While the Omega Speedmaster was created as a racing watch, with its chronograph function and tachymeter scale, today this has long been forgotten and instead has become more famous for its exploits in space. Known as the ‘Moonwatch’, the Omega Speedmaster Professional made history by being flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space flights and becoming the first watch worn on the moon when it was on the wrists of astronauts during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
As a result, the Speedmaster has become a cult icon, and it's hard not to see why. Collectors can buy into such a great story and with a generation that grew up idolizing space travel and astronauts, the Speedmaster was always destined for success.
2019 marks a milestone in space travel, and as a result for the Omega Speedmaster too as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing. The watch you see here today is a commemoration of that feat 50 years ago, where Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and the Apollo 11 crew won the race to the moon.
The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary comes with the brand new caliber 3861, which succeeded the already legendary Cal. 1861. With notable upgrades such as a Co-Axial escapement, up to 15,000 gausses of magnetic resistance and an overall improvement in accuracy, it also marks a milestone and evolution for Omega.
On the outside, it comes on a classic 42mm lyre lug stainless steel case with a ceramic tachymeter bezel. The dial is beautifully finished with a two-tone grey-black layout and gold accents, finished off with an engraving of Buzz Aldrin stepping onto the moon at the 9 o’clock sub-dial. I love that they chose to fit the flat link bracelet onto this watch as it looks much more elegant and complements the case perfectly.
The watch does not come with a see-through case back but instead with a tribute to the moon landing with an engraving of the moon’s surface with an astronaut’s bootprint and Neil Armstrong’s legendary quote around the periphery.
To top things off, Omega didn’t stop at the watch with a beautiful presentation case that comes with a Velcro strap, two mission patches and the coolest part- a lunar module display stand which you can remove from the box and show off your watch.
I do think that Omega is getting more elaborate with their limited editions, and the attention to detail is fantastic. The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary comes in a limited edition of 6,969 pieces.
