summer air may have also contributed, as amcclell pointed out.

I’m still a bit puzzled how any of the seals or gaskets may have broken down after 4.5 years. The watchmaker reports he doesn’t see anything unusual on the gaskets or seals, but did notice some debris on the pushers - probably attributable to me sticking it in a bag of uncooked rice when I saw water under the crystal.

I’ll be getting my Speedy pressure tested annually from now on in hopes of mitigating this, and I’ll be more careful winding my watch... I’d prefer my watch’s seals and gaskets have the same longevity as SpeedyPhil’s!