ReviewFly Me To The Moon: The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 Anniversary Edition

A standard that several aspire to meet, Omega’s Speedmaster watches are among those classics without which no collection is complete. It’s the archetype of the sport chronograph—with a classic steel bracelet, a tachymeter bezel and sub-dials at three, six and nine. However, the reason why these watches have set such a standard is, in a big way, because of the one event that took the Speedmaster out of this world, quite literally.

On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle landed on the moon, and each of the three astronauts who were a part of the mission—Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin—were officially equipped with an Omega Speedmaster. Since then, this timepiece has been a part of all manned missions to the moon, including Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. Only 12 men have walked on the moon till date, and each of them wore a Speedmaster.

This year, to commemorate the golden anniversary of Apollo 11, Omega has unveiled two special edition watches. One is a re-edition of a 1969 Speedmaster in 18-karat gold, which was presented to NASA’s serving astronauts at a special ‘astronaut appreciation dinner’ in November that year.

The launch of Apollo 11 | Image courtesy: NASA

Buzz Aldrin on the moon. You can see the Omega Speedmaster on his right hand. Neil Armstrong left his watch in the lunar module | Image courtesy: NASA

'Goodbye, moon!' | Image Courtesy: NASA

Splash-down on earth | Image Courtesy: NASA

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The second watch, in steel, depicts Buzz Aldrin climbing down from the spacecraft, and a footprint on the moon, seen on the dial and caseback respectively.

This dial of this watch depicts Buzz Aldrin climbing down from the spacecraft, seen on the small seconds sub-dial at nine o'clock

A NASA image of Aldrin descending from the Eagle—Apollo 11's lunar module | Image courtesy: NASA

Striking Gold

A special gold alloy made by Omega, the 18-karat Moonshine Gold is paler than gold, but has a higher resistance against fading over time. It is used across various elements in the steel commemorative watch. Most notably, it is seen in the laser-engraved illustration on the small seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock, in the vintage Omega emblem, and in the bevelled indexes, including the Arabic numeral marker at 11 o’clock—a nod to Apollo 11.

A special gold alloy made by Omega, the 18-karat Moonshine Gold is used across various elements in the steel commemorative watch

Most notably, it is seen in the laser-engraved illustration on the small seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock, in the vintage Omega emblem, and in the bevelled indexes

Moonshine Gold is also seen in the Arabic numeral marker at 11 o’clock—a nod to Apollo 11

The watch is set in a 42mm steel case

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Also made of Moonshine Gold is the bezel, fitted with a ceramic insert, featuring a Ceragold tachymeter scale. The caseback of the 42mm steel case is emblazoned with Armstrong’s famous words, “That’s one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind,” which encircles the laser-engraved footprint image—all protected by sapphire crystal.

A footprint of one of the Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon, which has been depicted on the caseback of the watch | Image courtesy: NASA

The footprint is encircled by Neil Armstrong's famous quote

Over The Moon

Upholding Omega’s high quality standards that originally got the Speedmaster certified by NASA after rigorous tests in 1964 as ‘flight qualified for all manned space missions’, this 2019 timepiece is extremely durable as well. Sealed within the 50m-water-resistant case is the Omega co-axial ‘Master Chronometer’ calibre 3861—a manual-winding chronograph movement that has a power reserve of 48 hours.

Fitted with a steel bracelet, the watch comes with an extra strap in cork with golden marks—inspired by the ‘boost protective cover’, which included cork and was used to cover the command module of the Saturn V, protecting the crew from the intense heat produced at launch.

Owning a Speedmaster Moonwatch is like owning a piece of history, and this one recalls the events of 1969 with perfection. Limited to 6,969 pieces, this exquisite watch truly is a fantastic commemorative edition.

The watch comes in a special presentation box

The contents of the box include the extra strap and the tool required to interchange the straps

The watch comes on a stand modelled after the lunar module

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