Fake Speedmaster Apollo 13: How to Spot One Before You Buy
A fake "Apollo 13" Speedmaster is almost always a counterfeit of a commemorative Omega Speedmaster, most often a Silver Snoopy Award edition, that ties back to the Apollo 13 mission of April 1970. There is no single reference officially called the "Apollo 13 Speedmaster." The name covers three things: the mission story, the NASA caseback text on the standard Moonwatch, and the Snoopy Award models Omega released to mark the watch's role in bringing the crew home. Counterfeits copy the markings and fail on engraving, dial construction, hands, pushers, and movement.
Why Apollo 13 matters to the Speedmaster
On April 14, 1970, an oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 13 and the crew lost the use of their main spacecraft. They fired the Lunar Module descent engine for a 14-second mid-course correction burn and timed that burn with their Omega Speedmaster Professional chronographs because the onboard digital timer had failed. NASA astronauts gave Omega the Silver Snoopy Award in 1970 for that performance, and the award is the root of every Snoopy dial you see today.
Which Apollo 13 related models get faked most
- Speedmaster Professional Silver Snoopy Award, 2003, reference 3578.51.00, silver dial with a Snoopy medallion near 9 o'clock, 5,441 pieces.
- Silver Snoopy Award 45th anniversary, 2015, reference 311.32.42.30.04.003, white dial with Snoopy in the small seconds, 1,970 pieces, calibre 1861.
- Silver Snoopy Award, 2020, calibre 3861, with a sapphire caseback showing an animated Snoopy and an Earth from the Moon scene.
- Standard Moonwatch casebacks printed with NASA text, which appear on generic fakes that have no connection to a real reference number.
How do you spot a fake Apollo 13 Speedmaster?
1. Caseback engraving and the Snoopy medallion
Genuine engraving is cut into the steel with crisp walls and even depth, so the letters catch light at an angle. Fakes use laser etching or pad printing that looks shallow, gray, and soft under a loupe. On the 2003 Snoopy the medallion is an applied metal piece, not a printed circle, and the strap or caseback text on later editions is engraved with the same sharp edge.
2. Dial step, print, and lume
Real Snoopy dials have flat, sharp print, even subdial spacing, and a clean step where the dial drops toward the center. Fake dials show wobbly text, a glossy print that mirrors light, and lume plots that sit proud of the surface. The hesalite or sapphire crystal on a genuine watch has a smooth, slightly domed edge with no visible lip against the bezel.
3. Hands and pushers
Moonwatch hands are flat batons with white lume and steel edges that flash as the watch turns. Fake hands are often too thick, sit too high off the dial, and use one flat shade of white. Pushers on a real Speedmaster have a short, firm travel and the chronograph hand starts and resets with a clean snap, while fakes feel mushy and the hand stutters.
4. Movement and caseback type
Genuine hand-wound Speedmasters use an Omega calibre 1861 or 3861, which you can only see through a sapphire display back. Fakes hide a Seagull ST19, a low-grade clone, or a quartz module behind a sealed caseback with printed text. Ask for a movement photo and look for a real chronograph mechanism with proper finishing rather than a plate stamped with fake Omega markings.
5. Case size and weight
The Speedmaster Professional case measures about 42 mm across and 13 to 14 mm thick with symmetrical lugs. Fakes often measure 40 mm or 44 mm, and the bracelet end links fit loosely with visible gaps. Weigh the watch if you can, because a genuine steel Moonwatch lands in a narrow range that cheap clones rarely match.
Does a real Speedmaster caseback say "Apollo 13"?
Yes, on a few anniversary editions, but not on a standard Moonwatch. The regular Speedmaster Professional caseback reads "Flight-Qualified by NASA for all manned space missions" and "The first watch worn on the moon." A caseback that simply stamps "Apollo 13" in a generic font, with no reference number to match, is a strong sign of a counterfeit.
Price reality check
A genuine 2015 Silver Snoopy Award sells well into five figures, and the 2003 version is also costly and scarce. Any listing with Snoopy imagery, Apollo 13 text, and a sub $500 price is a fake without exception. Modern super clone Speedmasters sell for a few hundred dollars and are imitations, so treat them as novelty pieces and never as investments.
Quick buyer checklist
- Match the reference number to the dial color, hand set, and caseback type.
- Check engraving depth with a loupe and compare letter shapes to reference photos.
- Confirm the movement is a hand-wound 1861 or 3861, not a quartz or a bare clone.
- Measure the case at 42 mm and verify the crystal profile.
- Compare the asking price to the current market for that exact reference.