Thor Svaboe
Now, we all have an image of the Speedmaster Professional, the icon, the Tool of Tool watches, the Moon Watch. A beautiful 42mm piece of history, with its delicate white lumed baton hands pointing to a still timeless sixties minute track, and delicate slightly recessed sub chronograph registers on a plain, matt monochromatic dial. Twisted lyre lugs the stuff of a thousand replicas.But let's be one hundred per cent honest with ourselves. This is not a watch per se, this is not an object to tell the time or make sure you catch the bus, but dreams made metal. Ironically, the Speedmaster Professional, arguably The Icon of tool watches, can be picked up from you local Omega dealer today, no waiting list, grey market madness or shady replicas, just pure history for the wrist with an easily scratched charming Hesalite crystal, enough to win NASA over.Instead this piece of steel represents all our collected dreams of another world, space exploration and of the toughest men on the planet, the mythical Astronauts that once set foot on the moon, their exploits abruptly replaced by soaring budgets propelling USA and the Soviet Union into the destructive spiral of Cold War.And in 2020? Still no return to the Moon, and a White House under the current rule, that has created a Space Force whose most productive output appears to be a Netflix spoof of the same name.This lot being auctioned by RR Auctions as we speak, and now on Saturday night up to $13446USD is the real thing, the stuff of dreams distilled, a bona fide scratched up Omega Speedmaster Professional with 188 days in space. This is the reason for wanting a Speedmaster multiplied by x 100,000. It has been there, you can almost smell the space dust from the pictures alone.My rambling recollection of the end of Moon Exploration and Cold War rant has an ironic and poignant detail manifested in this Speedy. Rick Mastracchio is an American Astronaut, he was in the late 90's carried to the ISS Space Station for a 188 day stay during Expedition 38/39. And then the twist that lends a twinkle of hope for mankind. He was carried there on a Russian spacecraft, and his Omega Speedmaster? It was provided to him by the Russian Space Agency. This watch was with him during the entire stay. It is not pristine, but has providence like maybe no other Speedy on the market today, still on its well worn elastic EVA strap ready for another mission.The cardboard box has his name in felt tip, in both English and Cyrillian letters. Our hope is that this does not end up in a museum or safe, but gets used as the fantastic tool it is.The Auction is under way, you will find it teasingly simple to access here at RR Auctions: Lot #4461
10.10.20