One of mankind’s most momentous achievements occurred on the historic day, July 20th, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to step on to the surface of the moon. Since President John F. Kennedy delivered a speech on September 12th, 1962 and spoke the words “we choose to go to the Moon” the American space program had been tirelessly working to put astronauts on the moon before the end of the decade and beating their Russian counterparts. As is well-known today, the history of NASA, the American moon mission, and the Swiss watch manufacturer Omega are closely intertwined, as it was Omega Speedmaster chronographs that accompanied Armstrong and Aldrin on their extraordinary flight becoming “the first watch worn on the moon”.

The reference 145.022 was released in 1969 to commemorate this historic event with the first two chronographs offered to the President and Vice-President of the United States, but were ultimately turned down for compliance issues. The watches numbered 3 through 28 were presented to NASA astronauts and officials, with watches 29 to 32 given to executives of Omega during a gala dinner in Houston in 1969. The watches 33 through 1000 were offered to the public, and like the present wristwatch, were engraved “The First Watch Worn on the Moon”. This year, to mark the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, Omega re-released the watch in a modern, limited edition of 1,014 pieces in Omega’s all-new, proprietary Moonshine Gold yellow-gold alloy – all of which sold out.

The present watch is in outstanding overall condition, with hardly any signs of wear, retaining all of its crisp edges and engravings as the day it left the factory 50 years ago. In this 50th anniversary year of the historic moon landing, this commemorative timepiece is a wonderful addition to any collection.