So you may have heard the news of Neil Armstrong’s commemorative UK perfect replica Omega Speedmaster watches coming up for auction, well here we have another example from the run of NASA Astronaut-linked, gold Speedies.
Well, let’s rewind and set the scene. You may also have heard that the best fake Omega Speedmaster watches went to the moon on the wrists of Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969. NASA’s picking of the Speedmaster changed the watch world forever and, even then, Omega thought it was a big deal. To celebrate, they turned their latest model, Speedmaster, gold and kicked off the production run with either 28 or 34 (depending on who you ask) commemorative watches.
Gold Speedie number 1 and number 2 were offered as gifts to the President and Vice President of the United States, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, respectively, but were turned down as the watches were “too valuable.” Watches numbered 3 to 28 were presented to NASA astronauts who accomplished a space mission. On November 25, 1969, an Astronaut Appreciation Dinner was held in Houston, and the watches were doled out. So, exactly 26 of these high quality replica Omega watches were given to NASA astronauts at that dinner; we know that number to be true.
2023 was a wild year for these UK cheap super clone watches, covered on Hodinkee back then, seven of the 26 sold all within months of each other. Prices were all over the place as collectors decided which astronaut meant more of a premium and, more generally, how much one of these watches is worth — I believe the financial gurus call this a whipsaw. The example we have today was one of the seven available back in 2023.
Virgil “Gus” Grissom was one of seven “original” astronauts, dubbed the Mercury Seven. Grissom holds the distinctions of being both the second American in space (Liberty Bell 7, 1961) and the first man to go to space twice (Gemini 3, 1965). Tragically, he and his fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee were killed in a cabin fire during a pre-launch test on January 27, 1967, prepping for the Apollo 1 mission. Grissom’s family received the AAA copy watches in Houston in 1969, accepting it on his behalf, and it stayed in the family for years.
The jury is still out on Armstrong’s Speedie, the auction ends on April 17th. This shop replica watches, available now, is slightly less historically significant but could see a rise in interest thanks to the assumed large number that the Armstrong example ends up going for.
