Why Nixon had to say no to this Omega watch — and why it's back in a limited edition

Jun 11 , 2019

The new Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition watch.

The Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition timepiece, marking the July 1969 mission, recalls the yellow-gold watch Richard Nixon declined as a gift because of its value

Omega has celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing this year with several limited-edition watches.

American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, before Armstrong, and then Aldrin, walked on the moon’s surface on July 21.

The new Omega factory in Biel, Switzerland.

However, one timepiece, in particular resonated with fans – not only because of its new yellow Moonshine gold body, but also because of the unique history it has with the moon landing itself.

A statue of an astronaut – recalling the watchmaker’s links with the successful Nasa moon missions – inside the new Omega factory in Biel, Switzerland.

We headed to Biel, in Switzerland, where we saw first hand the timepiece at the new Omega factory.

American astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was among those people who was given one of the original Speedmaster BA145.002 watches.

The Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition is, at first glance, a near identical reinterpretation of the original Speedmaster BA145.022.

The original Omega timepiece presented to – but rejected by – then US president Richard Nixon, which was made to commemorate the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.