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Lot Essay
According to the Omega Archives, the present watch was completed on December 10, 1969, and delivered to the United States.
The OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo 11 model in solid gold was created in the fall of 1969 to commemorate Apollo 11’s successful Moon landing. A total of 1,014 examples were produced.
The first two in the series were presented to President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew, which now reside in the OMEGA museum, the following 28 examples were given during a gala dinner in Houston to the astronauts having participated in this space mission as well as earlier conquests, the case backs engraved with the relevant astronaut's name and inscription To Mark Man's Conquest of Space with Time, Through Time, on Time. The remaining examples were given to Swiss politicians and watch-industry professionals while the majority were made available for the general public to acquire.
The available examples were assigned an engraved dedication, OMEGA Speedmaster - Apollo XI 1969 - The First Watch Worn on the Moon, and numbered. There are three different types of engraving: thin and unpainted for approximately the first 100 examples, then thick and unpainted and finally thick and painted with a burgundy color, which complements its burgundy colored bezel. The present watch is from the latter version, with thick painted lettering.
Two dial variants were also available, the present dial showing an oval ‘O’ in the OMEGA signature as opposed to the later version, which is more round-shaped. Preserved in excellent original overall condition, the present watch is number 486 of this extremely rare and limited series.
An example of all three casebacks made in this series are illustrated described and described in OMEGA, A Journey Through Time by Marco Richon, 2007, p. 605.
The OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo 11 model in solid gold was created in the fall of 1969 to commemorate Apollo 11’s successful Moon landing. A total of 1,014 examples were produced.
The first two in the series were presented to President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew, which now reside in the OMEGA museum, the following 28 examples were given during a gala dinner in Houston to the astronauts having participated in this space mission as well as earlier conquests, the case backs engraved with the relevant astronaut's name and inscription To Mark Man's Conquest of Space with Time, Through Time, on Time. The remaining examples were given to Swiss politicians and watch-industry professionals while the majority were made available for the general public to acquire.
The available examples were assigned an engraved dedication, OMEGA Speedmaster - Apollo XI 1969 - The First Watch Worn on the Moon, and numbered. There are three different types of engraving: thin and unpainted for approximately the first 100 examples, then thick and unpainted and finally thick and painted with a burgundy color, which complements its burgundy colored bezel. The present watch is from the latter version, with thick painted lettering.
Two dial variants were also available, the present dial showing an oval ‘O’ in the OMEGA signature as opposed to the later version, which is more round-shaped. Preserved in excellent original overall condition, the present watch is number 486 of this extremely rare and limited series.
An example of all three casebacks made in this series are illustrated described and described in OMEGA, A Journey Through Time by Marco Richon, 2007, p. 605.