The Missing “Speedy”

I’m a watch geek. There, I’ve said it. I love the history of them and the stories behind the people that wear them. My favourite brand is Omega. So many years ago when I heard this story I was intrigued and have followed it for decades. This is the story of a very special Omega Speedmaster.

Let’s start at the beginning…

In September 1964, NASA Flight Crew Operations Director, Deke Slayton issued an internal memo stating the need for a “highly durable and accurate chronometer to be used for Gemini and Apollo flight crews.”

A month later, a request for quotations for such a watch was sent out to different manufacturers.

Only four companies responded and sent NASA their watches. They all underwent stringent tests. They were subjected to heat over two days, at temperatures of between 71 and 93 degrees Centigrade. After that, they were frozen down to minus 18 degrees Centigrade. They were tested to extreme high and low pressures, humidity and corrosion and noise up to 130 decibels. Only one watch survived all the tests. The Omega Speedmaster ( Ref ST 105.003).

It was declared “Flight Qualified For All Manned Space Missions.”

From then on, this was the watch that went into space with the Astronauts. A large Velcro strap was added so that it could be worn on the outside of their space suits.

Four years later and NASA was preparing to put a man on the moon. The watch that would go with them would of course be the Speedmaster.

So on July 21^st 1969, the Eagle had landed and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were getting ready to be the first men on the moon, whilst Michael Collins stayed high above in the Command Module.

Neil went down the steps first but wasn’t wearing his watch. His had been used in the lunar module and used as a timer for the landing. In his hurry to get down the steps, he’d forgotten to put it on. It was Buzz Aldrin that wore the watch, thus making Buzz Aldrins Omega Speedmaster the first watch worn on the surface of the moon.

Okay, so far so good. Not much of a story, I hear you say. But…there’s more.

The Astronauts got back home and were welcomed as heroes throughout the world. Life began to get back to normal for all three of them. But two years later NASA wanted to exhibit all the Moon Landing equipment at the Smithsonian Air And Space Museum in Washington DC. They asked the Astronauts for their Speedmasters back!

This wasn’t a popular decision and didn’t sit well with the Astronauts. They’d come to think of the Speedmasters as their own and were a great reminder of their tremendous achievement. But NASA held the upper hand, legally, everything that went on the flight was the property of NASA.

A team of Transport Carriers were contracted under a special order from NASA to deliver the watches to the Museum. Along with various other items, each watch was packed with care and transported off to Washington DC.

But only 2 were received. The most important one of all, Buzz Aldrins, was not there. It had miraculously disappeared in transit!

Investigations were started, Police were involved and even the FBI were contacted to see if they could solve the mystery of the watch’s disappearance. But they all drew a blank. It was there and then it wasn’t!

And to this day it has never been found.

The first watch to be worn on the surface of the moon is out there somewhere. If it’s found it would be worth over £1m. For watch collectors, this is the holy grail.

Over the past few decades, there have been many claims to have found the elusive “Speedy”. But none have been accepted by NASA and Aldrin.

Even if it was found, its ownership would be contested. Buzz Aldrin has said that he would now contest ownership with NASA and the Smithsonian Institute. So a long and drawn-out court battle would ensue.

But for us watch geeks. Just to find it would be amazing!

Financial Crisis? Not again, Surely!

In 1993, I decided to have a career change. Since leaving school at 16 ( 1974) I’d been a Butcher for 6 years, a Post Office Clerk for 5 years and a Transport Manager for 8 years. I was 35 and was probably having some kind of midlife crisis!

It was time for change, but, what to do?

I saw an advert in the Evening Standard for Financial Advisors. It said “Become a Financial Planner. We train you for free.”

I was intrigued, so went along to a seminar in Chelmsford. It was a good sales pitch and I thought I might give it a go. A week later and I’m on a training course in Slough for a week. We learn about the products we’ve got to sell and how to sell them. But it’s all about closing and closing techniques.

These guys were like ruthless double-glazing salesmen who wouldn’t leave your house until you said yes!

But it was free training, so I decided to stay for 3 months and learn about the industry and then move on to a proper company.

I only went on one home visit. I had to “shadow” an experienced Financial Planner as part of my training. He told me in no uncertain terms “Just sit and smile, let me do all the talking.”

We got to the house at 6.00 pm and were greeted by a couple in their forties. They made us tea. Nice people who wanted to know what we could offer. At 10.15 pm we were still there. The couple had a glazed look about them and my beloved colleague was still trying to get them to buy our package. Every time they said NO, he saw it as an opportunity to reinforce all the plus sides of our products. At exactly 10.30 I stood up and said “Well, I don’t know about everyone else but I’ve got to be up early in the morning. Good night.”

I shook both their hands and left my enraged colleague frantically shuffling papers and putting them into his briefcase.

I never went back to the office again. I’d had my training and now understood the industry. There had to be a better way to use my newly gained knowledge.

I didn’t have to wait long. Within days I had an interview with a household name Estate Agents who were looking for Mortgage Advisors.

It sounded interesting and easy money. People come to the estate agents looking to buy a house, while they are there they sit down with a Mortgage Advisor and have a chat about mortgages and the different types of products that go alongside them.

I got the job and started straightaway. A months training course in Basildon and then into a branch of the Estate Agents. Mine was in a small new town in Essex. Lots of first-time buyers and new houses. I couldn’t do the paperwork fast enough. I was signing up two or three a day. Endowment or Repayment mortgage didn’t matter to me. I just gave them the facts about the differences and let them make their mind up. I got them the best rates I could from a variety of different lenders.

I was only there for a few months and then moved up to a bigger branch in East London.

That’s when my eyes really opened! Everything changed and suddenly everyone had their targets.

As a Mortgage Advisor, I had targets to achieve otherwise I didn’t get my bonus. Being in a busy office meant that my targets were huge. My boss, the Regional Manager, had his targets to achieve, otherwise, he didn’t get his bonus and more importantly, he might lose his job.

The Building Society Managers who we used to place the Mortgages with, also had targets. They HAD to lend a certain amount of money, in a certain amount of time, at a certain rate otherwise they were in trouble. Their bosses were also in the same boat. It was in everyone’s interest to lend money!

So we were told in no uncertain terms by our bosses, to lend money!

People came in to buy a house. They sat down and we talked. They might be desperate to buy a house or flat, but the figures just didn’t add up. But I’d send the paperwork off to the lender and it would come back “Approved”.

Between 1994 and 1998, literally, anyone who came to buy a property, no matter what their circumstances, if they used the right Advisor, could get a mortgage.

Some lenders like Northern Rock, even offered 100% Mortgages and added the cost of buying the house, ( Solicitors fees, surveys etc) onto the loan. It was madness, but no one cared as long as they met their targets.

I left in 1997. I’d had enough of the bullshit.

So was I surprised 10 years later when the whole market collapsed? No, I wasn’t. Everything was built on a lie.

But that was almost 30 years ago, surely we’ve learnt our lesson and the industry is much more regulated and cautious?

Yet, with Interest rates rising and the cost of living at its highest for many years, 2 Days ago a large UK lender started offering 100% Mortgages!

I have a feeling I know how this is going to end!

Google…

“Most of the blame is on the mortgage originators or the lenders. That’s because they were responsible for creating these problems. After all, the lenders were the ones who advanced loans to people with poor credit and a high risk of default.”