DALLAS, TX.- Among the most important factors when determining any item’s popularity among collectors are the rarity and provenance. If something is limited in number and availability, or was previously owned by someone important, the demand can soar.

Such is the case with an Omega, Rare And Historically Important Gold Speedmaster Professional Wristwatch, No. 25that will be go to the highest bidder when it crosses the block in Heritage’s Watches & Fine Timepieces Signature® Auction No. 5567 June 3.

It stands on its own merit as an exceptional timepiece, but what really makes it a treasured keepsake is that it was presented by Omega to astronaut Russell L. “Rusty” Schweickart, whose list of out-of-this-world accomplishments includes his time as an aeronautical engineer, research scientist, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot and astronaut, which included his stint as the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 9 mission in 1969. Schweickart was among the astronauts who received their watches at a NASA event in November 1969 at the Warrick Hotel in Houston. Astronauts from several Apollo missions already were wearing silver Omega matches, but the fold model represented a different honor altogether as the watchmaker’s tribute to those who first walked on the moon, and to those whose missions and work in the space program made an eventual lunar landing possible.

“The event in which we were given the watches by Omega was in November of 1969,” Schweickart says. “It was just after the Apollo 12 mission. We had all been wearing Omega watches, but they were the silver ones. They gave out the watches to those of us who were [at the event], honoring our service, and landing on the moon and everything that led up to it.”

In Schweickart’s case, this watch did not become a memento tucked away in a glass case for display purposes; he wore it regularly … until he didn’t. When he witnessed a fellow pilot get his wedding ring caught while exiting a plane, Schweickart stopped wearing any jewelry. The watch offered in this auction was tucked away in a desk drawer, where it remained for more than half a century.

“At [the time of the other pilot’s injury], I stopped wearing jewelry altogether, watches and everything else,” says Schweickart. “So mine ended up in a drawer, frankly, just stored, and I lost track of it for a long time.

“Do you have any idea how long it was sitting there untouched? I would say pretty close to 50 years. I thought I’d lost it, and it was only earlier this year, to be honest with you, when I rediscovered [it]. No, I hadn’t lost it … That was quite a shock.”

The back of the watch is engraved: “Astronaut Russell L. Schweickart … to mark man’s quest of space with time, through time, on time.”

Schweickart’s Omega is but one of the highlights in the auction. Also among the top attractions is a magnificent Rolex, Important and Rare Ref. 6239 “Paul Newman” Cosmograph Daytona, circa 1969. The Rolex Cosmograph Daytona Ref 6239, in this aesthetic configuration, is the most original and authentic “Paul Newman” Daytona, as it is the variant owned and worn by its namesake. It features a tri-color reverse panda dial, pump pushers and polished steel bezel. This highly attractive and very well-preserved watch is fresh to the market and is being offered for sale for the first time.

Rolex always is popular in high-end auctions, and this event is no exception, with 65 lots. Beyond the Ref. 6239 “Paul Newman” Cosmograph Daytona, top Rolex offerings include, but are not limited to:

• A Mint Day-Date II Platinum Wristwatch With Ice Blue Arabic Dial, Full Set

• A Day-Date 40 Gold Oyster Perpetual Baguette Diamond Dial, Diamond Bezel in a 40 mm 18k yellow gold case with a diamond bezel

• A Daytona Ref. 16520 Very Rare “Floating Cosmograph” Black Dial, “225” Bezel, circa 1989

• A Fine 18k Everose Daytona Ref.116505, circa 2019 Full Set

The auction includes more than 60 Patek Philippe lots, including a Ref. 5370P-001, An Extremely Fine Platinum Split-Seconds Chronograph Wristwatch, Full Set, circa 2016featuring a black grand feu enamel dial, Arabic numerals, a 30-minute register and subsidiary constant seconds, and feuille hands, all housed in a 41 mm platinum case with concave bezel; it features a transparent case back and an additional solid case back.

Other Patek Philippe offerings in the auction include, but are not limited to:

• A Ref. 5980/1A-001, Steel Automatic Nautilus Chronograph, circa 2007
• An Exceptional Ref. 2526 Gold Self-Winding Wristwatch, Enamel Dial, circa 1958
• A Pink 18k Rose Gold Ref. 3969R “Jump Hour,” 150th Anniversary Edition, Circa 1989 with Box, Certificate of Origin

An F.P. Journe, Fine And Important Platinum Chronomètre Optimum Wristwatch features a grey and white dial with radial Arabic numerals and a subsidiary dial for the constant seconds, all in a 42 mm platinum case with a transparent back that reveals the the inner mechanisms that drive this extraordinary timepiece. It is one of two lots in the auction by the influential Swiss watchmaker, which also produced a Very Fine and Rare Chronomètre Souverain, Platinum Wristwatch with Box and Papers.

Also among the auction’s intriguing lots is a Tudor, Extremely Rare Ref. 7923 Stainless Steel Submariner, Gilt Dial With Red Depth Marking, circa 1955. Purchased at a swap meet for just $20, it is believed to be just the 16th known example.