Dave Scott's personally-owned and -worn 18K solid yellow gold Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (Ref. BA 145.022), presented to him at a special gala dinner on November 25, 1969, at the Hotel Warwick in Houston. Omega initially created 26 of these gold commemorative watches—known as the ‘Tribute to Astronauts’ watch—to present to NASA astronauts alive and deceased, with the caseback of each watch specially engraved with a quote, the name and missions of the astronaut, and a unique number relative to when the astronaut flew into space. Issued as “No. 16,” this watch’s caseback is engraved, “Astronaut David R. Scott, Gemini 8 - Apollo 9,” with his later role on "Apollo 15" added above by Omega. The special central quote reads: “To mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time.”
The first gold Speedmaster that Omega created, the watch features an 18K gold case with the same design cues and dimensions as the regular steel Speedmaster Professional. The gold bezel has a burgundy red aluminum inlay, with the famous ‘dot over ninety,’ and a special solid gold dial, indicated by the “OM” next to “Swiss Made,” which means ‘Or Massif’ or ‘solid gold.’ The hour markers are made of onyx, have two facets each, and are set in gold frames. The hands are black with gold centers and give wonderful contrast to the solid gold dial. The gold bracelet (1116/575) features hollow links and a small 14mm gold clasp with striping decoration. Inside the 18K gold 42mm case ticks the Lemania-based copper-colored chronograph caliber 861 with a steel brake; this caliber 861 has a ticking speed of 21,600vph and uses 17 jewels. In fine cosmetic condition, with a few minor scuffs from frequent wear; Scott notes that the watch was once professionally cleaned but has never been restored.
Accompanied by a detailed letter of provenance signed by Dave Scott, in part: "I hereby certify that the Omega Gold Presentation Watch...Case Serial No. 16, included with this letter was presented to me by the Omega Watch Company at a gat dinner at the Hotel Warwick in Houston, TX, on November 25, 1969. This 18k solid yellow gold Omega Speedmaster Professional BA 145.022 has been in my personal possession since then…
This watch was presented to me by the Omega watch company at the special gala dinner on November 25, 1969, at the Hotel Warwick in Houston Texas—known as the 'Tribute to Astronauts'. This was an elegant black-tie event attended by 19 Apollo astronauts as well as senior NASA managers, leading government officials and prominent local and Texas individuals. During the dinner, a formal presentation of the 18K gold Omega Speedmaster watches was made to each of the 19 astronauts in attendance, whereby each astronaut was recognized individually for his contribution to the success of the Apollo program, and especially Apollo 11.
Omega presented 26 of these gold commemorative watches to NASA Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts alive and deceased. The group included all astronauts who had flown on flights prior to and including the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. Subsequently the remaining 7 gold watches were presented to those astronauts unable to attend the dinner due to official duties, e.g., as an example, the Apollo 12 crew were still in quarantine after having returned to Earth on November 24, 1969 (a mission on which I was backup Commander)…It should be noted that at the request of Omega, because Apollo 15 was flown after the November 1969 presentation (July-August 1971), Omega requested my watch to be returned for the engraving of 'Apollo 15.' The watch has been professionally cleaned one time but not restored. All other parts are original to the timepiece…
As an example of the many post -flight celebration events during which I wore this watch, on Aug. 24, New York City welcomed Scott, Worden, and Irwin with an hour-long motorcade down Fifth Avenue with thousands of well-wishers lining the route. Mayor John V. Lindsay welcomed them on the steps of City Hall, saying, 'You have shown us again that Americans working together can turn great dreams into reality.'…
I also wore this watch during the many other celebration events after Apollo 15 that continued for many months to highlight the scientific aspects of the Apollo 15 mission for government officials, scientists, students, the media, and the general public. These events included each of the major Apollo contractors in the US, six European countries, and a special State Department Goodwill visit to Poland and Yugoslavia, the second official US visit to East European countries after WWII."
After the moon-flown Omega Speedmaster Pros—property of the United States government—these Apollo XI commemorative 18K gold chronographs stand at the forefront of space watch lore. Issued in an extremely limited number to commemorate the Apollo 11 landing, the first twenty-eight watches produced were reserved for President Richard Nixon (#1) and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew (#2), followed by the 26 astronauts who paved the way for the moon landings in the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. These early watches all feature the special central engraving, "To mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time." The publicly available version of the watch (numbers 33–1000) was issued with a caseback commemorating Apollo 11 and the Speedmaster's status as 'the first watch worn on the moon.' Omega returned to the special engraving for the astronaut watches later issued to the crews of Apollo 14–17.
The elusive gold astronaut chronograph also takes a place as the most expensive Speedmaster Pro ever sold: in October 2022, RR Auction sold Wally Schirra's example of the Apollo 11 commemorative 18K gold Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph watch (Ref. BA 145.022) for nearly $2 million. Unlike Schirra's, this example was owned by a moonwalker who followed in the footsteps of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin—whose lunar footprints served as the impetus for the gold watch's creation. A remarkable example of this historic and iconic timepiece, direct from the collection of its astronaut owner.
