Lot 14

Apollo 11Among all space missions, none are more recognized than Apollo 11, the mission that first placed mankind on the Moon. Who can forget Neil Armstrong descending the ladder of the lunar module and then making man’s first step on the Moon?Previous missions had never completed the journey to the Earth’s only natural satellite. As testing and preparatory missions, they paved the way for the bigger goal, the amazing success of Apollo 11. A request from John F. Kennedy in 1961 called for the nation to send men to the Moon by the end of the decade, and this is exactly what happened. On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 launched from Kennedy Space Center carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin into an initial Earth-orbit. With incredible following, masses of crowds pushed to get as close to the launch site as possible and approximately 500 million people watched Armstrong’s televised image and heard his voice exclaim, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” on July 20, 1969.Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent a significant time on the lunar surface, where together they collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material for return to Earth. Michael Collins piloted the spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until his Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it about a day later for the trip back to Earth. The OMEGA Speedmaster visited the Moon as part of this historical mission.As well as walking on the surface of the Moon and taking a sufficient amount of lunar surface material back to Earth, other flight objectives were met. These included scientific exploration, deployment of a television camera to transmit signals to Earth, deployment of a solar wind composition experiment, and to extensively photograph the lunar terrain, the deployed scientific equipment, the LM spacecraft, and each other.With the recognition that the Apollo program had claimed the lives of previous veterans of space, Armstrong and Aldrin left dedicatory medallions bearing the names of the three Apollo 1 astronauts who lost their lives in a fire on the launch pad and a small silicon disk containing micro miniaturized goodwill messages from 73 countries as well as the names of congressional and NASA leaders. Left on the descent ladder of the Lunar Module was a plaque that states: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.” Below were the signatures of Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin, and Richard Nixon, the President of the United States at that time.This mission was a moment in history that can never be replicated. The mission badge for Apollo 11 wanted to show the core of values of peace and dedication required to make a mission to the Moon surface and back a success. With a joint decision between the mission astronauts and NASA officials, the badge they selected was an eagle with an olive branch in its talons landing on the Moon with the Earth in the distance. It was decided that the names of the crew would not be on the badge in order for the success to be representative of all those who contributed to make the mission’s success possible.The OMEGA Speedmaster had been present on all of the manned missions to the Moon, but made its very first appearance on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. It is no wonder, then, that it soon became popularly known as the “Moonwatch.”

Omega. A Limited Edition Extremely Rare and Attractive 18k Gold Chronograph Wristwatch with Bracelet and Box, Made to Commemorate Apollo 11's Succcessful Landing on The Moon

Signed Omega, Speedmaster, Professional, No. 85, Movement No. 28’080’654, Case Ref. 145022 69, Manufactured in 1969

Details

Omega. A Limited Edition Extremely Rare and Attractive 18k Gold Chronograph Wristwatch with Bracelet and Box, Made to Commemorate Apollo 11's Succcessful Landing on The Moon
Signed Omega, Speedmaster, Professional, No. 85, Movement No. 28’080’654, Case Ref. 145022 69, Manufactured in 1969
Cal. 861 mechanical movement, 17 jewels, dust cap, gold dial, applied OMEGA symbol, applied gold baton numerals with black inlay, outer fifths of a second divisions, black baton hands, three sunken engine-turned subsidiary dials for constant seconds, 30 minutes and 12 hours registers, crystal etched with OMEGA symbol, tonneau-shaped water-resistant-type case, burgundy bezel with tachymeter scale calibrated to a maximum of 500 units, fluted lugs, screw back with engraved OMEGA SPEEDMASTER - APOLLO XI 1969 – O THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON 085 inscription, OMEGA crown, two round chronograph buttons in the band, 18k gold OMEGA bracelet stamped 1116/575, deployant clasp, overall approximate length 7.5 inches, case, dial and movement signed
42mm diam.

Lot Essay

Accompanied by an OMEGA Extract from the Archives confirming production of the present watch with 18k solid yellow gold dial on 25 September 1969 and its subsequent delivery to Switzerland. Further accompanied by an oversized OMEGA image gallery box containing 20 original color pictures of the conquest of the Moon, and an extremely rare OMEGA crater box.

The present watch is offered as part of a limited edition OMEGA produced in 1969 to commemorate Apollo 11’s successful Moon landing on 21 July of the same year. This limited edition was produced in 1,014 examples where some were made especially for NASA astronauts, and even the President of the United States. This example, No. 85, is from the group of watches that would be made available to the general public. There were two versions available to the public, the present watch comes from the first version that is offered with an unpainted engraving on the case back. Interestingly, there are also two dial variations - one such as the present watch that features an oval ‘O’ in the OMEGA signature and the second dial version that features a rounder ‘O’ in the OMEGA signature on
the dial.

An example of the present watch is illustrated and described in OMEGA, A Journey Through Time by Marco Richon, 2007, p. 605.

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