Luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega has announced its third Speedmaster commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Unlike many other brands that have released commemorative Apollo 11 products, Omega played a significant part in a number of NASA milestones. Ed White wore a Speedmaster during the first US spacewalk and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin both wore Speedmaster watches as they took humankind’s first steps on the surface of the Moon.
The Speedmaster Moonwatch 321 Platinum was announced on July 20, the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The watch features a platinum case, subdials created from slices of lunar meteorite and the return of the famous Calibre 321 movement after a five-decade hiatus.
The Calibre 321 movement is generally considered to one of the great classic movements of mid-century watchmaking. Despite the movement being used in a number of Omega watches, it is best known for having been used in the Speedmaster. It was used in the reference 2915, the first-ever Speedmaster and the first Omega to go to space on the wrist of Walter Schirra during his Project Mercury flight in 1959. The movement was also used in the Speedmaster watches that accompanied Ed White and the crew of Apollo 11.
Omega has not yet confirmed when the Speedmaster Moonwatch 321 Platinum will be released or how much each will cost. However, early reports from watch website Hodinkee have indicated it will be released in winter 2019 and will cost around $55,000.
In addition to the Speedmaster Moonwatch 321 Platinum, earlier this year, Omega released their first commemorative Apollo 11 watch, a gold Speedmaster. The limited-edition “Moonshine Gold” watch is a recreation of a gold Speedmaster that was presented to the Apollo 11 crew, key NASA personnel and President Nixon himself following the successful completion of the mission.
Just weeks later, the Swiss watchmaker unveiled a steel Apollo 11 Speedmaster. The limited-edition commemorative watch features a number of small nods to the mission including a laser engraving of the iconic image of astronaut Buzz Aldrin exiting the Lunar Lander on the seconds subdial.
