The black, white, and red color scheme is a nod to the Swiss company’s history in space.
Omega’s new Speedmaster Moonwatch is ready for lift-off.
The Swiss watchmaker just debuted a version of the timepiece with a lacquered white dial that nods to its historical ties with space exploration. First spotted in November on 007 himself, Daniel Craig, the Moonwatch has officially been revealed and will be available to the public soon.
OMEGA
First, the technical details: The 42 mm stainless-steel watch features inside a Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861 movement, the most up-to-date version of the Calibre 321 that astronauts trusted while on the moon. The standard version comes on a vintage-inspired stainless-steel bracelet, but you can upgrade to a black micro-perforated leather strap with red and white stitching or an anti-bacterial rubber strap with a moon-surface pattern on the underside.
All these aspects nod to the Moonwatch’s storied history. While the original 1957 Speedmaster had an easy-to-read black dial with white hands and indexes, Omega has now flipped the script. Here, the white dial is paired with black detailing and applied indexes, and the glossy lacquered finish is the first time such a technique has been used on the Moonwatch’s step dial. Given the pared-down color scheme, the Speedmaster name stands out in red script just under Omega’s logo.
While the white focus allows the watch to act as an inverse of the OG Speedmaster, it also emphasizes the Moonwatch’s space legacy. The model has been officially used by NASA astronauts since 1965, and it was famously the first watch to be worn on the moon. So the black-and-white coloring hints at the spacesuits donned by astronauts, with the red detailing akin to the lines that denote a commander’s rank.
OMEGA
Omega was similarly inspired by another of its NASA collaborations. In 1969, the company worked with the space agency on the Alaska I prototype as part of a secret project to design the ideal space watch. That model also used a white dial, which provided a highly effective thermal reflection coefficient, and it had a protective red case.
Getting your hands on the new Moonwatch will cost you at least $8,100. And if a trip to the moon isn’t on the horizon, the Omega seems like a space enthusiast’s next best bet.
