To the moon and back

Swiss luxury watchmaker brand Omega has a long accomplished history, and many laurels on their journey. Omega has been the official timekeeping device for the Olympics since 1932, for instance. 2017 marks yet another feat as their iconic Speedmaster watch turns 60. Speedmaster watches have been paradigm changers in several aspects: from having a popular racing history, to becoming the NASA certified chronograph to go to the moon and back, being arguably their biggest feat.

The first Speedmaster The first Omega to be introduced was the Broad Arrow, back in 1957. It was also the first chronograph to have the tachymeter on the bezel, instead of printed on the dial, as was the norm then. This feature was to help race drivers purportedly. It remains arguably the most highly valued Speedmaster till date. The watch was encased in stainless steel with a matching strap, and had a black dial with a luminous radium. It’s broad hands gave it its name.

Speedmasters are known to use the movement Calibre 321. It is the first movement ever to be used in a Speedmaster, though it was used in other chronographs from Omega before it came into existence. It was distinguised for its use of the column wheel, a movement that is popular with collectors for its technical precision.

The Moonwatch It was in 1965 that Omega was officially qualified by NASA for all manned missions, first launching on March 23 with the Gemini 3. Several famous astronauts have worn it since then. Edward White wore it on the Gemini 4 mission. On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore it on the moon, giving it the nickname Moonwatch. The Apollo 13 astronauts used their Speedmasters to time engine burns, critical for their safe return. The Alaska-I prototype, launched in 1969, has the remarkable feat of withstanding Swiss space simulators at that time. Omega Speedmaster was selected among four watch companies after it was the only watch that withstood the pressures of the tests that NASA put it through. The Alaska-I prototype, which was the first chronograph made by Omega specially for NASA (all chronographs made for space used the acronym Alaska) was also the first watch to be made with pure titanium. It had a red outer shield of aluminium to better meet the extreme pressures of temperature differences in space. A white dial ensured that it reflected the sun’s heat better. The watch fittingly had red “Apollo” hands, and a velcro strap in keeping with the times. It used the Calibre 861 movement, the second movement introduced in the Speedmaster post the 321. It had a simpler structure, using the flat balance spring and a shuttle cam instead of the column wheel, adding precision and bringing down production cost.

The Moonwatch Professional chronograph was the first watch to reach the Moon in 1969. The Moonwatch comes in three models: the moonwatch professional chronograph, the Skywalker X-33 chronograph and the Speedmaster X-33 chronograph. It has been a part of all six lunar missions. The Moonwatch has a black dial covered with a hesalite crystal and is mounted on a 42 mm stainless steel case. It has the iconic calibre 1861 manual winding movement, complete with a NATO strap. It has a 30 minute recorder, a 12 minute recorder and a small seconds sub-dial.

Vintage throwback The latest Speedmaster, launched in 2017, called the Speedmaster Racing is modelled after a 1968 model. It takes note of the Speedmaster’s racing heritage, with a black dial and orange markings, along with indexed white gold arrow markings, and a perforated black rubber strap. Another model that went vintage for inspiration is the Speedmaster Moonphase, that reintroduced the Speedmaster Sea Horse logo in the caseback and used the original lollipop hands, a throwback to 1959.

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