Ron Evan's personally-owned 18K solid yellow gold Omega Speedmaster Professional chronograph wristwatch (Ref. BA 145.022), presented to the Apollo 17 CMP by Omega following his success in the last lunar landing mission. One of a special numbered edition of 1014 pieces made to celebrate the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing, this watch is number "1007" and is engraved as such on the caseback. The back is further engraved with the recipient's name and mission, "Astronaut Ronald E. Evans, Apollo 17," with a central quote: "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. Complete with its extremely rare three-dimensional cratered Omega Speedmaster box, featuring lunar imagery raised in relief on all four sides of the lid. The watch received official Omega authorized service in 2018 (nothing cosmetic done, only lube, etc.) and is in fine functional condition; cosmetically, it exhibits light wear from use, primarily noticeable in wear to the bezel.
Of the 1014 examples of these watches produced, Omega famously reserved #1 and #2 for President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew; numbers 3-28 were then presented to the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs at a famous gala dinner on November 25, 1969. As Evans had not yet flown in space, he did not receive a watch at that time. Those astronauts who flew later—the crews of Apollo 14 through 17—were presented with numbers 1001-1008 in 1972-73. The special inscription on the caseback—"To mark man’s conquest of space with time, through time, on time"—was reserved exclusively for the astronauts and select VIPs. The publicly available watches (#33-1000) featured two variants of a caseback commemorating Apollo 11 and the Speedmaster's status as 'the first watch worn on the moon.'
Accompanied by a letter of provenance signed by Ron Evans' widow, Janet Evans, in part: "I certify that the old Omega Speedmaster watch offered with this letter, serial number 1007, is the one presented to my husband Ron Evans, CMP Apollo 17, by the Omega watch company." Additionally includes an ‘Extract of the Archives’ document package from Omega, offering the watch's specifications and remarking: "This watch was given to astronaut Ron Evans by Omega as a gift. It bears the no. 1007."
Provenance:
From the iconic Christies Omega 50 Sale, collection of Riccardo Bernard, December 15, 2015.
