GOLD OMEGA SPEEDMASTER REF. 145.022, CELEBRATION OF THE APOLLO XI MOON LANDING, SOLD IN 1970
Three body tonneau 18K gold case, bezel with burgundy insert and tachymeter scale up to 500 units, lyre lugs, screw back with inscription “The first watch worn on the moon, Omega Speedmaster Apollo XI 1969”, n. 826, Omega inset crown, round pushers. Gold Omega bracelet with deployant clasp.
Signed champagne dial, applied logo and bâton indexes with black enamel, minutes division and 1/5th of seconds fraction, flared and engine turned subdials for seconds, 30-min and 12-hour counters, Om Swiss Made Om indication. Lacquered bâton hands, black triangular chronograph hand.
Signed manual winding movement, copper-plated caliber 861, n. 29117645, 17 jewels, antimagnetic dustcover, cam system, lever escapement, monometallic balance, blued flat hairspring, Incabloc shock-absorber, micrometer regulator.
Accompanied by Omega Extract from the Archives.
Diameter Ø: 42 mm
Note: working.

On 21 July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon, making the Speedmaster the first watch to be worn on the moon.
In autumn of the same year Omega, in order to celebrate this historic milestone, created a limited series of just 1,014 pieces of the iconic Speedmaster reference 145.022-69, which for the first time was produced in gold.
Of these, the first two watches were presented to US President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. However, in accordance with policy, they had to refuse the gift, instead donating the two pieces to the Omega Museum. Another 28 watches were presented to astronauts and other important members of the NASA team during a Gala dinner held in Houston on 25 November 1969; each of these watches had the recipient's name engraved on the case back.
The remaining pieces, personalized with the words “The first watch worn on the Moon”, were made available for purchase by the public.
The watch included in the catalogue, bearing the number 826 and burgundy celebratory inscription on the case back, is in excellent condition: the case has minor and pleasant oxidation, a sign of not being worn for a prolonged period and careful conservation, the dial is in immaculate condition, and the rare “dot over ninety” bezel is intact.