![]() They all carry a story with them that is far bigger than watches, but vintage Speedmasters can be special in an entirely different way. In a way, any Speedmaster is an historic object, even the mass produced Moonwatch you can go out and buy today at any Omega boutique. The personalized inscription on the back is clearly visible, and the watch comes directly from Carpenter’s family. Wally Schirra’s watch sold for about $1.9 million at auction last year, so Wind’s asking price of $1.5 million feels like a relative bargain, particularly when one considers the unique place Carpenter holds as a “watch guy” in the collector community.Īccording to Wind, Carpenter’s Speedmaster is in unpolished condition, and as the photos seen here indicate, is in great shape overall. ![]() ![]() It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time an original “Tribute to Astronauts” Speedmaster has come up for public sale. The yellow gold Speedy with a complementary red bezel has become something of an icon in its own right, aided in part by the release of this 50th anniversary edition, the first hand wound co-axial Speedmaster, to no small amount of acclaim back in 2019. These Speedmasters are a whole different breed of rare, being that they were gifts made to individuals directly from Omega on a very special occasion. The solid gold reference 145.022-69 BA “Tribute to Astronauts” Speedmaster was presented to Carpenter along with other early astronauts (and Richard Nixon) in 1969 after the success of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Now, the watch being sold by Wind Vintage is not exactly in the “practical tool” category, but is well understood by the collector community as one of the more historically important Speedmasters ever made. That’s the kind of practical application of watch enthusiasm that we love discussing so much in these pages. He clearly thought about these things as practical tools, and had the experience and know-how to understand how to make them more effective for him specifically. Last year, Blake brought you this story about Breitling’s reissue of a watch that Carpenter wore aboard Aurora 7, which featured modifications made to his own specs. ![]() Carpenter seems to have had a genuine interest in watches, specifically in using them in the high stress environments he frequently found himself in during the course of his career. Suffice it to say, Carpenter was a true explorer, and throughout his career found himself linked to a handful of iconic watches from a multitude of watch brands.Īnd that’s part of what makes this Speedmaster special. Watch enthusiasts with an interest in Rolex are probably aware of SEALAB’s link to that brand’s advances in engineering as they relate to dive watches, which could frankly be the subject of a lengthy article of its own. He spent 28 days living on the ocean floor in the SEALAB II habitat in 1965, and would later become Director of Aquanautic Operations for SEALAB III. In addition to space exploration, Carpenter also played a key role in the Navy’s SEALAB project and was one of the first aquanauts. Carpenter’s space flights did not go off without a hitch – his Aurora 7 spacecraft that flew in the Mercury-Atlas 7 mission famously splashed down 250 miles off course from the intended target. After John Glenn, Carpenter was the second American to orbit the earth, and was a key figure in the early days of the space program when it both captured the imagination of the world and was arguably at its most dangerous. Carpenter was an American naval officer and test pilot who was selected as one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts 1959. First, a little background on Carpenter, because the fact that this watch was his personal Speedmaster is a huge part of what makes it special, particularly to hardcore vintage watch enthusiasts.
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