Luxury Swiss watchmaker, Omega has released a second limited-edition Speedmaster to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. The first comparative Speedmaster, which was released earlier this year was a homage to a gold watch gifted to the crew and other key personnel of the Apollo 11 mission following its success.
Although many companies have released commemorative Apollo 11 50th anniversary products, few brands can claim to have closer ties to the history of the Apollo program than Omega. All three Apollo 11 astronauts wore NASA-issued Omega Speedmaster watches, as did all other Apollo astronauts. The Speedmaster is also the only watch to have ever been flight-qualified by NASA.
The second limited-edition Apollo 11 Speedmaster features a 42mm stainless steel case with a polished black ceramic bezel with 18k Moonshine gold accents. The indexes are applied with an applied 11 marker in the same 18k Moonshine gold. At the nine o’clock position, the seconds sub-dial features a laser engraving of the iconic image of astronaut Buzz Aldrin exiting the Lunar Lander.
On the rear of the watch, the case back features a second laser engraving, this one of the footprint of Neil Armstrong’s first step on the lunar surface with the words, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Interesting, Omega opted to include this version and not the common misquote.
Whereas only 1,014 gold Apollo 11 Speedmaster watches were produced, 6,969 of the steel versions will be produced. The steel Apollo 11 Speedmaster will cost $9,650 and will be released in the Summer of 2019.
