AN INDELIBLE MARK
2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission when Man first set foot on the moon, wearing a Speedmaster. Half a century later, the Bienne watchmaker is paying homage to the courage of the three space explorers by offering a 6969-piece limited edition.
On 21 July 1969, three American astronauts soared into the night sky as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Buzz Aldrin was the second man to set foot on the moon, 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong, his Speedmaster strapped around the sleeve of his white suite. Approved by NASA in 1965, the Omega watch has now become legendary. Half a century after this moonwalk, the watchmaker is commemorating the anniversary with the release of the Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition, a model produced in only 6969 pieces.
This new watch has a 42 mm steel case with a bezel in MoonshineTM Gold – an alloy that has a paler hue and a higher resistance to discoloration compared to traditional yellow gold – covering a black ceramic ring and a CeragoldTM MoonshineTM tachymeter scale. The back of this robust case has been blackened and then laser-engraved with a footprint of the astronaut, accompanied by Armstrong’s famous quote inscribed in gold: “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind“.
On the black dial dominated by a dark gray grained disk, the faceted index markers, including the number 11 in Arabic numerals symbolizing the Apollo mission, and the hour and minute hands are in MoonshineTM gold. The running seconds are displayed on a subdial at 9 o’clock forged from the same material then darkened before being laser-engraved with the silhouette of an astronaut descending from the module, in a scene captured some moments before setting foot on the moon 50 years ago. The chronograph function information is found in the center for the seconds, at 3 o’clock for the minutes and at 6 o’clock for the hours.
The Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition is powered by the self-winding Master Chronometer 3861 caliber which offers a power reserve of 50 hours.
Price: CHF 9,600 omegawatches.com
By Sharmila Bertin