The top pick for anyone searching "fake Speedmaster Apollo 17" is a genuine Omega Speedmaster Professional Apollo 17 40th Anniversary bought with its numbered certificate, its inner and outer boxes, and a traceable service history. The criteria that separate a real one from a copy are narrow and checkable: the mission-engraved caseback and the edition number stamped on it, the hand-wound chronograph movement and its 3-6-9 subdial layout, the dial, hands and bezel finishing, and the paperwork that ties the number on the case to the number on the certificate.
What the phrase actually points to
People search this term for three different reasons, and each one needs a different answer. Some are holding a watch sold as an Apollo 17 40th Anniversary and want to know if it is real. Some are looking at a standard Moonwatch that a seller has re-engraved or re-boxed as the limited edition. Some are shopping the replica market and want to know whether a counterfeit of this specific reference exists and how close it gets. Omega released the Apollo 17 40th Anniversary in 2012 to mark the December 1972 mission, as a numbered limited edition of 1,972 pieces in a steel case with a mission-specific caseback. That number is the single most useful fact in this whole guide, because only 1,972 real ones exist.
Criterion 1: Caseback engraving and edition number
The caseback is where the limited edition lives, and it is where most fakes fall apart first.
- Correct: deep, crisp engraving of the Apollo 17 mission patch with clean edges and no tool marks around it.
- Correct: an individual edition number lasered or engraved into the caseback, matching the certificate and the box label.
- Wrong: shallow laser etching that looks gray and flat under a loupe, or engraving that sits on top of a standard Moonwatch caseback profile.
- Wrong: a number that repeats across listings, or a number higher than the total production run.
Criterion 2: Movement and subdial layout
The genuine watch runs a hand-wound Omega chronograph movement of the 1861 family, with running seconds at 9 o'clock, a 30-minute counter at 3, and a 12-hour counter at 6. No date window. A counterfeit built on a cheap automatic chronograph movement often shows a date at 3 o'clock, subdials in the wrong positions, or pushers that feel mushy and grind when pressed. Hold the watch to your ear: a hand-wound chronograph has a distinctly light, fast tick. A rotor that spins and rattles means the caseback is hiding the wrong movement.
Criterion 3: Dial, hands and crystal
- Correct: sharp printed text, applied logo with clean feet, hands with even lume fill and polished bevels.
- Correct: hesalite or sapphire crystal with correct distortion at the edges and no blue anti-reflective cast on a hesalite example.
- Wrong: fuzzy dial printing, lume that is blotchy or the wrong color, hands that are too thick or too short.
- Wrong: a case that measures off by a fraction of a millimeter, or lug holes that sit at the wrong height.
Option A: A genuine Apollo 17 40th Anniversary
This is the real thing, and it is the only option that holds value and can be serviced by Omega.
- Pros: actual mission provenance, numbered edition, factory service support, resale market.
- Cons: collector pricing well above a standard Moonwatch, small pool of examples, risk of buying a re-engraved fake from an unverified seller.
Buy this if the mission history is the point of the purchase and you can verify the paperwork with the seller before money moves.
Option B: A standard Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch
- Pros: same case architecture and hand-wound movement family, widely available, easier to authenticate, lower entry cost, easy to service.
- Cons: no Apollo 17 engraving, no edition number, no collectible premium.
Buy this if you want the Speedmaster experience, the 3-6-9 layout and the Moonwatch look without paying a limited edition premium for a caseback you will rarely see.
Option C: A legitimate space-heritage chronograph
There are real production chronographs with their own Apollo-era stories, including the Bulova Lunar Pilot, which traces to a watch flown on Apollo 15. These are made by the brand that owns the name, so parts, service and resale all exist.
- Pros: legal, serviceable, honest provenance, a fraction of limited edition money.
- Cons: not an Omega, not a Moonwatch, no shared parts with the Speedmaster.
Buy this if you like the story and the look more than the badge, and you want a watch you can wear hard without worrying about the resale.
Option D: The replica route
- Pros: low upfront cost, and from arm's length a black-dial chronograph reads as a Speedmaster.
- Cons: wrong movement, wrong caseback engraving, no service, no parts, no warranty, no resale, and legal exposure at the border.
The Apollo 17 40th is a hard watch to copy well because the value sits in engraved details and a numbered certificate, not in the silhouette. Most copies of this reference are standard Moonwatch fakes with a decorative caseback, which means the thing you are paying for is exactly the thing that is missing. Skip this route if authenticity is what brought you here.
Legal and practical risk
Counterfeit watches are subject to seizure and destruction by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and importing them can carry civil penalties and, in trafficking cases, criminal charges. A parcel that is stopped is not refunded by the seller in most cases. Beyond the law, a fake chronograph has no service path, so a single dropped watch can turn a cheap purchase into scrap.
Pre-purchase checklist
- Ask for a clear macro photo of the caseback engraving and the edition number.
- Ask for a photo of the certificate, the box label and the case number side by side.
- Ask for a movement photo or a video of the chronograph starting, stopping and resetting.
- Confirm the serial comes back clean, and confirm the seller accepts a return window.
- Budget for a service on any vintage or heavily worn example before you wear it.