Speedy Tuesday
On last week’s Speedy Tuesday I showed you 13 watches from the Christie’s Omega Speedmaster 50 auction that will take place on December 15th. This week, I will continue our “Closer Look At Christie’s Omega Speedmaster 50 Auction” with a couple of pre-Moon Speedmasters.
Christie’s is current traveling around with the lots of this auction, showing some of the Speedmaster watches to collectors, enthusiasts and – hopefully – some bidders. As you’ve noticed in our report of last week (click here for Part I of this Christie’s Omega Speedmaster 50 auction overview), we saw some limited editions, gold Moonwatch models, prototype Speedmasters as well as a flown Speedmaster. This week, I am showing you some pre-Moon Speedmaster watches that will be auctioned in December.
Lot 10. Omega Speedmaster 105.003-65 “Captain Hackett’s Timekeeper”
Omega Speedmaster 105.003-65 – Hackett’s Watch
It will become quite difficult to find a nice and original Speedmaster 105.003 in the future, when the 2998 well has dried up or simply becomes too expensive. This Omega Speedmaster 105.003-65 you are looking at is not only a beautiful and original example, it also has some provenance of being owned by someone special. Someone you’ve probably never heard of until now, but who set a world record in 1955 by flying from London to New York and back in one day with a short 35 minute refueling stop. The trip totaled 14 hours and 21 minutes (and 45 seconds) and was performed by Captain Hackett and his navigator Moneypenny. Later on, Hackett became Senior Training Pilot for the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC), co-developer of the Concorde. Hackett supervised the first sub-3 hour transatlantic flight in 1974 on the Concorde.
Although the watch is a Speedmaster 105.003-65, the serial number (25,442,602) dates it to 1967 and the watch was shipped to the United Kingdom. There is some provenance that comes with this watch to proof it was Hackett’s watch. When Hackett passed away, his wife gave it to the second owner in 2007 who wrote a letter to confirm this. The watch comes on a ref.1035 bracelet and with the original box (and outer box).
Christie’s estimates this Speedmaster 105.003-65 between $8,000 – $12,000 USD. The watch comes with an Extract from the Archives.
Lot 9. Omega Speedmaster 105.003-64 “Tropical Ed White”
Omega Speedmaster 105.003-64 “Ed White Tropical”
Another Speedmaster reference 105.003 of the Christie’s Omega Speedmaster 50 auction. No famous ownership (that we know of ;)) but a Speedmaster 105.003-64 with a beautiful aged dial. Due to the aging process (the watch was shipped to Brazil originally), the dial has turned into this stunning brown chocolate color. These dials are being referred to as “tropical” by collectors. The 105.033 reference is also linked to astronaut Ed White because this reference was worn by him during the first EVA in 1965. This was during the Gemini IV mission. The 105.003 was the last Speedmaster without crown guards and with straight lugs.
This watch was produced in 1965 and Christie’s estimates it between $ 8,000 – $ 12,000 USD. The 105.003-64 Ed White comes on a brown leather strap and with an Extract of the Archives.
Lot 8. Omega Speedmaster 105.002-62
Omega Speedmaster 105.002-62 Transitional reference
Omega Speedmaster reference 105.002 is the result of Omega’s new coding system for their reference numbers. It is basically a CK2998 reference, but under the new reference system. This reference was only produced for a very short period of time. The Alpha hands and the nice yellow-ish patina on the hour markers are simply stunning.
According to the Christie’s catalogue about 2 years, but I would say that it was only produced in 1962 as its successor (105.003) was introduced shortly after. At the very end of the 105.002-62 production (20.52mio serial number) Omega started to use the white baton hands.
This 105.002 was delivered to Mexico in 1963. The watch was delivered on a ref.7912 bracelet.
Christie’s estimates this Speedmaster 105.002-64 between $5,000 – $ 8,000 USD which I believe is a bit on the low side. The watch comes with an Extract of the Archives from Omega.
Lot 5. Omega Speedmaster CK2998-1
Omega Speedmaster CK2998-1 with Tropical dial
For me personally, the CK2998 is something like the grail Speedmaster. I prefer it over a CK2915, without wanting to doubt the historical significance of that one. I just prefer the black bezel over the steel bezel and love those Alpha hands. For me, the CK2998 comes close to the Moonwatch as we know it today. The CK2915 was just a bit of a different watch and part of the Railmaster (CK2914), Seamaster 300 (CK2913) and Speedmaster trio in 1957. Anyway, this CK2998-1 is the first 2998 reference of the 2nd generation of Speedmaster watches, introduced in 1959. As you can see, it has the original bezel with “Base 1000” on there and has this beautiful aged dial that turned into this chocolate brown color. This watch was produced in 1960 and shipped to Curacao. It also comes on the original ref. 7912 bracelet.
Christie’s estimates this Speedmaster CK2998-1 between $20,000 – $40,000 USD. The watch comes with an Extract of the Archives from Omega.
Lot 3. Omega Speedmaster CK2915-1
Omega Speedmaster CK2915-1, the very first Speedmaster from 1957
The CK2915 was the very first Speedmaster reference that Omega introduced, together with the aforementioned Railmaster CK2914 and Seamaster 300 CK2913. These were tool watches with each its own domain or specialization. The Speedmaster was meant to be a sports watch, to time activities or events rather then an astronaut’s watch, of course. This beautiful looking CK2915-1 is a very early example of the – then – new Speedmaster collection, produced in 1957. It has no Seahorse logo engraved in the caseback, which was common for these first produced Speedmaster watches.
As you can see, the original steel bezel “Base 1000” is there as well as the beautiful Broad Arrow hands. Also, and here’s where it gets really interesting, the case is super sharp. Look at those sharp and crisp beveled lugs on this Speedmaster CK2915-1! Although some people I’ve spoken to do wonder how come it is in such pristine condition with these lugs, it seems to be some kind of early case made by Huguenin Frères that could also be seen in early Speedmaster advertisements. Whether this specific watch was used as a subject to that campaign is not clear, but that could be the case (no pun intended) of course. This watch has been delivered to Singapore in 1957.
Christie’s estimates this Speedmaster CK2915-1 between $100,000 – $150,000 USD. The watch comes with an Extract of the Archives from Omega.
Christie’s Omega Speedmaster 50 Auction December 15th 2015
These were the lots that I’ve viewed in Geneva. There were a couple more, but I selected these to high-light in my articles. There are a couple more viewings organized by Christie’s, before the auction will take place on Speedy Tuesday December 15th, 2015. More information can be found on the Christie’s website.
We will be following the auction closely and report back to you when the results are there. Below, all photos of the watches that I’ve highlighted.
