“Are we over the Speedmaster thing, now?”. I think I made an audible gasp when Lucy said this during our recent YouTube live show and it inspired me to write this short piece – No, I’m still very much in love with the Omega Speedmaster.
You could probably travel to the moon and back and still not have read all of the articles, books and comments that have been written about the Omega Speedmaster, so I’ll try to keep this brief... and personal.
We were discussing Omega’s latest release of the First Omega in Space, inspired by the watch that NASA astronaut Walter “Wally” Schirra wore when he was launched into space on the 3rd October 1962.
I think the watch itself is very handsome, taking inspiration from the CK 2998 that was released in 1957. In particular, I find the CVD-coated grey-blue dial very striking and I’m excited to see it in real life.
Now, for the controversial bit – the watch features a sapphire crystal and closed case back. I believed that die-hard Speedmaster fans insisted that all new releases should remain faithful to the original watches with a hesalite crystal and closed case back. Where I would argue that a sapphire crystal is more appropriate in 2024 and I also prefer an exhibition case back to appreciate the beauty of the movement.
To test this this, I carried out a survey on Instagram and surprisingly 57% of people preferred a sapphire glass to a hesalite one on a Speedmaster, and 67% preferred an exhibition case back to a closed one.
Continuing my argument that no, we’re not over the Speedmaster thing yet. Omega have this amazing watch, declared by NASA as “flight-qualified for all manned space missions”. Many of us are aware of the 1970 Apollo 13 mission (there’s a great documentary on Netflix at the moment), and imagine having to use your mechanical wristwatch to time something that will effectively save your lift. Yes, I think Omega can boast about developing a piece of engineering that does just that.
(A quick side note – the Omega “Snoopy” 45th Anniversary of Apollo 13 is one of my all-time favourite watches, particularly the quotes on the dial “Failure is not an option” and “What could you do in 14 seconds?”)
So, as a watch brand who continues to push the boundaries of watchmaking, why not use the Speedmaster as a capsule to showcase their developments? Speedmasters have evolved to feature co-axial escapements, moonphase complications, precious metals, ceramic cases and even digital displays allowing the wearer to tell the time on Mars!
The range allows the modern-day watch enthusiast to choose a watch that suits their lifestyle (unless maybe you’re a diver), and combine today’s technology with the charm and aesthetics of those early Speedmasters. As you slip your watch over your wrist and fasten the clasp, you can imagine the likes of Wally, Ed, Buzz and Neil all doing exactly the same thing ahead of their space missions.
There is so much more that I could write about the Speedmaster (Limited Editions, Moonswatches, personal hits and misses) but I’ll save those for another day.
In the meantime, I invite you to view three beautiful Speedmasters that we current have in stock – a Hesalite Moonwatch Professional, faithful to those early Moonwatches, a Sapphire Sandwich, allowing you to appreciate that movement, and a 1972 Mark III, for something really retro!
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