OMEGA Celebrates The 50th Anniversary Of The Speedmaster

In commemoration of the birth of the first and only watch worn on the moon, Speedmaster Moonwatch, OMEGA specially created a series of Limited Edition watches, which was revealed for the first time in Malaysia today in the midst of loyal OMEGA friends and retailers.

The Speedmaster, eminent for its impressive trackrecord of 11 NASA tests and six moon landings, has been on every US manned space flight and is currently on board the Russia International Space Station (ISS). OMEGA’s excellence in this area of watchmaking is well marked when the Speedmaster Chronograph was officially declared “flight-qualified by NASA for all manned space missions” in 1965.
 
In helping guests to truly appreciate the achievements of the Speedmaster, guests were treated to an interesting exhibition depicting the historical and colourful journey of the celebrated moonwatch.  Moving from storyboard to storyboard, guests traveled through time from the drawing board to revolving round the earth’s orbit to discovering the true North to landing on the moon and even playing a vital role in saving the lives of the Apollo 13 crew during the dramatic “Houston, we have a problem here” mission of 1970. In recognition of its crucial part in Apollo 13 mission, OMEGA was given the highest honour award by NASA astronauts - the “Snoopy” Award. The Speedmaster also played witness to the historical handshake in space between the USA and Russia during the height of the Cold War in 1975 as both crews spotted the Speedmaster Chronograph on their wrists. From here, the Speedmaster aspires to conquer the sky once again with Solar Impulse, a plan to develop, build and fly and exclusively solar powered airplane around the world.

The accomplishments that the moonwatch have attained in only less than half a century are astounding. The Speedmaster has been to places that many have not gone, scaling new frontiers and pushing the limits of physical endurance. It is apt to say that owning a Speedmaster Moonwatch is akin to possessing a piece of horological and space history.
“Our celebration today is not to only commemorate the past but to celebrate the future of the Speedmaster in its quest to conquer the continuum of time and space. The Speedmaster Moonwatch is truly unique. No other watch can claim to have journeyed down the same path and achieve the same amount of success it has. It has been to the moon and until today astronauts are still wearing the Speedmaster on missions to space. OMEGA is always looking for new frontiers and limits to challenge. If man decides to go to Mars today, you can be sure OMEGA will develop a watch that can endure its atmospheric conditions” said Mr. David Ponzo, Country Manager of Swatch Group SEA Pte Ltd.