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'Poor Man's' Forum ARCHIVE Waltham on the Moon, and the Search for the Holy Grail. . .

Posted By: Kelly M. Rayburn Date: Wednesday, 27 August 2003, at 2:21 a.m.

(Reto was kind enough to ask me to repost my earlier post on the above topic for the archives on the new server. It contains nothing new except the post script. If you have already read the post, please disregard.)

Hi all:

In preparation for purchasing an Professional, I have done the obligatory research on the use of the Speedmaster in the NASA program. Chuck Maddox's excellent article on Omega's history with the revealed some interesting facts that I did not know. In brief:

The cal. 321 Speedmasters were purchased by NASA for the ' use prior to the introduction of the cal. 861 movement in 1968. Apparently it is generally accepted that only the cal. 321 Speedmasters were worn on the moon during the various moon missions, as the initial procurement of these around 1965 was distributed to all astonauts at that time (two each) with as many as twenty still left in inventory and never used following the final mission in 1972. Apparently, there is no evidence that a cal. 861 Speedmaster was worn by any of the moonwalkers or that NASA had procured any cal. 861 Speedmasters prior to the end of the Apollo program, unless a particular astonaut bought one privately and brought it along as his reserve watch. NASA did not have a policy against the astronauts purchasing their own watch privately and bringing it along as a backup. More on 's Waltham in a minute.

Omega acknowledges that the cal.321 Speedmaster issued to was the first watch worn on the moon. The story is that had left his watch behind on the command module as a backup timer source and wore Buzz Aldrin's Speedmaster when he made that historic first step. A few after the astronauts returned, Aldrin's Speedmaster was stolen in transit from to the Smithsonian Institute where it was to be placed on permanent display, never to be seen or heard from again! Thirty four years later this watch has never revealed itself. The most priceless moonwatch of all (the Holy Grail--now you see where I'm going with this)lost forever? I would love to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together and find out what happened to this historic timepiece.

I am sure that the statute of limitations has passed for any state or federal offense associated with the theft (I'm a defense lawyer, not a prosecutor). Yet, surpisingly, it has never appeared at any auction of which I am aware. Unless the thief did not

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know the significance of what he was stealing (I actually hope this was not the case as we may never know what happened to it), the watch is probably in someone's private collection (the WIS of all WIS's), along with a few Rembrandts and Monets probably. The watch actually belonged to the U.S. Government, as it was official NASA issue and the law required that all items be returned when the user left government employ or that agency. Who should it be returned back to if it were ever recovered, NASA, the Smithsonian, Buzz Adrin, Omega/Swatch Group (I don't think so)? I think that we can all agree that it should be in a public museum where it can be enjoyed and appreciated.

Now to Omega's claim to be the first and ONLY watch worn on the moon. Although the "only" word does not appear on the inscription on the caseback, Omega has advertised in print ads that the Speedmaster is the first and only watch worn on the moon.

Enter Waltham and David Scott, Apollo XV moonwalker (1971) and apparent proud owner of one Waltham backup wristwatch. According to Chuck Maddox's article, quoting a 1996 letter from Scott, "I do not recall ever having looked at my watch after egress. In the cabin after EVA-2, I noticed that the crystal of my Omega had popped off sometime during the EVA. Therefore, on EVA-3, I used my backup Waltham watch (which was) of a similar type. It worked just fine during the even higher temperatures of EVA-3."

Its doubtful that Waltham ever knew it had manufactured an unsuspecting alternative moonwatch. The only non-Omega watch ever verified to have been worn on the moon. So much for Omega's first and only claim (ad pic attached). And poor , they desparately wanted to have a Bulova watch worn on the final Apollo mission lunar landing in 1972 and pushed to have their approved. The watches were tested in 1972 and the Bulova was not approved. Perhaps Bulova should have convinced one of the moonwalkers to bring one along as a backup. If they had known about the Waltham, maybe they would have.

It is also reported in Maddox's article and with almost 100% certainty that astronaut wore a GMT-Master in addition to his NASA issued Speedmaster on the abortive Apollo XIII mission (several pictures and references are included with this claim). Of course, this mission never made it to the moon and Swigert was not aboard any subsequent Apollo missions.

According to David Scott, his Waltham was of a similar type as the Speedmaster. The question of the day is (and I do not know the answer at this point)what Waltham was of a similar type to the Speedmaster circa 1971?

Well, back to dreaming about that moonwatch and my purchase. If anyone has the answer to the question, my purchase just may be the Waltham.

*new post script: I did find a few late 60's Waltham manual wind , one with two registers, the other with three. I am in the process of trying to find out what chronographs Waltham manufactured during this period and I would also like to contact David Scott to determine if he still has the watch and which Waltham he wore. I did purchase the new Speedy Pro at a 50% discount from Taiwan Time and

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should have it in a few days. kmr

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Waltham on the Moon, Apollo 15 and the Search for the Holy Grail. . . (views: 29) Kelly M. Rayburn -- Wednesday, 27 August 2003, at 2:21 a.m.

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