The Omega Museum announces that it has acquired the Speedmaster of the famous American novelist Ralph Ellison: after attracting considerable interest during a Phillips auction held in New York, the historic watch will now return to its original home in Biel, Switzerland, where it can be admired by visitors to the Museum. Ralph Ellison is famous for his award-winning novel Invisible Manpublished in 1952. Inspired by his personal stories, the plot of the novel narrates the social and intellectual difficulties faced by African Americans in the early 20th century. The impact of the book, which defies genres, was so successful that Ellison won the National Book Award for fiction in 1953: he was the first African-American author to win this prize. OMEGA President and CEO Raynald Aeschlimann commented, "It is a great honour to bring Ralph Ellison's watch back to Omega in Switzerland. He was an influential writer and a talented man with an inspiring personality. This Speedmaster accompanied him for many years of his extraordinary life and will be a special high light in our historical collection. The Speedmaster worn by Ellison (Ref. ST145.012) was shipped to the United States in 1968 and shortly afterwards the writer was interviewed and photographed in Riverside Park with the watch on his wrist. It is known that he continued to wear this watch for over 25 years until his death in 1994.
