For the Zenith Espada I posted previously, it is true that Chuck MADE me do it, as I doubt I would have paid up without reading Chucks comments on the rarity of the watch.

But on these watches it was definitely a case of Chuck HELPED me do it! The photo in the background (I assume that's a speedie on Aldrin or Collin's wrist) is from an album I made, as a kid, of South African newspaper cuttings. I still remember it vividly. So Chuck influenced a lot of things but I can't really blame my interest in space on him.

I was (and still am) mostly a Heuer guy, but I knew one day I would own a speedie, I had to have one as I was so interested in space travel. But in the confusing proliferation of speedmaster models, Chuck's article were a huge help in me selecting which models I should buy, and helping me select (what I hope is) a correct 145.012 and a 2298.

So thanks Chuck.

PS: The 145.012 has a nice little story attached to it: I bought it, thanks to one of those little sniping programs, at exactly the time I was in the middle of watching "In the Shadow of the Moon", the Apollo 11 documentary film.