Swiss luxury watchmaker brand Omega has a long accomplished history, and many laurels on their journey. Omega has been the official timekeeping device for the Olympics since 1932, for instance. 2017 marks yet another feat as their iconic Speedmaster watch turns 60. Speedmaster watches have been paradigm changers in several aspects: from having a popular racing history, to becoming the NASA certified chronograph to go to the moon and back, being arguably their biggest feat.
The first Speedmaster The first Omega to be introduced was the Broad Arrow, back in 1957. It was also the first chronograph to have the tachymeter on the bezel, instead of printed on the dial, as was the norm then. This feature was to help race drivers purportedly. It remains arguably the most highly valued Speedmaster till date. The watch was encased in stainless steel with a matching strap, and had a black dial with a luminous radium. It’s broad hands gave it its name.
Speedmasters are known to use the movement Calibre 321. It is the first movement ever to be used in a Speedmaster, though it was used in other chronographs from Omega before it came into existence. It was distinguised for its use of the column wheel, a movement that is popular with collectors for its technical precision.
The Moonwatch Professional chronograph was the first watch to reach the Moon in 1969. The Moonwatch comes in three models: the moonwatch professional chronograph, the Skywalker X-33 chronograph and the Speedmaster X-33 chronograph. It has been a part of all six lunar missions. The Moonwatch has a black dial covered with a hesalite crystal and is mounted on a 42 mm stainless steel case. It has the iconic calibre 1861 manual winding movement, complete with a NATO strap. It has a 30 minute recorder, a 12 minute recorder and a small seconds sub-dial.
Vintage throwback The latest Speedmaster, launched in 2017, called the Speedmaster Racing is modelled after a 1968 model. It takes note of the Speedmaster’s racing heritage, with a black dial and orange markings, along with indexed white gold arrow markings, and a perforated black rubber strap. Another model that went vintage for inspiration is the Speedmaster Moonphase, that reintroduced the Speedmaster Sea Horse logo in the caseback and used the original lollipop hands, a throwback to 1959.