As the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing approaches, the value of a commemorative Speedmaster released by luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega has skyrocketed.
Unlike many other brands that have created commemorative products, the Speedmaster has a direct connection with Apollo 11, as all three astronauts wore one during the mission. Additionally, the Speedmaster is currently the only watch to receive official certification from NASA to fly into space.
To commemorate the historic 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, Omega released a limited edition steel Speedmaster. The watch was announced to much fanfare in May and released weeks later. A total of 6,969 pieces were created, all of which have since sold out.
The retail price of the 50th anniversary Speedmaster was $9,650. It has since almost doubled in value with some resellers on the popular watch marketplace Chrono24 asking as much as $15,955. The “cheapest” listed is currently asking $13,199, an increase of more than 35% in less than two months.
In addition to the commemorative steel Speedmaster, Omega also released a gold and burgundy variant in much lower quantities. The gold Speedmaster was created as an updated version of a watch presented to the Apollo 11 crew, key NASA personnel and President Nixon himself, which due to legislative restrictions the president was not allowed to keep.
Although the value of the gold Speedmaster will likely also have increased significantly, there has currently been no sign of the commemorative watch on any major reseller marketplace.
