The Omega Speedmaster and the Race It Won Beyond Earth
On July 21, 1969, Buzz Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface wearing an Omega Speedmaster Professional, making it the first watch worn on the Moon. Neil Armstrong had left his inside the Lunar Module as a backup after the onboard clock malfunctioned. That moment cemented the Speedmaster's place in history.
NASA's search for a flight-qualified chronograph began in 1962. In 1964, watches from Rolex, Longines, and Omega were subjected to eleven brutal tests including extreme temperatures, shock, and vacuum. Only the Speedmaster survived every test, earning official flight qualification as NASA's crew watch.
The reference that went to the Moon was powered by the calibre 321, a hand-wound column-wheel chronograph derived from a Lemania design. Collectors regard it as one of the finest chronograph movements ever produced. Omega revived it in 2019 using laser scans of an original (https://www.omegawatches.com).
During Apollo 13 in 1970, astronaut Jack Swigert used his Speedmaster to time the critical fourteen-second engine burn that corrected the crippled spacecraft's trajectory. NASA subsequently awarded Omega the Silver Snoopy Award for contributions to mission success.
The current Moonwatch retains a manually wound movement, a hesalite crystal preferred because it does not shatter in zero gravity, and a 42-millimetre steel case. The asymmetric case design protects crown and pushers from accidental impacts. These specifications have remained deliberately conservative.
Collecting Speedmasters has become an obsession. Pre-Moon references with tropical dials command six-figure sums at auction. Limited editions sell out within hours and immediately appreciate. Yet the standard Moonwatch Professional remains one of horology's most accessible icons.
For the man seeking a single chronograph to last a lifetime, the Speedmaster Professional is unimpeachable. It is the only watch with genuine space-exploration pedigree, a proven movement, and a design that has resisted radical change for over sixty years. Its credentials are literally out of this world.
