Omega, Rare And Historically Important Gold Speedmaster
Professional Wristwatch, No. 25, Presented To And Consigned By
Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, Apollo 9, circa 1969
Omega, Rare And Historically Important Gold Speedmaster
Professional Wristwatch, No. 25, Presented To And Consigned By
Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart, Apollo 9, circa 1969
Case:
40 mm, 18k yellow gold, three body, burgundy-colored
tachymètre bezel, polished and brushed lyre lugs, round push
buttons, screw down case back engraved "Astronaut Russell L.
Schweickart, Apollo 9, to mark man's conquest of space with time,
through time, on time", No. 25
Dial:
gold, applied gold and black enameled block markers,
sunken engine turned subsidiary dials for the constant seconds, the
thirty minute and twelve hour registers, black baton hands
Movement:
No. 28080684, copper finish, 17 jewels, manual
winding, caliber 861, inner gold cap over the movement
Band:
18k gold original band with deployant clasp engraved
RLS, approximately 7 3/4 inches
This exceptional and very rare timepiece is accompanied by a
letter of authenticity/ownership that states "Russell L.
Schweickart, I hereby certify that the accompanying 18k gold Omega
Speedmaster Professional Moon watch, serial number #25, and
inscribed, -Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart - Apollo 9, with
further inscription, to mark man's conquest of space with time,
through time, on time is the one presented to me at the Omega gala
dinner on November 25, 1969, at the Hotel Warwick in Houston. it
has been a part of my personal collection since having received
it."
According to Omega Public Relations, the first thirty Apollo XI
Commemorative gold Speedmaster watches were "created in tribute to
the sensational exploit of Man's first landing on the Moon". The
watches numbered 1 and 2 in the series, having been refused by
their intended recipients (President Nixon and Vice-President
Agnew) presently reside in the Omega museum. Numbers 3 through 28
were personalized and presented to the astronauts in NASA's space
program. the lower numbers were reserved for those astronauts who
had been with NASA the longest. A listing of recipients and numbers
include #3 (Shepard), #17 (Armstrong), #21 (Aldrin), #27 (Slayton),
#28 (Chaffee),#19 (Collins) and the present watch #25
(Schweickart).
Russell L. Schweickart served as science and technology
assistant to the governor of California after he left NASA, and
then for years as the Chairman of the California Energy Commission.
In the 1980s he founded the Association of Space Explorers,
creating an organization of men and women from around the world who
had experienced with their own eyes the home of all the life in our
corner of the Universe. Later he co-founded the B612 Foundation, a
non-profit organization dedicated to defending Earth from asteroid
impacts.
