Omega commemorates Apollo 11

July 2020 marks the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the moon. Inside the crew’s Omega Speedmaster watches, was the famous Calibre 321, a movement that not only became legendary that day, but also returned for every lunar landing in history. 

To honour the significant lunar landing anniversary, Swiss watchmaker Omega has expertly recreated the Calibre 321 in its second generation form and has included it in a very special timepiece to be known as the Speedmaster Moonwatch 321 Stainless Steel. 

The newly released non-limited timepiece offers a genuine connection to space history, as well as a movement that has long been cherished and sought-after by watch collectors and aficionados around the world. 

The 39.70 mm case has been crafted in stainless steel, and is influenced by another piece of Speedmaster space heritage: the third generation style that was worn during America’s first space walk in 1965.  

The design also includes a bezel ring in polished black ceramic with a tachymeter scale in white enamel, as well as the iconic “Dot over Ninety”. Gracing the black step dial are the familiar Moonwatch hands, along with a vintage Omega logo. 

Through the sapphire crystal caseback, owners will be able to admire the Calibre 321 itself. It took two years of extensive research and reconstruction to bring this movement back to life, including the use of tomography (a digital scanning method) to see inside the true Omega Speedmaster worn by astronaut Eugene “Gene” Cernan during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. 

Each of today’s new movements has been recreated to the authentic specifications of the original and assembled within Omega’s dedicated Calibre 321 workshop.