PREVIEW: WATCHES 14 MARCH

When Neil Armstrong first stepped onto the Moon on 21 July 1969 and uttered the immortal words about Man and Mankind, it was a watch like this that had accompanied him on his mission.

His crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were each equipped with the same model, making it the first watch on the Moon.

Now in the Smithsonian after Armstrong donated it in 1973, the Omega Speedmaster chronograph had been carefully selected for the Apollo II mission.

NASA subjected it to a series of rigorous tests to demonstrate its high level of precision and reliability, adopting it for the U.S. space program in 1964.

To meet the program’s requirements, the watch had to be a manual-winding wrist chronograph that was waterproof, shock-proof and anti-magnetic. It also had to be able to withstand temperatures ranging from 0 to 200 degrees Farenheit, as well as acceleration up to 12 Gs.

NASA first certified the Omega Speedmaster as the chronograph for the Gemini program and made successive purchases for both the Apollo and the Skylab/ASTP missions.

A c.1966 ‘Pre-Moon’ Omega stainless steel chronograph wristwatch will appear as a highlight of the 14 March Watches auction at Noonans. With numbered movement and manufacturer’s reference, it includes early features, such as, the ‘dot over ninety’ bezel and ‘pre moon’ case back with the original Speedmaster logo.

The estimate is £3,000-5,000.

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