ReviewTo The Moon And Back—The Omega Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ 50th Anniversary Edition

The release of the Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy Award’ 50th Anniversary came as no surprise to fans of the brand. The watch was predictably launched on the October 5, 2020; 50 years to the day since NASA gave Omega a Silver Snoopy Award. As is the case with any Omega special edition release, the watch still managed to create a stir in the watch-collecting community. To add to the excitement, Snoopy, the temperamental but lovable beagle from the popular comic strip Peanuts, made a cameo not just on the dial, but also with added whimsy on the caseback. Let’s take a brief dive into how the Speedmaster gained its emblematic status and what a cartoon dog has to do with any of it.

The Speedmaster—A Brief History

Released in 1957, the Omega Speedmaster is one of the most iconic chronograph timepieces in existence. The name comes after the tachymeter along its bezel and the watch was designed for race car drivers and pilots who needed to time events in order to make rapid calculations while driving or flying. However, it wasn’t these adrenaline-fuelled activities or the timeless design that made the Speedmaster so iconic. No, that would be what happened hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from Earth itself.

Claim To Fame

In 1962, numerous watchmakers submitted their best watches to NASA in the hopes of being picked for the landmark space travel missions that would change the course of humanity forever. These watches would be subjected to countless tests in extreme conditions to monitor their space-worthiness. Following the gruelling humidity, temperature-cycling, and temperature extremities test, the Speedmaster emerged as the victor with a deviation of a mere five seconds per day. The Speedmaster was picked as the standard-issue watch for NASA’s space missions in 1965, and immediately, the same year, it escaped Earth’s atmosphere for the first time on the Gemini programme. As soon as the masses saw the Omega strapped onto the wrists of astronauts during their fascinating spacewalks, the Speedmaster already had its legacy set in stone.

“Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”

The link between Snoopy, the Speedmaster and NASA can be traced back to 1970. NASA had already chosen the beloved cartoon beagle, from Peanuts, the comic strip by Charles M Schulz, as its mascot to act as their ‘safety watchdog during space flight missions’. Not only would he act as a safety ‘watchdog’, but he represented total mission success, while also keeping things light in serious situations. This gave birth to the Silver Snoopy award, a special honour awarded to NASA employees and contractors for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success.

The Speedmaster was already the standard-issue timepiece for the Apollo missions. But it was the Apollo 13 mission of April 1970 that best represents the critical role played by the Speedmaster in a space mission. Apollo 13 was going to be the third mission to land on the moon, but it never did. As it neared the Lunar environment, an oxygen tank exploded on board, which was indeed how bad as it sounds. The ill-fated mission crew was quickly moved into the Lunar Module. This craft, however, was not built to support so many people for such a long time. To conserve energy, the astronauts shut down nearly all power—rendering their digital timers obsolete. The mission had drifted off its intended course, which meant that the module would re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at the wrong angle, and bounce back into space with no chance of recovery. Therefore, to manually readjust the course of the craft, an exact 14-second burn of the engine was required. There was simply no room for error. Without their digital timers, the crew, led by Commander James Lovell, relied on their Speedmaster chronographs to time the burn. To huge relief, the manoeuvre worked perfectly, and finally, on April 17, 1970, Apollo 13 splashed safely back to Earth. The Speedmaster became the single most talked-about use of a chronograph in the history of timepieces. The same year, to acknowledge Omega’s role in this daredevil rescue operation, the NASA astronauts who were in the Apollo 13 mission awarded the Swiss watch company the Silver Snoopy Award.

In recognition of Omega's overall contributions, including its role in Apollo 13, the brand received its Silver Snoopy Award on Monday, October 5, 1970

The Previous Editions

While Omega has consistently released Speedmasters related to Apollo missions and space exploration in general, there have only been two models that are associated with Snoopy. The first Snoopy-related Speedmaster was released in 2003 and was a slight evolution of the regular Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. Limited to 5,441 units, the reference 3578.51 featured the Snoopy award printed in the small seconds counter, while the caseback was decorated with NASA’s Snoopy emblem on a blue background.

The first Snoopy-related Speedmaster was released in 2003 and was a slight evolution of the regular Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch

Limited to 5,441 units, the watch featured the Snoopy award printed in the small seconds counter and a caseback decorated with NASA’s Snoopy emblem on a blue background

In 2015, Omega released the second watch inspired by the Apollo 13 mission and the Snoopy award. This model was drastically different from the regular Moonwatch and featured a white dial unique to the watch. A luminous Snoopy can be seen prone on the dial with a thought bubble sprouting the words: “Failure is not an option.” There’s also a luminous 14-second track that reads, “What could you do in 14 seconds?” as a reference to the 14-second course correction engine burn the Speedmaster timed during the mission. This model was limited to a mere 1970 units and its demand is at an all-time high in the pre-owned market with some examples fetching over INR 30 lakh. These historically important and aesthetically impressive watches often have collectors go wild. Add to that Omega’s relatively modest prices, and what you end up with are collector darlings.

In 2015, Omega released the second Snoopy Award watch and it was drastically different from the regular Moonwatch and featured a white dial unique to the watch

Snoopy can be seen on the dial with a thought bubble sprouting the words: “Failure is not an option.”

The 2013 watch features a silver image of Snoopy on the caseback

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The New ‘Speedy-Snoopy’

This here is the third watch in the series and is not limited in production, making it accessible for fans of the Omega-Snoopy-NASA trifecta. The predictable launch comes at the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, and just like the previous editions, this one too is based on the Moonwatch, a pleasantly familiar silhouette. Like all special editions that come from the Bienne-based manufacturer, Omega has put an incredible amount of effort to give the third iteration of the Speedy-Snoopy its own unique personality, along with some fine details and nods to historical issues.

The adorable beagle plays a prominent role within the timepiece, first appearing as an embossed silver medallion on the blue sub-dial at nine o’clock. He seems to be wearing his famous spacesuit from the silver pin that NASA astronauts give to award recipients. The watch, with a very attractive blue-and-silver colour scheme, features a dial made of solid silver. Of course, I don’t need to say that if you’re one of our many eagle-eyed enthusiasts and have noticed the ‘Ag925’ engraving just above the central axis. The surface has been laser-blasted to create the sub-dials and the Snoopy patch. The sub-dials, hands, markers inscriptions and logo are in a rich blue colour that contrasts the silver dial wonderfully.

The Omega Speedmaster 'Silver Snoopy Award' 50th Anniversary Edition, with a very attractive blue-and-silver colour scheme, features a dial made of solid silver

The surface of the dial has been laser-blasted to create the sub-dials and the Snoopy patch

Omega chose to use the calibre 3861 to power this watch. This is a movement that was first used in the Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 11 (2019)

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The case itself is unmistakably Speedmaster and comes in the very comfortable and versatile 42mm setting for this edition. The stainless steel construction is both polished and brushed on different surfaces to catch the light just right. The blue ceramic bezel features the ‘dot over 90’ design which was the standard in Speedmasters from the pre-1970 era. This is a highly desirable factor for collectors. The overall face of the watch is done extremely well and has steered clear of being too gimmicky.

However discreet and subtle the face of the watch might be, things take an interesting and whimsical turn when you flip the watch over. Snoopy makes an appearance once again, this time in an animated black-and-white Command and Service Module (CSM). A majority of the caseback is occupied by the photorealistic Moon, made by a unique micro-structured metallisation technique on the underside of the sapphire crystal of the caseback. The Earth can be seen in a distance. But there’s more to this than meets the eye. The Earth is actually linked to the small seconds wheel using the opposite side of the pinion, meaning that it spins on its own axis, completing one full rotation every minute. And when the chronograph is activated, Snoopy appears to be travelling across the caseback in his little spaceship around the mysterious far side of the Moon—just like the Apollo 13 crew did in 1970.

The Earth on the caseback spins on its own axis, completing one full rotation every minute. And when the chronograph is activated, Snoopy travels across the caseback

The watch is presented on a blue nylon fabric strap, which features the trajectory of the Apollo 13 mission on the embossed lining

It’s important to note that these animations are just simple implementations and were done without the addition of any more wheels. However, the final result is spectacular and evokes childlike joy when in action, and for us at least, that’s all that matters. ‘Eyes on the stars’, the iconic line from the Snoopy patch worn by NASA astronauts is included as well. The caseback features Omega’s NAIAD locking system, which permits the inscriptions to always appear in the upright position.

The animations are just simple implementations and were done without the addition of any more wheels. However, the final result is spectacular and evokes childlike joy

Omega chose to use the calibre 3861 to power this watch, a new movement first used in the Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 11 in 2019. This is an evolution of the calibre 1861 and features a co-axial escapement and a silicon balance spring. It is fully anti-magnetic, a certified chronometer, and comes with the vaunted METAS certification. This manual-winding movement can hold up to 50 hours of reserve power when fully cranked.

Final Thoughts

So now, only one question remains. Does the fact that this is not a limited edition hamper its desirability? Would it have been more special as a limited edition? Well, history has shown us that the rarity of a product is directly proportional to its desirability. However, we’re glad that Omega hasn’t capped the production of this thoroughly enjoyable watch. The overall quality, details, materials, and execution exceed expectations and I’d go as far as to call it one of the best Moonwatches ever. The blue-silver combination works very well, and is the perfect middle-ground between casual and professional. But more than that, Omega has created a watch that can be thoroughly enjoyed by anyone with a penchant for space and horology, with its many minute details, quotes, and of course the cartoon animation at the back. Personally, I’m glad it’s not a limited edition. It’s been a whole 50 years since Apollo 13 and this watch does absolute justice to commemorate it. The mission exemplified humankind’s die-hard spirit and problem-solving capabilities when brilliant minds are put to use. And it would be a crying shame to deny someone who wants a piece of that fond memory on their wrist.