A brand new era of the primary watch worn on the moon carries on its iconic Apollo-era look whereas introducing the best stage of precision provided by a contemporary Swiss-made chronograph.
Omega debuted its new collection of Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional timepieces on Tuesday (Jan. 5), highlighting its state-of-the-art inside motion whereas additionally paying tribute to its greater than 50-year-old lunar legacy.
“When updating a sacred timepiece just like the Speedmaster Moonwatch, each element have to be true to its unique spirit. This chronograph is acknowledged the world over, so we have approached its design with essentially the most honest respect, whereas taking its motion to the subsequent stage,” Raynald Aeschlimann, Omega’s president and CEO, mentioned in an announcement.
The brand new Speedmaster Moonwatch Skilled, which continues to be flight-qualified by NASA to be used on all of its crewed missions, attracts its design from the Omega chronograph worn by Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins in 1969.
Associated: Astronaut Snoopy orbits the moon on new Omega Speedmaster watch
A very long time coming
“I’d suspect that the longest piece of NASA gear — because it has been doing a very good job for all these years — is actually the Speedmaster,” Gemini and Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, considered one of solely three folks to this point to fly to the moon twice, mentioned in a video launched by Omega.
First worn in area by Mercury astronaut Wally Schirra in 1963, the Omega Speedmaster was subsequently chosen by NASA to turn into its solely chronograph licensed to be used on all of its missions since 1965.
“I used to be the primary and just one to qualify the Omega Speedmaster for spaceflight,” mentioned former NASA engineer James Ragan. “We had an entire set of various assessments that we needed to carry out to qualify a chunk of {hardware}. Now it wasn’t meant for watches, for positive — it was sizzling, chilly, shake, rattle and roll and we had temperatures biking up and down — and it handed all of the testing that we did.”
Ragan repeated a few of the assessments as Omega labored to revise the design of the Speedmaster and as NASA moved onto its later applications, together with the Skylab orbital workshop and area shuttle.
“It’s the just one [piece of space equipment] I can consider that has been there the entire time. It has been there endlessly,” mentioned Ragan.
Right down to the main points
The brand new Speedmaster Moonwatch Skilled retains the asymmetrical case and three subdials which have turn into a trademark of the traditional Apollo-worn chronograph. It additionally has the dot over 90 (“DON”) and a dot diagonal to 70 on the anodized aluminum bezel ring, particulars which have grown to be iconic among the many watch’s followers and aficionados.
Inside, the Speemaster now has the Co-Axial Grasp Chronometer Calibre 3861 motion to make sure that it’ll preserve correct time even in essentially the most excessive of magnetic fields. As well as, it qualifies your entire watch to be licensed as a Grasp Chronometer — the best normal of precision, efficiency and magnetic-resistance within the Swiss watch trade.
The brand new Speedmaster additionally features a redesigned bracelet, which whereas comparable in fashion to Moonwatches of the past, has a brand new clasp with a sophisticated Omega emblem on a satin-finished cowl.
The Speedmaster Moonwatch Master Chronometer collection features a alternative of hesalite glass with an embossed Seahorse caseback on a stainless-steel physique for $6,300 or sapphire-crystal glass on either side, offering a view of the Calibre 3861 motion inside, for $7,150. The brand new fashions additionally are available Omega Sedna gold for $34,800 and Omega Canopus gold for $45,300.
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