GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — A watch purchased for just $27 on eBay has led to a record-breaking auction and a generous donation that's now changing lives in Northeast Wisconsin.
The gold Omega Speedmaster watch, once owned by Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, sold for $2.125 million at auction in Boston this April, breaking the world record for commemorative Omega astronaut watches.
Stefan Osdene, of Madison, who discovered the historic timepiece in an Ohio coin shop, chose to share his windfall by donating to multiple charities selected by Armstrong's family, as well as to the Brian LaViolette Scholarship Foundation in Green Bay.
"It's nice to do something positive that helps other people, where it's not just about me or my bottom line, and that feels good. It feels like you can give back," Osdene said.
The connection to the foundation creates a full-circle moment. Doug LaViolette, who founded the scholarship in memory of his son Brian, was actually the person who originally purchased that same watch on eBay years ago for just $27.
"We're honored to celebrate a different kind of journey, one that didn't begin inside a rocket or a space capsule, but with a $27 watch that Brian's father, Doug LaViolette, purchased on eBay," stated Kristen Kreiser, the Associate Director of the Brian Lavallette Scholarship Foundation.
The watch was one of just a few gold Mega Speedmasters given exclusively to Apollo astronauts. When Osdene first spotted it, he didn't immediately recognize its significance.
"I'm like, oh my God, I just found serial number 17. I found Armstrong's watch," Osdene said.
Osdene's donation of $17,000 will be added to the foundation's endowment at Nicolet National Bank to support future generations of students in Northeast Wisconsin.
"It will be added to the foundation's growing endowment and held in trust right here to support future generations of students in Northeast Wisconsin," Kreiser added.
The watch now belongs to a private space collection in the United States.
"Stephen Osdene, your generosity reminds us that not all heroes leave footprints on the moon. Some leave them in the lives they quietly and profoundly touch here on Earth," Doug Laviolette said.
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