The race to become NASA’s official Moonwatch was almost as brutal as the space race between the world’s two eminent super powers at the time. 50 years on and six Apollo moon landings later, the Omega Speedmaster has become part of the cultural, industrial and watchmaking lexicon. Hence, on this, the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11’s triumphant landing on the moon, Omega is launching a chronometer specced, Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary Limited Edition with hacking seconds.
Available in a Limited Edition production of 6,969 pieces, the 42mm Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary stands out in the Moonwatch family thanks to its “two-tone” execution – a stainless steel case topped with a a polished 18K Moonshine
Gold bezel without appearing overtly ostentatious.
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 11 50th anniversary Limited Edition
The bezel ring of the Apollo 11 50th anniversary Limited Edition Moonwatch further produced in polished black ceramic [ZrO2] with the brand’s patented Ceragold tachymeter scale. What results is a pleasantly attractive, sumptuously appointed professional watch, a genre of timepiece usually prone to functional if cold, industrial design.
The varnished grey and black dial of the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary edition is punctuated with indexes and hands in Omega’s unique 18K Moonshine Gold while the central chronograph seconds hand is PVD-coated Moonshine for technical purposes (a heavier seconds hand would require too much torque and unduly tax power reserves). Adding to its attractiveness is the slight asymmetry thanks to the special 11 o’clock hour index executed in “11”, a symbolic nod to the 11th Apollo mission and complemented with the 9 o’clock seconds 18K Moonshine gold subdial and a laser rendering of Buzz Aldrin climbing down onto the lunar surface.
On the reverse, the Naiad Lock caseback obscures a manually wound, industrially finished 3861 calibre with some hand finished touches, but not without good reason. The commemorative 50th Anniversary Moonwatch highlights that globally iconic astronaut’s footprint, emblazoned in laser perpetuity shielded by a sapphire crystal with 18K Moonshine lettering of the words heard around the planet, “THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR A MAN” and “ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND”.
The Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary Limited Edition follows in the vein of the hit Trilogy series, utilising a polished-brushed metallic bracelet reminiscent of vintage Speedmasters replete with vintage Ω on the clasp; strap changing tool included, the Limited Edition Speedmaster also comes with the NASA-style Velcro strap in blackened cork with golden marks not only to play up the old-school astronaut flavour but also as a nod to the Apollo-era “boost protective cover” – a fiberglass structure covered with thick cork ablator which fitted over the Command Module like a glove, keeping the crew of the Saturn V rocket safe from the intense heat produced at launch.
The Limited Edition Moonwatch comes with a NASA-style presentation box including both 50th anniversary and Apollo 11 mission patches as well as two engraved plates (landing site coordinates / landing site and time) and a display stand of a Lunar Module.
Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th anniversary Limited Edition Price and Specs
Movement Manual winding calibre 3861 with 50 hours power reserve
Case 42mm stainless steel with 50 metres water resistance
Strap Bracelet and NATO
Price SGD$13,350.00
6969 Limited Edition Moonwatches, Pre-Order Here
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