Greetings,
This is my first post on these Omega Forums. I have just received my Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Speedmaster in stainless steel.
I have many fine things but am not a watch collector of any type. In fact, every day I usually wear a $100 Casio. Before this Omega the only other “nice" watch I have owned is a $2000 Tag Heuer Aquaracer I once got for my birthday from my wife.
I am, however, a bit of a space geek. I have a large collection of original NASA space memorabilia. My father, who is 91, was a pilot in the US Air Force, and then worked as an engineer for NASA for 34 years, where he worked on the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. So the 50th anniversary of the moon landing was a big thing in our family.
Last year I saw a really nice article on the Omega Apollo 11 Anniversary watch and decided I should get one. So in June I went to our local Omega dealer ( near Washington DC ) to buy it. Of course the staff, while almost laughing at me, explained to me the watch had been sold out for months and none were available. I was pretty disappointed, but moved on.
This past November my wife and I traveled to Tel Aviv. While sightseeing we stopped in a very nice shopping mall, and I noticed an Omega dealer. With no expectations I went in to ask about the Apollo 11 anniversary watch. The manager told me their entire allocation had been 20 watches and of course they had been sold out for months . . . but then told me she thought she heard one of their customers originally bought two watches but then cancelled one. So it was possible they had one unclaimed watch available. She then made several phone calls, all in Hebrew which I did not understand, and then told me yes, they still had that one last watch available. I could have it and they would ship it to me in the US when they received it from Omega. But I would have to pay for it in full right then . . . . and her price in US currency was just under $12,000. That seemed a bit high but she would not go lower.
I was very hesitant. But we called our credit card company and they said they would refund us if we never received the watch. The manager, of course, said I would absolutely get it. That was 9 weeks ago. The watch arrived yesterday at my home in Maryland, beautifully packed and in perfect condition. The store manager kept us posted every two weeks by text, and it shipped to me from Israel by FedEx the same day they received it from Omega. The watch number is 2456. I now feel very fortunate to have walked into that Omega dealer half way around the world from my home.
So now I am learning more and more about Omega watches. Honestly, I did not even know watches you have to manually wind were still manufactured. My father has an old Omega from his days at NASA . . . I may even try to get that restored and operational. But right now I am just extremely pleased with my new watch and all its Apollo 11 features. . . . especially Buzz Aldrin’s image. My trusty Casio is now in the drawer.
Sorry this post was so very long . . . I am just so proud to own this beautiful and special Omega.
Craig
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