It's for sale: the Gold Omega Speedmaster from Apollo 13

The OMEGA community celebrated the first space missions in 1969 by hosting an exquisite party on November 25th, honoring the two well-known and key members of Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin and the one and only Neil Armstrong.

A series of 28 yellow gold Speedmaster Professional watches were created as a commemorative gift, with each watch engraved with the astronaut's final name, rank, and length of service for NASA. Subsequently, OMEGA continued presenting the fine watches to various people in the NASA Space Program. Currently, Sotheby's is auctioning a historic timepiece that once belonged to Jack Swigert, a star astronaut. Swigert flew the module on the historic mission titled Apollo 13.

A dramatic turn in the mission was forced by an explosion onboard, forcing, an emergency return to Earth. Swigert's contributions were crucial to the lives of the astronauts.

The astronauts needed a precise time of 14 seconds for fuel to burn in order to successfully reenter Earth's atmosphere. To carry out the mission in the best way, Jack Swigert utilized his OMEGA watch (yes, unfortunately, it’s not the same as the one up for auction), a timepiece that is known for its superior accuracy. A brilliant portrayal of these events is depicted in the popular movie from 1995 directed by Ron Howard (called Apollo 13). In the movie, Kevin Bacon portrays Swigert, whose iconic phrase is probably remembered now by everyone who has seen the movie in the 90s. You sure know it, even if you haven’t seen it. It’s the famous "Houston, we have a problem."

Since 1964, OMEGA established an official partnership with NASA’s Space Program. As a result, at the time of the mission, all three astronauts aboard the spacecraft had been given Speedmaster Professional watches, but not in gold. Today, the 18k watch that is now up for auction is actually a special dedication to Swigert, designed having in mind the famous mission from the 70s. On the back of the watch, one can find engraved Swigert’s name, the mission title, and a symbolical quote that reads: "To mark man's conquest of space with time, through time, on time."

In addition to the exquisite gold Speedmaster, the highest bidder in this auction will receive a number of personal items from the astronaut’s archives. We’re talking about items that could include a commemorative coin, a mission patch, and a one-of-its-kind invitation to the launch of Apollo 13, but there are more important artifacts. The auction is scheduled for June 9th, and Sotheby's has estimated the lot to sell for a price up to €‎150,000.

Omega produced a total of 1,014 gold watches of this very model, and they were not classified as limited editions but were instead numbered editions. What’s more, each of these Speedmasters was engraved with a unique series on the back. The brand initially intended to present the first series of the famous watch to Nixon, who was then the President of the US, and to his Vice President, respectively. However, both declined the gifts, as did astronaut Schmitt. So, in order to showcase the watches, the loved timepieces brand organized a select and elegant dinner in Houston, Texas in 1969, to which several astronauts were invited. It is worth noting that the very astronaut who wore the watch on the mission - Swigert - could not attend the banquet event, as the Apollo 13 mission had not yet happened, as it was planned for the next year.