Feature: 10 things to know about the Omega Speedmaster
It’s one of the most famous watches in the world, yet there’s still a lot of stuff you probably didn’t know about it. Here’s ten things you should know about the legendary Omega Speedmaster.
NASA didn’t design the Moonwatch
It’s commonly believed that the transition from the design of the original 1957 Speedmaster to the one worn on the moon was dictated by NASA. This just isn’t true! The change from broad arrow to stick hands which hid less of the dial and the bezel getting its black colouration for greater contrast were all made before NASA even got its hands on the watch. They were simply changes made by Omega to improve the Speedmaster’s already impressive legibility.
Omega didn’t know it was chosen by NASA
The first Speedmaster worn in space was the personal choice of NASA astronaut Walter Schirra for his 1962 mission. That’s because NASA didn’t have an official watch at that point, and so astronauts chose their own. So NASA decided to put several watches through a sequence of destructive tests—and the Omega Speedmaster was the only one to survive. NASA had sourced the watches locally, and so back at its Swiss HQ, Omega had no idea it’s watches were officially chosen—until they saw pictures of it on Ed White’s wrist during the first ever American spacewalk in 1965.
You won’t believe how many Omegas have been to space
Being selected as the official watch of NASA means the Speedmaster, in its various guises, has gone to space a lot. Not just for the Apollo program, but on the Space Shuttle, to the Russian space station MIR, to repair the Hubble space telescope, aboard Soyuz to the International Space Station, and on the wrists of Americans, Canadians, Russians, Japanese, Italians, South Africans, Israelis, French, Swiss, Ukranians, Germans and Saudi Arabians. All in all, there have been 665 documented Omegas worn in space.
The Speedmaster saved Apollo 11 AND 13
It’s widely known that during the disastrous Apollo 13 mission, when a routine stir of an oxygen tank in the service module caused an explosion, the Omega Speedmaster was put to good use timing a critical burn back to Earth. It was used for multiple burns in fact, helping to save the crew. But the Speedmaster also helped save the crew of Apollo 11 as well. Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, wasn’t wearing his Speedmaster on his historical moonwalk, but Buzz Aldrin who followed, did. That’s because Armstrong’s remained inside the lunar module to serve as a replacement for the broken mission timer.
The Speedmaster earned Omega the Snoopy Award
NASA has long since had an affinity for the Peanuts characters after the Apollo 10 crew, sent to all but land on the moon as a final test, “snooped” along the moon’s surface in the lunar module. From then on, the lunar module was known as Snoopy and the command module Charlie Brown. The Snoopy award was later created to honour people and companies that excelled in the course of a mission, honouring them with a Snoopy badge that had flown in space. Omega was given a Snoopy award for its part in saving the Apollo 13 crew.
Omega made a sun-proof Speedmaster
The Omega Speedmaster continually evolved to keep up with NASA’s requirements, including the potential for lunar missions conducted under the blazing 250-degree heat of the sun. Unprotected by atmosphere, NASA engineers were concerned the watch would become too hot and would fail, and so a specially designed case module was created to shield the watch from the heat. Dubbed the Alaska 1, the watch was surrounded by a red anodised aluminium outer case to insulate it from the sun’s rays. The dial, still exposed through a window in the shield, was painted white to reflect as much heat as possible.
The president turned down a free Omega
To commemorate the successful Apollo 11 mission, Omega created a limited edition set of gold Speedmasters which it gifted to key individuals involved in the Apollo program. The watch was limited to 1,014 examples, and featured an all-gold case and dial, with a burgundy bezel and onyx markers. Nineteen were gifted to the astronauts, including Neil Armstrong, who continued to wear his during his time as a professor at the University of Cincinnati. Another recipient was President Nixon, whose watch was engraved with his name. He turned it down, however, citing it as too expensive.
The watch that’s been to space most is…
There have been a number of different types of Speedmaster used officially by NASA in space. Once the mechanical Moonwatch became obsolete, Omega developed a new watch for manned space missions, the Speedmaster X-33. This watch combined both analogue and digital features, offering NASA crew a suite of advanced functions like mission timers, time zones and countdown timers, keeping in line with the advancement of the Space Shuttle. The Speedmaster X-33 is the most worn watch ever in space, having been documented 369 times.
A Speedmaster has been repaired in Space
On board the International Space Station in 2002, astronaut Don Pettit’s Speedmaster X-33 broke. The crown came out and one of the pushers fell off, and so he was forced to repair it on board, as he was there for six months. With a makeshift workbench, Pettit deconstructed the Omega as a demonstration of the fine motor skills possible in zero gravity. To prevent parts floating off, Pettit used upturned sticky tape. Did he have the right tools for the job? Pettit says, “The right tool is whatever tool you can find that you can get the job done with.”
The Z-33 is the most advanced Speedmaster EVER
In 2012, Omega updated the workhorse X-33 Speedmaster to a newer, bigger model: the Z-33. Boasting a red, inverted digital display beneath the analogue hands, the Z-33 added some new features to the old watch’s repertoire, including up to ten programable pilots logs including date-hour indications, and an auto-dimming display. The watch was housed in a seventies-style case in titanium at a whopping 53 by 43mm across—although it appears to have been discontinued already.
The cheapest Moonwatch costs just $250!
If you’re looking to get yourself a Moonwatch but simply can’t stomach the thousands they cost, then Omega has a solution. Teaming up with affordable watchmaker Swatch, they built a version of the Moonwatch that costs just $250. They called it the MoonSwatch, and the proportions are identical enough to swap straps with its more expensive cousin. There’s a variety of different colours to choose from, all themed to the different planets, although some are easier to find than others!
What are your favourite facts about the Omega Speedmaster?
