Ralph Ellison's Omega Speedmaster at auction

onthedial

I am the consignor of the Ralph Ellison Omega Speedmaster. The provenance research I conducted over several years was a labor of love. I remember when the initial pieces of the puzzle first started coming together. I stared at the watch in my hand and realized I was holding one of the most important wristwatches of the late 20th century, it was a revelatory moment. And there was still much more work to be done.

The way in which the Phillips team embraced the watch, and its story was incredibly humbling. With this past Sunday’s result--the reference 145.012 reaching a world record for price achieved at auction, and the watch being acquired by the Omega Museum--I could not imagine a more perfect ending. Yet it’s not an ending at all, for the watch will be seen and experienced in a public setting from this point forward.

MTROIS

Humbling story indeed, thank you for coming forward and sharing this story with this community.
Are you willing to share a bit more info on how you came into possession of this important piece, or not?

onthedial

Yes, of course! This is probably the most efficient way to go about it: If you do a Google search for "Ralph Ellison Omega Speedmaster" you'll see many outlets that covered the story. Some like Hodinkee, Revolution Watch, Watchonista are free, other articles published by Wall Street Journal Magazine and The Telegraph are behind pay-walls. The story written by my colleague Michael Clerizo, in Watchonista, provides the most details related to my acquisition of the watch and provenance research involved. There are also follow up stories now too (post-auction) that are worth reading, Brummel Magazine, for instance.