An Omega watch made to honour the 1969 Apollo XI moon landing has sold for £22,000 at a UK auction.
The very-limited-edition Omega Speedmaster was sold in North Yorkshire.
Only 1,014 of the reference were made between 1969 and 1973.
The first two were given to Richard Nixon (then President of the United States) and his vice president Spiro Agnew.
The next group, numbered 3 to 32, were presented to NASA astronauts, including the moon landing trio, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
Omega hosted an Astronaut Appreciation Dinner to hand over the timepieces in Houston, Texas, the home of the Apollo missions.
Richard Nixon owned No 1 of this special Omega Speedmaster made to celebrate the moon landing.
The watch was the first version of the Speedmaster to be made in gold.
Omega watches were adopted by NASA as the official watch of their space programmes from 1965. They saw off competition from three other manufacturers, including Rolex, and Omega watches were worn in space and on the moon.
This watch was number 690, and came with much of its original documentation, a vital factor in determining watch value.
Omega are one of the giants of Swiss watchmaking, though Rolex remains the most popular brand with collectors.
The Omega Speedmaster Professional is probably the brand’s most prestigious reference. President Biden is among the famous wearers of the watch.
In November 2021 a 1957 Speedmaster became the most valuable Omega watch when it was sold at auction for $3.4 million.
