I'm definitely not a watch collector. I'm much more of an enthusiastic watch wearer. Accordingly, beyond the few watches that I presently own, my remaining "Grail list" is embarrassingly small: a 36mm-cased Rolex Explorer 1 (non-vintage), and a Moonwatch of some sort. That's it. No more. I saw myself acquiring my remaining grails sometime in the next 3-5 years, with no sense of urgency at all. Then, last Sunday afternoon something happened that blew my plans (or better said, lack of plans) all to pieces. I was in the local shopping mall, waiting while a piece of luggage was being repaired. With a little time to kill, I decided to wander over to The Candy Store (a.k.a. Omega Botique). I was just going oogle the watches for a few minutes, nothing more. When I walked in The Candy Store, one of the sales reps who knows me well said: "Oh, man...you gotta see this. We received a pair of them yesterday. The first one was sold to one of our VIP customers within an hour of its arrival. I've got the second one back in the vault, for which there are two buyers lined up already." He ducked back through a heavy, locked door, and returned a few moments later with The Specimen. I recognized it immediately as an Apollo-Soyuz 35th Anniversary, Limited Edition Speedmaster -- released in 2010. The one with the meteorite dial. "What the....??? HOW did you....??? WHY did they...???" I said, rather raspily. He proceeded to explain, or at least try to explain, how a much sought-after LE watch released in 2010 made its way to an Omega Candy Store in July 2015. I didn't really understand his explanation, and certainly couldn't parrot it to anyone else. But the watches had landed there, just the day before. I was allowed to touch and hold The Specimen, but it was so heavily wrapped in wrinkled cellophane that it was difficult to see the famous dial, or even read/see the engravings on the back. It was immensely satisfying, nevertheless, just being close enough to touch it. Reluctantly, I returned the watch to my New Best Friend on Planet Earth, and he took it back to the vault. My allotted oogling time had come and gone, and I began to walk out of the store. As a (desperate) afterthought, I turned back to that guy -- you know -- my NBFPE, pulled a business card out of my wallet, and handed it to him saying, rather sheepishly: "Well...you know...if things don't work out for those other buyers....would you please let me know?" "Of course!" he said, with utter sincerity. But I knew in my heart that was as close to those glorious, silvery sub-dials as I was ever going to get. So that was Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, I recall checking places like Chrono24, and eBay, just to see how many of those extra-terrestrial treasures might be on the market. Five on Chrono -- (all in Europe), and one on eBay in the U.S -- listed for $10k. Yikes. No hope for me. On Tuesday evening I was bunkered in my hotel room in lovely Bakersfield, when I received a cryptic text message from My Guy: STILL INTERESTED IN THE APOLLO-SOYOUZ? I wanted to text back a screaming DUH!!!! But I restrained myself, and replied: YES, CERTAINLY! He texted back: STAY TUNED. Mid-day on Wednesday I received another text from My Guy: THE OTHER BUYERS ARE WAFFLING. IF YOU CAN GET INTO THE SHOP BEFORE 8PM TONIGHT, THE WATCH IS YOURS IF YOU WANT IT. Holy ...holy! I texted back: SEE YOU THERE. And that was that. And this is that.
I almost feel bad for the two schmucks who passed up the opportunity. Almost. But not really. That watch deserves to be on the wrist of an Omega Forums member.
In Noo Joizey, things sometimes fall off the back of a truck and land in your van, but rarely on your wrist.
Thank you! THANK YOU ALL, for sharing in the joy I look forward to sharing moments such as these with each of you!
@Mad Dog -- you might be interested to know that the Apollo-Soyuz 35th DID NOT come with the awesome box of goodies and gadgets that your classic Moonwatch came with. I found that aspect of the package to be a bit disappointing.
Sweeeeet! Now the only thing it'll need is to get vintage and well worn I'm sure you'll arrange that nicely!
Congratulations! NK (Nordiska Kompaniet - a large upmarket store) in Stockholm had one new, unsold last time I was there - if anyone would be interested. I do not think they would mind sending internationally if asked.
Congratulations on the Soyuz! I'm amazed these things are still out in the wild after all this time. Max