Hi everyone, First post here, I have been following the forum and read all the threads about the Apollo 11. There is certainly lots of knowledge in this forum! I think I have been lucky enough to been allocated 2 Apollo 11, one that was confirmed straight away and the second one got called from a boutique in a different country. I’m a pilot so I have access to a wider network. I’m still not sure if to keep the second one. And if I do is not to resell to make a huge profit, not interested In that. Here is my Apollo 8 waiting for the 11 Nice to join this group!
Odd are 99.9% Around January I contacted a few omega boutiques and AD in different countries to be on a waiting list for the Apollo 11 (none in the UK not USA). In one of the list I was number 2 ( this one I got confirmation that I would get it when omega released the watch) On the other list I was number 7 and got called by this boutique if I was interested and I said yes. ♂️♂️
Hello and welcome to the forum and congratulations on your imminent Apollo 11 acquisition. Totally up to you what you do with the potential second watch. Its not a crazy frenzy inducing watch like the steel daytona is currently and i'm not sure it ever will be a future classic. I suspect it will be interesting to a lot of collectors and trade and retail or slightly above but that's it. So perhaps its better to let the second one go to someone on the waitlist? PS love the Apollo 8's - don't own one but mesmerising detail and depth to the dial.
It might not have gone down a storm on the forums amongst WIS but I suspect the wider public are clamouring for this one. My AD has said they are being inundated with enquiries for the watch with the general population not realising they are not going to be a walk in item
It is based on the iconic photograph of Buzz Aldrin descending snapped by Armstrong. Obviously no one was there to take a good pic of Armstrongs first step, just a fuzzy shot from the built in camera on the side of the module. I doubt this would have looked much good captured on the sub dial!!
There are no photos of Neil Armstrong on the moon! All the photos are of Buzz Aldrin. The only image of Armstrong is the reflection of him in Aldrin's visor. When Armstrong was asked "Why no photos of you"? He replied,"We never really thought about it"
Armstrong was a modest man who shunned the limelight so I am not sure it will have bothered him. Apparently Buzz Aldrin was a bit overwhelmed by it all (as you would be) and was too preoccupied with his task list to think about photographing Armstrong.
So does the AD ask if the people asking them about this watch are watch collectors? Or do people walk in saying "Hello, I'm part of the general population, and I would like to buy this watch."?
True that ! Armstrong was chosen to be the first on the moon partly due to his modesty, NASA thought he would be the best able to handle the notoriety, and that seemed to be borne out in his life, he went to teach and never capitalized on his fame. Who was going to have a camera and take pictures was all sorted out well before they got to the moon. Aldrin was never given a camera, only Armstrong had that task. Every activity and task was coordinated and planned months before the flight, everything had to adhere to a schedule based on oxygen supply and Collins orbiting above them. Fifty years later it still boggles my mind of what was accomplished with pretty crude equipment. It was the ultimate 'failure is not an option' expedition. The words 'brave' and 'hero' are cheaply thrown around these days, but those early space explorers certainly were brave and heroic. Omega is not helping this situation on their website (at least in the US), they showcase the Apollo 11 watch right under the regular Speedmaster and instruct the viewer to 'Contact a Boutique About This Piece' when there is really no chance that a walk in customer will be able to buy one. Maybe they figure it is worth it to get people in the showroom and they can sell them another Omega watch, but it is a little bit dishonest imo. Once the product was unveiled on May 17th there was very little chance for the general public to get one.
The ADs are selling to their regular customers It is impossible to walk in and just buy this release. The ODs off getting two are very low and I do think Omega is looking into names and try to avoid this situation. In this particular case it could be a Omega Boutique at an Airport which is a different story. If you are lucky you can also get a steel Daytona or Rolex Sports model at such locations, because they operate a bit different
Yep, also the solid Moonshine gold and the Hodinkee 10th Anniversary watches still have the 'Contact a Boutique About This Piece' button. Omega should be a bit more proactive in keeping these things up to date.
All I will say is there was one special gold manual wound chronograph (actually the one in my avatar) that I thought would be completely sold out but as it happened, via the OB they sourced one from stock held in Switzerland HQ. So In very rare cases there may sometimes be a piece that gets returned or rejected than can be put back into circulation/ With the ST1 / ST2 pieces it was managed by HQ so pieces had to be sent back to be allocated down the chain. So whilst rare, I suppose they keep those buttons on until every single one has been delivered. I’m sure I read ultramans were only recently still going out.
Moonshine gold models are already out and 1 seems to have already been purchased or reserved. https://www.chrono24.com/omega/speedmaster-50e-anniversaire-dapollo-11-ltd-1014--id11643252.htm https://www.chrono24.com/omega/spee...ollo-11-edition-limitee-a1014--id11642225.htm https://www.chrono24.com/omega/moonwatch-apollo-11-50th-anniversary--id11652495.htm
I'm based in the US and I've never bought an Omega or any watch before. Based on the website direction, I contacted ~10 Omega boutiques via email and received a response from 2 that slots were available and I could provide a deposit to be assure of receiving one.