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Lot Essay
Launched in 1969 to commemorate the success of the Apollo XI mission with Man's first steps on the Moon, Omega created a highly special and rare limited edition solid gold Speedmaster Professional, the reference 145.022-69. The timepiece was limited to 1,014 examples with the present watch being in original condition, fresh to market, and from the original owner.
The first two watches in the series were presented to U.S. President Nixon and U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew, both of which now reside in the Omega museum. The next 28 examples were presented during a gala dinner in Houston in honor of the astronauts who participated in this historic space mission as well as earlier conquests. The casebacks were engraved with the relevant astronaut's name and the inscription ‘To Mark Man's Conquest of Space with Time, Through Time, on Time’. Some examples were presented to Swiss politicians and watch-industry professionals while the majority remaining were made available for the general public to buy.
These examples were engraved with the dedication 'OMEGA SPEEDMASTER – APOLLO XI 1969 – THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON' and given an individual number. 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, further complementing the burgundy colored bezel. The present watch is from the latter version with thick painted lettering. Two dial variants were also available. The first had an oval ‘O’ in the Omega signature as opposed to the later version, such as the present watch, which is a more fuller round-shaped.
The first two watches in the series were presented to U.S. President Nixon and U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew, both of which now reside in the Omega museum. The next 28 examples were presented during a gala dinner in Houston in honor of the astronauts who participated in this historic space mission as well as earlier conquests. The casebacks were engraved with the relevant astronaut's name and the inscription ‘To Mark Man's Conquest of Space with Time, Through Time, on Time’. Some examples were presented to Swiss politicians and watch-industry professionals while the majority remaining were made available for the general public to buy.
These examples were engraved with the dedication 'OMEGA SPEEDMASTER – APOLLO XI 1969 – THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON' and given an individual number. 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, further complementing the burgundy colored bezel. The present watch is from the latter version with thick painted lettering. Two dial variants were also available. The first had an oval ‘O’ in the Omega signature as opposed to the later version, such as the present watch, which is a more fuller round-shaped.