Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Speedmaster - the first and still the only watch to have been worn on the Moon - a Limited Series of 5,957 stainless steel pieces with a special commemorative design of a golden seahorse on the dial will give collectors a rare opportunity to own a piece of space history. The physiognomy of the 42 mm Professional Chronograph Moonwatch with its black dial, chronograph counters and tachymeter scale bears the DNA of the original hand-winding 1957 Speedmaster and its heart is powered by the famous Calibre 1861 that accompanied the watch into zero gravity.

Launched in 1957 and designed to measure speed with chronograph and tachymeter functions, the Speedmaster has proved to be an invaluable and life saving partner to pilots, astronauts and explorers as they defy boundaries and push to ever-higher limits in the exploration of the universe. With an impressive track record of 11 NASA tests and 6 Moon landings, the Speedmaster has been on every US manned space flight and is currently on board Russia’s ISS International Space Station making this manual-winding timepiece a cornerstone of horological and space history.

During the troubled and dramatic Apollo 13 “Houston, we’ve have a problem here” mission of 1970, the Speedmaster saved the day. An explosion of a reserve oxygen tank compromised all the time keeping mechanisms on board: except one. Commander James Lovell relied on his Speedmaster Chronograph to time, within a fraction of a second, the extremely critical firing of the re-entry rockets allowing for the safe return of his crew to planet Earth. In recognition of the crucial role that its Speedmaster chronograph played on the Apollo 13 mission, OMEGA received the “Snoopy" Award in October 1970 – the highest honour awarded by NASA astronauts.

(For the complete article please refer to your August 07 issue of Golf Asia magazine)