DIAM. 42 mm. THICKNESS 15 mm. Provenance: from the artsebarsky collection `Flown` Omega Speedmasters - watches that have actually been worn in space are quite naturally the most coveted and desirable of all the Speedmasters and almost never reach the open market. This historic watch, No. 48261214, once owned by the Ukrainian-born Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Artsebarsky is one of the very few Omega Speedmasters in private hands to have actually been worn in space and of all the `flown` Speedmasters no other watch has ever spent so many hours in open space - a total of 33 hours, it is therefore not only an extremely significant watch in the history of the Omega Speedmaster but a uniquely historic world-class object in its own right. The provenance is verified by the accompanying certificate signed by Anatoly Artsebarsky. Artsebarsky spent five months on the MIR Space Station in 1991 and during that mission he made an unprecedented six 'walks' into open space, during each of those EVAs (extra-vehicular activities) he wore this watch. Artsebarsky was born in the Ukraine in 1956 and became a cosmonaut in 1985. In 1991 he was the 35-year-old Commander of Soyuz TM-12, leading the first joint Russian-British space mission and had the first Briton in space â?? Helen Sharman â?? along with Russian Sergei Krikalev, as fellow crew. To this day, Krikalev holds the record for most hours spent in space. Setting off on 18th May 1991 from the same pad that launched Yuri Gagarin some thirty years before, TM-12â??s mission was to dock with the Mir space station, relieve the station crew and then spend the next five months constructing a space tower for use with the control module. On 26th May, a few days after docking with the Mir space station, the rest of the crew flew back to Earth leaving Artsebarsky and Krikalev onboard with a list of repairs and projects, including the tower construction. After over 145 days in space and six EVAs, Artsebarsky made his return and was immediately made a hero of the Soviet Union and given the Order of Lenin (among the last ever such award given), as well as being made a Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR and receiving the Medal for Merit in Space Exploration. While he was in orbit, the failed coup dâ??etat against Mikhail Gorbachev rocked the Soviet Union, setting in motion events which led to the end of the Soviet Union on January 1, 1992. The Omega Speedmaster in Space A Speedmaster was first reported to have been worn in space by Wally Schirra aboard Mercury-Atlas 8 in 1962. Three years later it was just one of a number of watches from different companies that were tested by NASA under extreme conditions of temperature, pressure, vibration and noise. The evaluation concluded in March 1965, with the selection of the Omega Speedmaster as the perfect watch for space missions. Manual, because automatically winding watches do not work without gravity, it survived all the tests while remaining largely within five seconds per day rate. Gus Grissom and John Young wore the first officially qualified Speedmasters on Gemini 3 on March 23, 1965. Several months later, Ed White made the first US space walk during Gemini 4 with a Speedmaster strapped to the outside of his spacesuit. This EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) was widely used in Omegaâ??s subsequent marketing for the Speedmaster and the EVA count has since become a significant factor in evaluating these historical timepieces. Watches worn outside vehicles in deep space remain very rare. Speedmasters were used throughout the early manned Apollo space missions and finally reached the moon, along with man, on Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong actually left his Speedmaster inside the lunar module as a backup after the moduleâ??s electronic timer had malfunctioned, but Buzz Aldrin wore his and the Speedmaster made history by being the first watch worn on the moon â?? and since then has always been known as the Moon Watch. It continued to play a significant role in space history, even providing the critical timings for the mid-course correction for Apollo 13, which allowed for the crewâ??s safe return. NASA has tested various upgrades and developments to the Speedmaster over the years and it has remained the definitive watch for astronauts and cosmonauts. Even today, the Moon Watch is being worn by expedition crews at the International Space Station â?? and indeed has been by every crew since the arrival of Expedition 1 in November 2000.