We often receive great personal stories about watches from our readers. Some of them stick with us for a long time, like this article Nick posted about the connection between the Speedmaster Mark 4.5 and the Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. I published this article nearly 10 years ago, but in case you missed it, I’d like to include it again.
Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 (but not the model in this article)
stolen moonwatch
Reader Nick fell in love with the Omega Speedmaster after watching the 1969 moon landing in France as a teenager. When he turned 21, he received a ’71 Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch as a birthday present from his father. Nick found work in the film industry a few years later. In 1974, he was working on the set of Intimate Reflections. As Nick said, it was a “movie you’ll never forget,” but it also launched his career in the industry. However, someone stole his brand new Nikon F2 camera and Moonwatch from the set.
black bag
Nick explains that he had to remove his Speedmaster watch while loading new film using a light-proof black bag. The black bag was an essential item for the “clapper loader” (2nd assistant camera/2nd AC). In it, you can transfer new 400’/1,000′ Eastmancolor film to and from your camera magazine (i.e. Panavision or Arriflex cameras). The exposed film is then sent to a laboratory for processing into a “rush/daily” which is the raw footage from the day it was shot. if,I didn’t have access to a studio darkroom here, so the Black Bag came in very handy.
However, the black bag’s hand-accessible sleeve is very limited, and the film is very sensitive to light, so the watch had to be removed, especially when the dial emits strong luminescence. That day, Nick had to rush back to the set to reload the camera, so he didn’t have time to turn back the clock. His watch had been there for only a short while, but long enough. That’s all you need!
His first Moonwatch ended up in the possession of someone who didn’t know he was wearing a stolen watch, but Nick knew the thief was guilty because it was something so valuable to him. I hope to roll over with it. He doesn’t have the watch’s serial number. If not, you might invite your readers to find it.
Nick is disappointed to learn that the Moonwatch he received from his father was not insured. At that moment, he couldn’t afford another.
The Spy Who Loved Me Changed the Game
Things took a turn for the better in 1976 when Nick worked on the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. It gave him the funds to buy another Speedmaster (although it was still a lot of money for a watch). In 1977, Nick met an Omega dealer in Tottenham, North London, and suddenly noticed this beautiful Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 (powered by Caliber 1045) sitting in the window. The Speedmaster Mark 4.5 Reference 176.0012 surprised him. He convinced his new wife that she needed to buy this watch.
Nick has been wearing this Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 ever since. However, as the chronograph began to function properly, he decided it was worth overhauling the watch. As you know, this is not a cheap surgery. But when the watch was completed, he was surprised to find that it was no different from the day he bought it in 1977.
Return of the Moonwatch
Eventually, Nick also purchased an Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, similar to the original one his father gave him. Although he loves both watches, he has decided to put his Speedmaster Mark 4.5 up for sale on eBay, including all the original box and papers. I tried to persuade him not to sell it, but he would have to part with the watch once it reached its minimum price. As a Speedmaster enthusiast, he would like to own a Holy Grail Speedmaster (like this one), which has the same Lemania 5100-based movement as the Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 and has the typical Moonwatch design.
I’ve written about the Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 several times (like this one), so I won’t go into the technical details of this watch. The Mark series began with the Mark II in 1969 and ended with the Mark V (1984). The Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 is the unofficial name, officially the Speedmaster Automatic. The Mark 4.5 nickname comes from the watch’s Mark IV shape and Lemania 5100 movement.
Thanks to Nick for the great story about the stolen Moonwatch and the “replacement” Omega Speedmaster Mark 4.5 he was able to buy in 1977 thanks to The Spy Who Loved Me.
This article was first published on April 14, 2015.
