Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional Apollo 11 25th Anniversary Ref. 3097.30.00

Limited edition of 50 units in platinum. Skeleton movement by Armin Strom. Reference number AT 145.0063 The Apollo 11 25th Anniversary was introduced in 1994 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the moon landing. We like to consider it the first Speedmaster Professional with a more romantic and artistic approach to it : less tool, less instrumental, more art.. much like the recent Apollo XVII 40th Anniversary. While this might not be to everyone’s liking, it is an interesting idea: a functional instrument transformed into a piece of art. Somehow it reminds us of the Art Cars by BMW. Reference 3096.30.00 is similar but fitted with a platinum bracelet. The Apollo 11 25th Anniversary is powered by Caliber 867, a hand-skeletonized version of Caliber 861/863. The skeletonizing was done by no other than Armin Strom. Mr. Strom started working on watches in 1967 and soon found his passion in creating skeleton timepieces – cutting all unnecessary bits of the movement away, while delicately engraving the leftover pieces. His work reputably earned him a place in the Guinness World Records book, but we must admit we could not find it in our 2009 copy. Although retired in 2011, his company Armin Strom AG is still very much alive and his signature style is still identifiable in the current pieces.