The Speedy ( Part 3 ) Final

The Omega Speedmaster watches worn by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldin and Michael Collins were sent back to Nasa to become part of The Smithsonian Museum in Washington. But only two of them arrived. Buzz Aldrins watch went missing. Presumably stolen somewhere on its journey.

Monday 10^th February 2025.

Steven Boone was once again back in his old bedroom at his mum's flat in Romford. Her funeral was last week and now the painful job of clearing out her belongings had to begin. The Council had given him just a few weeks to get it done before they would take possession. He’d pleaded with them to let him stay there as he’d been paying the rent on his mums behalf for years, but there were forms to fill in and Stevie wasn’t very good with paperwork. They also said that if he wanted to contest their decision he should get a solicitor and Stevie just didn’t have the money.

The last few years had been tough. Jobs had come and gone and so had girlfriends. He wasn’t much good at keeping either one of them. Then there was Mum. The cancer had finally got her but she put up a brave fight. The diagnosis early on was three years if she lived her life from then on like a Nun. “Fuck em.” Was her reply. So she kept on doing what she’d always done. She smoked a little bit, drank a little bit and just kept going. She lasted six years. But the last two weren’t great. Stevie cared for her at home, full time. The Council sorted out a carer to come in once a day for an hour to give him a break but he did everything else himself. She’d often say to him, “I don’t deserve you son. You’re a fucking godsend you are. Not like your father. He was a fucking wrong un.”

He smiled when he thought of Mum saying those words. She used them a lot.

The thought of his dad made him open up the draw of his bedside cabinet, and there it was. The watch that his Dad gave him for his twenty first birthday. Bloody hell that was sixteen years ago. Where the fuck did that time go.

He remembered back to when Gerry Turner bought the watch from him for fifty quid then returned it three weeks later full of apologies. “Sorry mate, the money didn’t come through and I’m skint. Best you have the watch back, I know it was from your dad.”

Gerry went on to marry the lovely Gina Wilkins from the Kilby estate. They married in 2020 and now have two lovely kids.

The watch went back into the drawer and stayed there ever since. That was until last Friday. He didn’t know what made him do it but he woke up in the middle of the night thinking about the watch. The next morning he contacted a small watch shop in Stepney called “Its About Time.” He told them what he had and was honest enough to say that he didn’t know if it was real or not. The old man that he spoke to asked him to take a few photos of the front and back of the watch and send them over. That was two days ago and so far he’d heard nothing. He could hear his mum shouting “It’s a fake, just like your father. Wrong un he was.”

He turned the winder and it started up straight away. It ticked effortlessly around the dial and Stevie for the first time began to appreciate its beauty. Did it really matter if it was a fake? Lots of his mates wore fake Rolex’s, they didn’t care, why should he? Omega was a luxury brand and this watch did look cool. He slipped it on his wrist and fastened the clasp of the bracelet. Fuck it, he’d wear it from now on. Everytime he looked at it it would remind him of both of his parents. His Dad because he gave it to him and his Mum because she hated the watch and its association with the “wrong un.” Didn’t matter they were both part of his life and so was the watch. He didn’t get to think about anything else because his phone was ringing. He answered it.

“Hello?”

“Mister Boone, its Saul Solomon here from Its About Time. I got the photos you sent over. I’m very interested in seeing the watch. Can you bring it over?”

Stevie wanted to know the answer to one question.

“Is it real or a fake, because it doesn’t have the inscription on the back about the watch being worn on the moon.”

The old boy laughed.

“Of course it doesn’t Mister Boone. The watch was made in 1967 or maybe 1968 that’s before we set foot on the moon. Only watches made after 1969 have that inscription. Your watch is what we call Pre-Moon.”

Again Stevie wanted to know.

“But is it real?”

There was a pause before Saul answered.

“I’d need to look at it carefully. I need to take the back off and see what calibre it is, see what reference number it has, but…in my personal opinion and from what I’ve seen in the photos, I believe this to be a 1968 Pre Moon Omega Speedmaster.”

Stevie looked at the watch on his wrist and thought, “Maybe the old man wasn’t such a wrong un after all.”

“I’m on my way. Be with you in half an hour.”

Steven Boone hung up and made his way to the watch shop.

The first watch ever on the Moon wasn't worn by Neil Armstrong. He'd forgotten to wear it and left it aboard the landing craft. The first watch ever worn on the Moon was Buzz Aldrins watch. It's Buzz Aldrins watch that went missing, presumably stolen on its way to NASA. It's never been found. It's become the Holy Grail for watch collectors around the world. Some say its now worth millions. Professor Don Roberts from the Smithsonian Museum said recently " We believe its still out there. Perhaps in a bedside drawer somewhere."