Omega launches new Speedmaster to mark 60 years of the first watch that made it to outer space

There are many watches in the world, but few can lay claim to a heritage quite as distinguished or unique as that of the Omega Speedmaster.

Originally designed in 1957 for racing-car drivers, the Speedmaster’s rugged construction and cleverly designed tachymeter saw it also quickly gain favour with test pilots. In 1962, it became the first Omega to be worn in space, when it adorned the arm of Walter Schirra, an American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer and test pilot, who was the ninth person to ride a rocket into space – and took his trusty Omega along for the adventure.

This was the first Speedmaster to make a foray into space, but not the last. When US President John F Kennedy announced the start of the “space race”, watchmakers flocked to supply their pieces to Nasa. However, only the Speedmaster was strong enough to withstand the exhaustive testing process – the extreme temperatures, vibrations, hard shocks and unforgivable vacuums – and was chosen by Nasa to be the only watch worn on manned space missions. When Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon in July 1969, he had an Omega Speedmaster on his wrist, and a legacy was born. To this day, Omega is deemed so integral to space programmes that the Speedmaster is a permanent piece of equipment on board the International Space Station.

George Clooney, Omega’s brand ambassador, remembers the excitement of that era. “In just 60 years, we’d gone from inventing cars to [talking about] landing a man on the moon,” he has said. “It felt like the ultimate in optimism, the ultimate in forward thinking. It made us feel like anything could be done.”

Clooney remembers looking up at the skies on that historic day in 1969 with his father, who, like those pioneering astronauts, was also wearing an Omega. Clooney still owns that very watch – in a delightful symmetry, his father gifted it to him when he found out that his son was partnering with Omega.

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Speedmaster, Omega unveiled an addition to the family, the Speedmaster Moonphase Co-Axial Chronometer Chronograph, which is the first Speedmaster to be certified as a Master Chronometer, having reached the exacting new standards set by the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology.

The distinctive moonphase is set above 6 o’clock, and features an image of the Moon that is so high in resolution that if one zooms in, Buzz Aldrin’s footprint can be seen. In addition, the moonphase cycle follows a new and precise lunar month of 29.5 days (rather than the standard, rounded-up 30 days), requiring a superior gear chain and a highly accurate mechanism that needs adjusting only once every 10 years, and even then with just a few simple turns of the crown.

The face is visually balanced with two identical, symmetrical, two-handed sub-dials on either side of the classic Speedmaster hands, each with rhodium-plated circles. The dial is a deep brushed blue, while the tachymeter scale that sits atop the ceramic bezel is made with Liquidmetal, marking another first for Omega. Housed within the 44-millimetre stainless steel case is a revolutionary 9904 movement, comprising 368 components. Finished with a blue leather strap with a fold-over buckle, this watch is the epitome of functional masculine style.

Read this and more stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, April 13.

smaisey@thenational.ae