Topline
An “incredibly rare” 1969 Omega Speedmaster watch once owned by astronaut Michael Collins–who was part of the Apollo 11 mission, the first to put a man on the moon–is up for auction.
On Tuesday morning, bids on a special-edition Speedmaster gifted to Apollo 11 astronaut Michael ... [+]
Key Facts
Omega only made 28 of the Apollo 11 commemorative gold Speedmaster watches, which were offered to then President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew along with the astronauts aboard the Apollo 11 mission shortly after they touched back down to Earth.
While Nixon and Agnew declined to accept their watches (which are now on display at the Omega Museum in Bienne, Switzerland), the next 26 were given to NASA astronauts who had been with the agency the longest, including Alan Shepard, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Deke Slayton, Roeger Chaffee and Collins.
Each watch that was a part of the commemorative series was numbered based on the order in which the astronauts joined NASA, and Collins’ watch is number 19.
The Apollo 11 Omega watches are “incredibly rare” and are part of both space and watch history, Heritage Auctions watch director Jim Wolf said in a statement.
The watch will come with a handwritten note from Collins that states he wore the Speedmaster “seldom if ever, but I have wound it every decade or so, and I believe it is in perfect operating condition.”
Bidding on the watch ends June 1, and on Tuesday morning the highest bid was $105,000, not including fees.
Surprising Fact
A Speedmaster was the first watch ever worn on the moon. Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins all wore a stainless steel Speedmaster Professional chronograph on the mission, but because Armstrong had left his behind to cover for a broken timer on the lunar module, Aldrin was the first astronaut to wear a watch on the lunar surface. Collins’ watch up for auction is a gold version of the watch the three were given for the Apollo 11 mission. In 2019, Omega released a special-edition Speedmaster to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the mission that recreates the look of the watch given to the NASA astronauts in 1969.
Key Background
Collins, who died at age 90 last year, was called the “loneliest man in history” for being the oft-forgotten astronaut who stayed aboard Apollo 11 and orbited the moon alone while his teammates Armstrong and Aldrin took man’s first steps onto the lunar surface. Collins went on to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom–the highest civilian honor in the U.S.—and was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. After retiring from NASA in 1970, he served as one of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s first directors, and oversaw the facility’s construction in Washington, D.C.
Further Reading
Lunar Dust Collected By Neil Armstrong Sells For $500,000 – After NASA Lost In Court To Keep It (Forbes)
