The Omega Speedmaster Missions Collection
If you didn’t already know, this week is actually space week! To play our part we’re going to be looking at the awesome, and very rare, Omega Speedmaster Missions Collection. You may be wondering what this is and how it’s linked to space week. Well, you’ll soon find out as we talk all about it in this week’s blog.
What is space week?
Firstly, lets discuss what space week actually is. World space week takes place from the 4th to the 10th of October every year since 1999. It’s a celebration of science and a time to reflect on the benefits of space-based technologies for humankind, but also to look at our direct connection with space exploration through events like concerts, lectures and exhibitions. It runs on these date because on October 4, 1957 the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched and on October 10, 1967 the signing of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies took place.
Omega and NASA
Omega has always had a strong relationship with NASA and they have been very involved in multiple space missions over the years. In particular, the Omega Speedmaster has made major waves in the cosmos due to its impressive resume. After already being worn in space, in 1965 NASA declared the Speedmaster “flight-qualified for all manned space missions” after carrying out rigorous testing on multiple watches designed to actually destroy them. The Speedmaster was the only watch to survive these tests. In 1969, the Speedmaster officially became the first watch worn on the moon and since then it’s been nicknamed “the Moonwatch”. The Speedmaster has since been astronauts best friend on many space missions and has earned itself quite the reputation.
The Missions Collection
In 1997, Omega released the Omega Speedmaster missions collection to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Speedmaster. The collection, presented in a white case made from the same material as spacesuits, consisted of 23 watches in total. 50 cases in total were made with only 40 cases for public sale, 5 “hors commerce” (not for sale) cases and 5 “épreuves d’artistes” (artists’ proofs) cases.
22 of the watches each commemorated a specific space mission (Gemini V to XII, Apollo 7 to 17, and Skylab 1 to 3) by featuring the mission badge at the 9 o’clock position on a standard Speedmaster professional. They also had an engraved caseback with the name of the mission and the number of the case. The 23rd watch was a Speedmaster 1957 ‘Replica’ which was a remake of the first Speedmaster. In the case was also a spare Calibre 1861 movement which was the new movement at the time, succeeding the Caliber 861. In 1998, between 100 and 150 unnumbered copies of each of the space mission watches could be purchased individually, and the ‘Replica’ model was available for many years after the release.
This collection and even the individual watches are very hard to come by so it’s tricky to get an idea of their price today. There are many price estimates floating around but for the full collection on the pre-owned market you’re looking at around £100,000 - £200,000.
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This collection is pretty impressive to say the least & to anyone who's managed to get their hands on one, I must say I’m pretty envious. If you were over the moon ;) with this week’s blog be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss anymore. Have a great day!