Michael Collin’s 18K yellow gold Speedmaster Professional that he was gifted by Omega in 1969 is up for auction and will hammer on June 1, 2022.

Following the historic Apollo 11 Moon Landing in 1969, Omega produced a 1014-piece limited edition Speedmaster Professional to commemorate the event. Notably, the first 30 pieces from the thousand-plus production run went to VIPs. The first and second number Speedmaster are owned by the Omega Museum and were originally gifted to President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew.

The next 28 were given to NASA astronauts based on their tenure with the administration, including #3 (Shepard), #17 (Armstrong), #21 (Aldrin), #27 (Slayton), #28 (Chaffee). Up for auction is #19 which Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, who was aboard Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, received from Omega in 1969.

Included with lot #54101 is a handwritten letter from Collins, who passed away in 2021 “This Omega watch was given to me shortly after the flight of Apollo XI, and has been in my personal possession ever since. I wore it seldom if ever, but I have wound it every decade or so, and I believe it is in perfect operating condition. Michael Collins, Apollo XI CMP.”

The circa 1969 Gold Omega Speedmaster Professional (Ref. 145.022 69) has a 40 mm 18K yellow gold case with a burgundy-colored tachymeter bezel and twisted lugs. The dial is gold with applied gold facetted black enameled rectangular-shaped indices, black hands, and recessed subdials.

The manually wound caliber 861 — with an inner gold cap over the movement — powers this high-value collectible vintage watch with significant provenance. Comes with the original 18K gold bracelet with deployant clasp. The total weight of the watch is 163.5 grams.

The current bid is at $105,000 and the auction closes on June 1, 2022.

Learn more at Heritage Auctions.

 

Photo by Heritage Auctions.