This feature has been produced in partnership with OMEGA

A timepiece doesn’t just get given the ‘moonwatch’ moniker. It’s earnt through superior design, precision engineering and rigorous testing before it is allowed to be shot into space on the human race’s first ever successful manned mission to the moon. 

The OMEGA Speedmaster is that watch and this year it celebrates a milestone in the 50th anniversary of the iconic moon landing of 1969. As the first ever timepiece to ever reach the moon, we’re taking you on a voyage through the Speedmaster’s most influential moments of innovation, exploration and triumph.

First arriving on the scene in 1957, the Speedmaster was never designed to be a space travelling timepiece. Quite the contrary, it was a sports chronograph tasked with strengthening the Swiss watchmaker’s position as the official timekeeper of the Olympic Games. It was a task which led to the conception of the Speedmaster’s signature tachymeter, the first to ever be featured on a watch bezel.

Fast forward to 1962 and the tool watch had caught the attention of NASA astronauts Wally Schirra and Gordon Cooper. The duo were some of America’s first astronauts and on their voyage on Mercury 9 they wore their own personal OMEGA Speedmaster CK2998 timepieces – private pieces which had no connection between NASA at the time. Over the years the astronauts would voice their desire to have an official timepiece dedicated to space missions and NASA listened, citing the potential dangers of using personal watches on these flights into unchartered territory.

Two years later and NASA had officially realised the need for a certified space watch for their astronauts. James H. Ragan who was a young NASA engineer was tasked with procuring the perfect watch and it was here that he approached a handful of local Swiss watchmaker suppliers. OMEGA was one of them. 

The tests that Ragan devised for the watches was nothing short of extreme at the time. Under NASA’s ‘Qualification Test Procedures’, the suitable watch needed to pass 11 different tests:

1. Withstand 48 hours in high temperature 160°F (71°C) followed by 30 minutes at 200°F (93°C)
2. Withstand 4 hours in low temperature at 0°F (-18°C)
3. Withstand temperature and pressure cycles with 15 cycles of heating to 160°F (71°C) in 45 minute segments, followed by cooling to 0°F (-18°C) for 45 minutes at 10−6atm
4. Withstand high humidity of at least 95% whilst operating in temperatures between 68°F and 160°F (20°C and 71°C)
5. Operate in an atmosphere of 100 percent oxygen for 48 hours
6. Withstand six shocks of 40G at 11 millisecond durations and in six varying directions
7. Withstand longitudinal acceleration from 1G to 7.25G within 333 seconds
8. Withstand 90 minutes in a vacuum 10 – 6 atm at 71°C and 30 minutes at 93°C
9. Withstand a high pressure environment of 1.6 atm for a minimum of 60 minutes
10. Withstand three cycles of 30 minute vibrations in extreme low and high frequency
11. Withstand acoustic noise of 130 dB across low and high frequencies for 30 minutes

After five months of intense testing NASA had found their moonwatch. The OMEGA Speedmaster was the only timepiece to have passed all 11 test parameters and in 1965 it was officially declared fit for space exploration. 

On July 21st 1969, the OMEGA Speedmaster became the first watch to ever reach the moon’s surface on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin. Neil Armstrong also had a Speedmaster but he chose to leave his in the Lunar Module as a back-up to NASA’s onboard timekeeping system. You could say that’s one small task for a watch, one giant leap in the history of watchmaking. 

With over half a century of tenacity and innovation dedicated to a single model, there’s been no shortage of rare and special edition Speedmasters over the decades to marvel over. Here, we explore some of OMEGA’s finest in this illustrious lineage. 

Explore the full range of OMEGA’s Speedmaster Moonwatch collection
All space photos and imagery courtesy of NASA