Michael Collins’s Gold Speedmaster Is Not Going To The Omega Museum

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SpeedmasterBA14502269-MichaelCollins-Header.jpg
The gold Omega Speedmaster Apollo XI BA145.022-69 that belonged to Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins fetched a record price at Heritage Auctions’ Fine Timepieces auction on June 1st. My first thought was that Omega must have acquired the watch for its museum, as I had guessed in my announcement article for this auction from May […]

Visit Michael Collins’s Gold Speedmaster Is Not Going To The Omega Museum to read the full article.
 
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Thus far, Apollo astronauts wearing their Gold Apollo 11 tribute Speedmaster:
Alan Shepard (3), John Glenn (5), Scott Carpenter (6), Gordon Cooper (7), Walter Schirra (08), Charles Conrad (12: Skylab training), Thomas Stafford (13: ASTP training), James Lovell (14), Frank Borman (15), David Scott (16), Neil Armstrong (17), Eugene Cernan (18: Apollo 17 training), Edwin Aldrin (21), Alan Bean (26: ASTP training), Donald Slayton (27), Stuart Roosa (1001), Edgar Mitchell (1002) and James Irwin (1003). 😉 #MoonwatchUniverse
 
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It'll reappear in a few years, maybe 10, for twice as much money. We'll have a chance to be outbid again...
 
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I realise the historical importance of these watches but when I see them I feel it would have been more appropriate if on the bezel was engraved "Tacky-meter"
 
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I realise the historical importance of these watches but when I see them I feel it would have been more appropriate if on the bezel was engraved "Tacky-meter"
Why's that? It's a valuable historical piece. The price someone decided to pay doesn't make it tacky.
 
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I wonder why some watches end up in certain brands museums and other do not. Thanks for posting.
 
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I wonder why some watches end up in certain brands museums and other do not. Thanks for posting.
I think it’s likely just a matter of before auction, Alain or whoever is bidding for Omega has to get a number approved by the company as a ceiling bid and this one exceeded expectation by a fair bit.
 
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Why's that? It's a valuable historical piece. The price someone decided to pay doesn't make it tacky.
It’s not the price but the gold and maroon watch that I find tacky.
 
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I think it’s likely just a matter of before auction, Alain or whoever is bidding for Omega has to get a number approved by the company as a ceiling bid and this one exceeded expectation by a fair bit.
Makes sense, but I wonder how they even choose which watches they even want in the museum. I would think every brand would keep one of every model ever made.
 
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Makes sense, but I wonder how they even choose which watches they even want in the museum. I would think every brand would keep one of every model ever made.
Museum and archives are different I think. The latter has much more watches and parts.
 
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It’s not the price but the gold and maroon watch that I find tacky.
Some people don't like rose or yellow gold for some reason, all personal choice. I find the maroon bezel a sharp choice for this model and the Moonshine re-edition of 2019. But even if you don't like the gold or bezel I wouldn't call them tacky.
 
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Some people don't like rose or yellow gold for some reason, all personal choice. I find the maroon bezel a sharp choice for this model and the Moonshine re-edition of 2019. But even if you don't like the gold or bezel I wouldn't call them tacky.
I like gold watches. But let's not get into a discussion about what clearly is only a matter of taste.
 
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Makes sense, but I wonder how they even choose which watches they even want in the museum. I would think every brand would keep one of every model ever made.
What pieces to acquire and how to present them would be a matter for Petros, Alain and co I would imagine. They’re extremely good at their work and know their stuff incredibly well.
 
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I don't think Omega would be interested in a watch like this, they already have Nos 1 & 2 (Nixon and Agnew) in unworn condition, what would be gained by adding Collins' watch? It wasn't flown, it was a presentation watch that Collins never wore. Manufacturers buy watches back for their museums for sure, but they always have an eye for its commercial value, too. They want watches that add dimension to their brands history and that will reflect positively in future marketing, and eventual sales. I don't think Collins' adds much in that regard.
 
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Indeed, currently the Omega museum hasn't even all "spaceflight gems" on display...
 
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I don't think Omega would be interested in a watch like this, they already have Nos 1 & 2 (Nixon and Agnew) in unworn condition, what would be gained by adding Collins' watch? It wasn't flown, it was a presentation watch that Collins never wore. Manufacturers buy watches back for their museums for sure, but they always have an eye for its commercial value, too. They want watches that add dimension to their brands history and that will reflect positively in future marketing, and eventual sales. I don't think Collins' adds much in that regard.

You are saying that watches that end up in a watch brands museum will eventually be resold again?
 
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You are saying that watches that end up in a watch brands museum will eventually be resold again?
I think they're just saying that every unique reference provides Omega with some form of potential marketing material. Duplicates are redundant to a certain degree, so additional versions of the same reference won't add that much commercial value on their own.
 
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$765k! And it probably needs a service as well.
Agree, the price was amazing. I thought it would sell for a couple hundred thousand, not $765! Just a few years again Bean and Evans gold Speedmasters sold for $50k. Seems like a bargain now. Of course, Collins was Apollo 11, but what would others sell for now? Armstrong and Aldrin certainly more. Lovell, Sheppard, Grissom and Cernan perhaps a similar amount? Most of the other astronauts hard to guess but with non astronaut gold models selling for high five figure, perhaps double that in the $150k range?