A wristwatch is the most intimate device to a man. Like a tangible chronicle of personal history and achievements, a watch is able to remind you of those special occasions and people who are with you during that time. Such is the pure pleasure that only vintage watches could bring – a fuzzy feeling of nostalgia through a glimpse into the gilded past. However, it is rare to have that past thoroughly documented, and even rarer to retain clear photographs of the original owner wearing the watch. The present lot, an awe-inspiring example of Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, is accompanied with such priceless documentation that brilliantly recollect some of the most important life events of its original possessor.

The present watch was bought by the original owner when he was a 24-year-old U.S. serviceman. At the time, he was a Naval Aviator – a Co-pilot and one of eight helicopter rescue pilots assigned to Detachment 31, Helicopter Combat Support Squadron One. His Detachment was serving abroad for the USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA-31), an aircraft carrier stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, in support of combat operations in Vietnam.

On a typical June morning, the watch, placed inside a glass display cabinet in the tiny ship’s store, caught his attention. He recognized the watch model almost instantaneously, as it was widely known that Astronauts wore Speedmaster chronographs during the first American spacewalking as well as the Apollo 11 mission. Even though the Speedmaster was a little more expensive than the other watches in the cabinet - $ 75.00, he purchased the watch nonetheless, and wore it in two helicopter rescue tours from the “Bonnie Dick” in the Gulf – the second tour as a Helicopter Aircraft Commander. He wore it only sporadically after he was discharged, and the watch was a special memento that reminded the owner of his daring and adventurous youth.