OMEGA Celebrates 60 Years Since The Speedmaster Was Certified by NASA

To understand the relationship between the Swiss watchmaker and NASA astronauts, we have to go back more than half a century. In 1962, under the presidency of John F. Kennedy, the United States became the first country to attempt to reach the moon with the Mercury project. When the Mercury Seven returned a year later, the NASA astronauts requested a reliable watch for their future missions, in case the digital timers on board the spacecraft failed. OMEGA entered the race against three other watchmakers, submitting three wrist chronographs.

All the watches were rigorously evaluated through a series of tests carried out by an engineer. To pass, each watch had to successfully complete all eleven tests: extreme temperatures (high and low), space vacuum, humidity, corrosion, shock resistance, acceleration, low and high pressure, vibrations and acoustic tests.

With great pride, the OMEGA Speedmaster ST 105.003 (released in 1964) passed the tests without a single failure. It was certified in 1965 and became the iconic chronograph we know today. It was inaugurated on the wrists of Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom and John Young during the Gemini 3 mission, then on 20 July 1969, when Apollo 11 landed on the moon for the first time in history, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface with the Speedmaster on their wrists.

Since then, it has accompanied every moon landing, appreciated by astronauts for its precision, reliability, readability and ease of use. In 2020, OMEGA modernised its original model with the launch of the Speedmaster Calibre 321, featuring a more modern 39.70 mm dial, a transparent sapphire crystal case back, markers coated with Super-LumiNova technology and a black ceramic bezel.

A year later, the model continued its legendary status in a new, iconic form: the Speedmaster Moonwatch. Inspired by the fourth generation worn by NASA astronauts on the moon, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer chronograph features a case back engraved with the inscriptions ‘FLIGHT-QUALIFIED BY NASA FOR ALL MANNED SPACE MISSIONS’ and ‘THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON’.

Since its launch in 1957, approximately 1.8 million Speedmasters have been produced. More recently, the launch of the MoonSwatch in 2022, a collaboration with Swatch, has generated considerable excitement, with over one million units sold in eight months. By celebrating 60 years of NASA certification, OMEGA is paying tribute not only to its heritage, but also to the pioneering spirit that continues to inspire space exploration and watchmaking innovation.