One of a series of 28 watches largely gifted to NASA moon astronauts will be auctioned next month and has already reached $100,000 in pre-sale bidding.
The Omega Speedmaster selling at Heritage Auctions on June 3 was owned by Russell Schweickart, who piloted the Apollo 9 lunar module in the run-up to the moon shot.
A NASA photo of Russell Schweickart, who logged up hundreds of hours in space.
The Apollo programme was inaugurated by President John F Kennedy in 1961. It achieved its aim of putting mankind on the moon when the Apollo 11 mission landed a lunar module on July 20, 1969.
Long years of research, testing, and training preceded Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins’ triumphant mission.
The first craft in the series, Apollo 1, burned during a launch rehearsal, killing all three men on board.
Apollo 9 was the third Apollo manned spaceflight, flying in low-earth orbit to test out systems that would be used to land on the moon.
There’s no doubt that the Speedmaster has been worn and used, but it is a significant watch in its own right. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Schweickart was on board for 240 hours of space time. A former fighter pilot and scientist, “Rusty” perfectly fitted the profile as an astronaut.
Accurate time keeping was a vital tool for these missions and Omega became the official watch of NASA’s space missions after surviving a series of tough tests in 1964.
Although other watches have been qualified for space flight, Omega Speedmasters are the only watches to be cleared for use outside craft – in space.
Omega Speedmasters were designed as racing watches and sold from 1957.
This example was given to Schweickart at a November 1969 banquet to honour the success of the Apollo programme.
Apollo 9 in action helping to pave the way for the Apollo 11 moon landings.
The series of 28 numbered gold Speedmaster watches – numbers 1 and 2 for the President and Vice President, who turned them down – were given to Apollo astronauts.
Schweickart told Heritage Auctions: “The event in which we were given the watches … was just after the Apollo 12 mission.
“We had all been wearing Omega watches, but they were the silver ones. The gold watch is a real beauty.”
Schweickart wore his new gift regularly, until a fellow pilot’s mishap with a wedding ring convinced him to ditch all jewellery.
He put it in a drawer, and forgot about it.
He thought it was lost until this year.
It is numbered 25 of the 28 astronaut watches and is engraved with Schweickart’s name and the message: “to mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time.”
Both watches and space memorabilia are extremely collectible.
The most valuable Omega at auction is a Speedmaster made in 1957 that realised $3.4 million at Phillips in 2021. Neil Armstrong’s Speedmaster from this special, limited series – numbered 17 – made $2.1 million just last month.
The Schweickart watch is listed in the June 3 Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature Auction and a $100,000 ($125,000 with fees) bid is already recorded.
