Fresh from the showcase here at SwissWatchExpo.
I actually only have one watch here that I'd like to show you today.
The reason why is because, well there's really nothing else that we have like it.
I'm referring to an Omega Speedmaster here.
This one commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 17 mission, colloquially called
the "Last Watch on the Moon".
As you know, many of you who are Omega fans probably know, the Speedmaster professional
was the only watch worn on the moon for all of the Apollo missions.
This particular piece is to commemorate the final of those Apollo missions and to date,
the last time a man has set foot on the moon.
This is a great commemorative piece that I think is really unique and really makes it
a wonderful collector's item for a few different reasons.
This is still very much the Speedmaster, as you can tell by this tachymeter bezel here,
but there's a few key differences.
One, this beautiful dial, as you can tell this here is a beautiful and embossed sterling
silver.
It actually looks a lot like a commemorative coin because it's made out of the same material.
The dial itself is actually embossed with the design from the patch of the actual mission,
which of course has the Greek God Apollo, the namesake of NASA's moon missions, as well
as the American Eagle and flag behind it, which was of course the same patch that those
brave men wore when they were up there.
Actually this watch was gifted when it was premiered to the captain of that mission,
Eugene Cernan, for free on the 40th anniversary of this flight.
If any of you are looking for a real special Speedmaster, that's just a little bit out
of your budget.
All you've got to do is literally fly to the moon, survived the trip back.
In 40 years, Omega might just give you one for free.
There's a couple other things that make this watch really interesting.
Mainly that, this actually does have a Sapphire crystal, not the acrylic crystal that was
known and still is made on all of these moon watches.
The reason that is, is because if you can get a zoom in shot later, you'll see that
actually Omega Speedmaster and of course the Omega symbol is not printed on the dial, but
actually on the crystal itself.
This of course making that possible.
There's a really interesting look because rarely do you see something printed on the
crystal that still makes it very easy to view this watch on the back.
You'll actually see that it does have "The last man on the moon, December 14,1972".
This addition is limited to one of 1972 pieces commemorating the year itself.
Something really interesting about this is that, this watch, like so many of other Omegas,
was premiered at Baselworld towards the beginning of the year.
But they didn't actually start delivering these to stores until December 14th of 2012.
They actually made people wait pretty much a whole calendar year, once it was released,
for them to actually be able to sell it which definitely hyped up the collector's appeal
of this.
I think this is a great watch that really does showcase some of the great, great heritage
that the Speedmaster has had over the years.
As a chronograph.
it's obviously not the most legible to read as you see, it actually does have all of the
sub dials and registers that you would find on the chronograph.
Although, they're not super easy to read in this Sterling Silver dial.
Definitely shouldn't be anyone's first chronograph, but if you're a Speedmaster collector or someone
who is just really into the history of NASA and space travel, I think this is an excellent
watch.
The addition of a Sapphire crystal does make it a lot more durable than some of the more
traditional professionals you might've seen.
But I think this is great for anyone who's really into Omega or once a really unique
and striking looking watch.
You can check this out at SwissWatchExpo.com.