Hairspring: Scott Carpenter’s 145.022-69 BA Omega Speedmaster

Founder of Hairspring, Erik Gustafson recently highlighted Scott Carpenter’s OMEGA Speedmaster Reference 145.022-69 BA.

“The question I find myself asking as I approach this bit of horological history is this: how to do you come close to doing Scott Carpenter justice? Born 1962 and passing in 2013, the guy was a force of nature. Mr Carpenter was the fourth American astronaut in space. He grew up where I currently write to you now, Boulder, CO, where he is said to have grown fond of a rugged outdoor life. In his words, ‘If all you do is sit and read, all you get is smart and soft.’ This guided him toward a Naval career where he flew patrol planes in the Korean War, became a test pilot (he was a specimen of an aviator), and was eventually selected to be a Mercury astronaut in the early years of Kennedy’s push. His mission, Mercury Atlas 7, orbited the world three times, totally on his own in a crew of 1. In the last 30 minutes of his flight, the equipment controlling the capsule’s attitude malfunctioned, and Carpenter had pilot re-entry manually on visuals alone. There was no wavering, he recounted in his memoir, ‘I was trained to avoid any intellectual comprehension of disaster — dwelling on a potential danger, or imagining what might happen. I was too busy with the tasks at hand.’ That’s the kind of man he was: hands on, mission first, and capable of staring abject failure in the face while sorting shit out. President Kennedy came to Colorado to congratulate Carpenter and his family in 1962 shortly after. Oh, and he worked the Sealab projects. I mean, this paragraph could be several volumes. Carpenter’s work in future missions was cut short by a motorcycle accident, but his legacy is just immeasurable.

This Speedmaster has made its way to market from Carpenter’s family. It’s totally untouched, worn by Carpenter, unaltered and not polished. Carpenter also made famous a Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute prototype, which was worn on the above-mentioned Mercury-Atlas 7 mission, damaged upon re-entry and submerged in the ocean after orbiting the Earth three times. While Carpenter is probably more associated with Breitling lore for watch nerds, this Speedmaster tells his story of contributions toward the Apollo missions. Wherever it sells, it’s going to be a record and it deserves to be. But in truth, a watch with this kind of history, a watch which tells humanity’s story, is priceless.”

Find out more below:

https://hairspring.com/scott-carpenters-145-022-69-ba-omega-speedmaster/