Bring a Loupe: A Space-Worn Omega Speedmaster, A Heuer Carrera, And A CL Guinand Pocket Watch For The Olympic Club
It’s Friday and, with that, time for Bring A Loupe! If you’ve ever opened a story on Hodinkee and thought to yourself (maybe even mumbled out loud) “too much damn Rolex, Patek, and Cartier,” have I got the story for you. And if you simply cannot get enough of the big three vintage brands, I’m sure next week I’ll find one of each. Let the kids play this week, okay?
To close the loop on our last installment, here are the results. I am happy to report that some astute collector submitted a reasonable offer and took home the 1954 Zenith caliber 135 for a price south of $3,999. The LeGant chronograph likely made by Gallet sold for $1,029 and our Heuer Monza with box and open papers ended up at $3,250 – great prices for eBay gems. Lastly, Subdial has listed the Rolex Submariner ref. 6200 I featured as an early look a couple of weeks back, the price is £175,000.
Let’s get into this week’s non-Rolex, non-Patek, and non-Cartier picks!
1975 Omega Speedmaster Professional Ref. 145.022 Worn In Space
While NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell’s space-flown Rolex GMT-Master is grabbing headlines over at RR Auction (read Tony’s article for the full story on that one), it is not the only watch in the sale. French cosmonaut Jean-Loup Chrétien is, seemingly, a watch guy or, at least, he was during the 1988 French-Soviet cooperative Aragatz mission. Aragatz was an interesting mission. I won’t go into all the details but, in short, the mission sent Chrétien to the Soviet space station Mir for three weeks. This marked the first time that the Soviets welcomed an Astronaut from a non friendly nation on board its space stations and Chrétien’s trip, at the time, was the longest space flight by a non-Soviet and non-American astronaut. Aragatz is most well known for Chrétien’s 5 hour and 57 minute (!) spacewalk on December 9, 1988 – this marked the first non-Soviet and non-American spacewalk.
Now, I said Chrétien was a watch guy during the mission because he can be seen double-wristing in most photos! Even more proof is this incredible photo of him aboard Mir. Yes, he is wearing the Speedmaster on his left wrist and a Yema Spationaute III on his right wrist while juggling a group of three other Speedmasters. I can’t believe I had never seen that photo before!
As for the Speedmaster in particular, its serial number dates production to 1975, well before the Aragatz mission which is interesting because the watch itself has that true vintage Speedmaster feel. If, for example, the watch would have been made 10 years later, around the time of the mission, the lume wouldn’t be quite as patinated. I say that not only because there would be less time for patina to develop but also because Omega’s lume mixture changed constantly on Speedmasters. Typically, examples from the mid-1970s develop a nice rich burnt yellow patina whereas those from the mid-’80s tend to either stay a bit whiter or turn greenish in hue.
While it was acquired well before the mission or at least produced then, it doesn’t appear as though Chrétien wore the watch very often. Sure, it has a few bumps, bruises, and scratches (particularly on the caseback) but the sides of the case show their original brushing and I can even see a bit of the red wax seal on the edge of the caseback. These seals were applied during production, if they are unbroken, the watch has never been opened. Here, the full seal is long gone but to see even a bit of that red wax means there was not a ton of wear.
Generally, watches with provenance like this one are hard to compare. At the end of the day, this is one of the very few space-flown and space-worn Omega Speedmasters, THE watch of space, that private citizens can own. The vast majority of NASA Speedmasters are famously U.S. Government property – if you’re offered one for sale, be very careful. I can point to the Speedmaster of Astronaut Ronald Evans, Jr. that sold for $245,000 at Christie’s in 2015 as well as a couple of even higher 2022 Phillips results, here and here – there were NASA-delivered yet not space-flown. Chrétien’s watch is a different beast being a non-NASA space Speedmaster. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.
Jean-Loup Chrétien’s Omega Speedmaster is lot 6514 of RR Auction’s Space auction ending on Thursday, October 24, at 7:00 PM ET. The pre-sale estimate is $30,000+ and, at the time of publication, bidding was at $13,915.
1970s Heuer Carrera Ref. 2447N Second Execution
In literature, there is a common saying that the classics are the classics for a reason. Typically, a literary work gains this title by doing something better than anyone before or since. Jack Heuer’s first-generation Carrera is a classic. No watch executes the idea of a simple and legible sport chronograph better than Carreras from the 1960s and early 1970s. And that’s not an accident – Jack Heuer was obsessed with legibility. After taking a course on the subject at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, he prioritized dial readability over all else when designing watches. This led to the realization that multiple tracks or registers on the dial were unnecessary, and it was more aesthetically pleasing to have something with an overall clean look. This may seem obvious today but when you consider the context of pre-1960 chronograph design with “snail” scales and multiple outer tracks, it was revolutionary.
The first generation Carrera was available with a silver dial or a black (noir, in French) dial; 2447S, for silver, and 2447N for noir. The example we have here today is of the noir variety and has come to be known to collectors as a second-execution variant. Compared to first-execution examples, the differences include the black inserts with the main handset and a few dials tweaks such as the slightly wider hour makers.
Listed by an eBay seller who goes by the name “storagefinds2u,” this particular example appears to be fresh to market after years of sitting idle. Yes, the seller’s name is a clue towards that but I was also drawn to the vintage single-pass nylon strap. It is quite clear that the watch has not been prepared for sale or dolled up in any manner – I mean, the seller could barely bother to take photos with the watch in focus. If you can’t tell by reading other BAL editions, I am a bit obsessed with poor eBay photography. I simply ask for your trust. I have purchased and assessed enough watches on eBay to understand the art of looking past a poorly taken photo. Ultimately, I would rather have a watch un-messed with and this is how I find them.
What I can see from the photos is a strong case with nice lines, a correctly Heuer-signed crown, seemingly full luminous plots on the dial, and a visually clean Valjoux caliber 72. That’s all I need to see, if the movement requires a service, so be it.
An eBay seller out of Klamath Falls, Oregon, has listed this Heuer Carrera ref. 2447N for auction ending Wednesday, October 8, at 4:37 AM ET (set your alarms!). When this article was posted, the bidding had reached $7,199. Check out the full listing right here.
Bonus: While a bit later than the Carrera, check out this vintage TAG Heuer x Gübelin hat!
1930s Mulco Buckle Cocktail Watch In White Gold With Sapphires (?)
Here’s an odd one that hit my radar this week, an art deco Mulco cocktail watch with a “buckle” concealed dial. In light of the recent obsession with odd-shaped vintage watches from Cartier, Piaget, and the like, I have been curious if that will ever trickle down to “lesser-known” brands, many of which were creating fascinating watches in the same era. This Mulco likely dates back to the 1930s or 1940s and speaks to a larger trend at the time, especially with women’s watches. Women were wearing wristwatches before men, I think we all know that by now, and in these early designs we see a key emphasis on subtlety. In contrast to how we think today, the idea of a wristwatch was utilitarian. Wearers needed the time but didn’t necessarily want a watch that was so obviously a watch. The in-vogue watches at this time were either very small or, like our Mulco, concealed. The time was there but only when you needed it.
We see concealed watches from almost every brand you can think of in this era – think Cartier, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and so on. Cartier even extended the idea to men’s watches with the Tank Obus Savonnette and there is an argument to be made that Jaeger LeCoultre’s Reverso, especially in smaller sizes, is a hidden watch for daily wear.
This Mulco is made to appear as a simple brick-link bracelet with detailing of a tang buckle at one edge of the watch “case.” Flip up near where the “extra” portion of the “strap,” kept beneath a “keeper,” to reveal a simple, unbranded, and Art Deco-styled dial. It is quite uncommon to find a watch from this era in white gold as well, making the watch all the more interesting. As the seller describes them, three “blue stones’ adorn the top of the “watch.” I am no gem expert but maybe someone reading this can identify them as sapphires?
An eBay seller out of Dorr, MI has listed this concealed Mulco for auction ending Monday, October 6, at 11:44 AM ET. When this article was posted, there were no bids at the starting price of $2,799.99. The full listing is right here.
1918 CL Guinand Split Second Chronograph Pocket Watch For The Olympic Club
The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California, established in 1860, is the oldest athletic club in the United States. The city clubhouse was a training ground for the best athletes in San Fransisco. The club boasted members such as heavyweight boxing champion James J. Corbett and in 1909, member Ralph Rose set the world record for shot put at the club with a throw of 51 feet. Today, the club is most well-known for golf. The Willie Watson-designed Lake Course opened in 1924, was once called “the best in the west” by Bobby Jones, and has hosted five U.S. Opens.
Ollie Snedigar
Featured on the cover of this CL Guinand pocket watch, the Olympic Club’s “winged-o” logo is one of the most iconic logos in golf. As a golf enthusiast and fan, the logo is what made me click on this listing but as I dug deeper, I was more and more intrigued. Sticking with the Olympic Club side of this pocket watch, an inner caseback engraving tells us the story of O.F., or Ollie, Snediger. He was awarded this pocket watch for, presumably, winning or being deemed “Champion All-Round Athlete” of the club on May 1, 1918. Snediger was quite the man and his athletic achievements include competing in the 1904 Olympics as well as winning the “All Around Athletic Championship of California” in 1914. From what I can tell, Snediger was competing in track and field competitions similar to the decathlon.
Now for the watch itself, I will start with the quality of the hand engravings that I have already touched on. The Olympic Club logo and inscription are so beautifully done – I would buy the watch just for the engravings. As for the watchmaker, CL Guinand came to prominence in the late 1800s as a chronograph specialist based in Le Locle, Switzerland. For an athlete like Snediger and an athletic club like the Olympic Club, CL Guinand is a perfect match. By 1918, the brand would have been considered one of the best split-second chronograph makers in the world – something a track athlete would really appreciate.
An eBay seller in Roseburg, Oregon, has listed this CL Guinand for the Buy It Now price of $3,950. I have been watching this one for about a week and during that time, the seller sent me an offer at a lower price of $2,950 – so do with that information what you will. Get all the details right here.
Hodinkee
