Watch from set to Mondastronaut at 100,000 US dollars

One of 28 watches, which are largely given to NASA Moon astronauts, will be auctioned next month and has already reached $ 100,000 in advance.

The Omega Speedmaster, which was sold at Heritage Auction on June 3, was owned by Russell Schweickart, who piled up the Apollo 9 moon module in the run-up to the lunar shot.

A NASA photo of Russell Schweickart who has registered hundreds of hours in space.

The Apollo program was inaugurated in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. The goal was to bring humanity to the moon when the Apollo 11 mission landed a moon module on July 20, 1969.

For many years of research, test and training, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins' Triumphaler Mission was preceded.

The first craft of the series, Apollo 1, burned during a start test and killed all three men on board.

Apollo 9 was the third Apollo-frozen spatial flight and flew into low Earth orbit to test systems that would land on the moon.

There is no doubt that the speed master was worn and used, but it is an important watch in itself. Image with the kind permission of Heritage auctions.

Schweickart was on board 240 hours. A former fighter plane and scientist, “Rusty”, perfectly finished the profile as an astronaut.

More precisely, there was an essential tool for these missions, and Omega became the official watch of NASAS space missions after surviving a number of hard tests in 1964.

Although other watches were qualified for space flight, Omega Speedmasters are the only watches that are deleted for use outside of the craft in space.

Omega Speedmasters were designed as racing guards and sold from 1957.

This example was given to Schweickart in November 1969 to honor the success of the Apollo program.

Apollo 9 In action helps to pave the way for Apollo 11's moon landings.

The series of 28 numbered Gold Speedmaster watches – numbers 1 and 2 for the president and vice president who rejected them – were handed over Apollo astronauts.

Schweickart said to Heritage Auctions: “The event at which we received the watches … was shortly after Apollo 12's mission.

“We had worn all Omega watches, but they were the silver. The golden watch is a real beauty.”

Schweickart carried his new gift regularly until a pilot colleague convinced him to delete all jewelry.

He put it in a drawer and forgot it.

He thought it was lost until this year.

25 of the 28 Astronauts watches are numbered and engraved with Schweickart's name and the message: “To mark the conquest of the room over time, due to the time, on time.”

Both clock and space remembrance pieces are extremely collectable.

The most valuable omega at the auction is a Speedmaster that was produced in 1957 and which realized 3.4 million US dollars in Phillips in 2021. Neil Armstrong's Speedmaster from this special, limited series – numbered 17 – only in the last month 2.1 million US dollars.

The Schweickart Watch is listed in the signature auction of the watch and fine Timepieces auction on June 3, and an offer of $ 100,000 (125,000 US dollars with fees) is already recorded.