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Lot Essay
Accompanied by an OMEGA Extract from the Archives confirming delivery of the present watch on 21 July 1989 to United Kingdom. Further accompanied by an OMEGA Certificate No. 1182, black Velcro strap, Apollo 11 mission 20th anniversary badge, wooden fitted presentation box and outer packaging.
The 20th anniversary of the very first time NASA and the OMEGA Speedmaster were successful in lunar landing is celebrated on July 21st, 1989. The present watch is not only special because it was produced to celebrate this momentous occasion in just 4,000 examples, but because it was delivered to United Kingdom on the exact date of the Moon landing mission, 20 years later. The celebratory badge that honors this anniversary depicts an astronaut holding an American flag on a cratered surface with his spacecraft and planet Earth in the distance and reads; FIRST LUNAR LANDING OF MANKIND.
To mark the anniversary, OMEGA produced three different editions in stainless steel. One was for intended the United States market, one for Germany, and the rest were distributed worldwide. The present watch is an example of the latter series, which is identical to the other two except for the engraving on the caseband. The first two series were inscribed with the limited edition number as well as the mission name with date of mission, whereas the latter such as the present watch is inscribed with the mission name and date only, Apollo XI, 1969. The final series was also distributed with the rare bracelet, 1450/808, which is identifiable by its semi-circular links. Frequently the links are referred to as having half-moon profiles, with the central component being particularly wide. This bracelet was used from 1986 to at least 1989 and is a desirable feature of the watch. Furthermore the present watch is offered in like-new condition.
Interestingly, in addition to the three series of watches that OMEGA produced for the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11, OMEGA also co-produced a short movie entitled Forever, which depicted the Moon landing with the perspective of artists and poets as opposed to scientists and engineers.
The present watch with wooden presentation box and badge are is illustrated and described in OMEGA, A Journey Through Time by Marco Richon, 2007, p. 622