For the past few days I’ve had the pleasure of wearing quite a special new Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. Part of the “First OMEGA in Space” collection – which, not surprisingly, commemorates the inaugural journey of the Omega Speedmaster into space on the wrist of astronaut “Wally” Schirra – this new model features an updated Sedna™ gold case that is just stunning.
The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch
The first thing I noticed about the Speedmaster Moonwatch is just how nicely it sits on the wrist. At 39.7mm I thought it might feel a little small compared to the other watches I typical wear, which normally start at 42mm and go up (although to be fair my go to watch at the moment is a vintage Omega Seamaster from the 60’s which barely scratches 36mm). Turns out I was wrong. Not only is it super-comfortable on the wrist but thanks to some clever design by Omega it also looks like it’s a 42mm.
To achieve this little optical illusion the bezel ring actually protrudes out a little bit from the case, rather than sitting flush on top of it. Likewise the sapphire crystal is raised a little bit, giving the watch a sense of depth that is only magnified by the shimmer of the brown polished ceramic bezel ring complete with matt chromium nitride tachymeter scale. These touches are all aesthetic of course and don’t affect the way the Speedmaster Moonwatch wears on the wrist but they certainly do make it look cool.
As I mentioned before this new Speedmaster Moonwatch model is presented in a Sedna™ gold case and features brown highlights, which I assure you look much nicer than they sound. The central opaline silvery dial contrasts nicely with the brown subdials and minutes track, whilst the applied indexes and the hands are all made of Sedna™ gold, with the latter offering a mix of “Alpha” and “Baton” designs. Unfortunately I neglected to take a lume shot but I can tell you that the Super-LumiNova on the indexes, and hour and minute hands made for easy night-time reading.
Inside is the famed, manual-wind Omega calibre 1861, which gives the Speedmaster its chronograph functionality along with a 48-hour power reserve. Winding the watch is quite enjoyable I must admit as it gives you a moment or two to just appreciate its clean design. If you turn the watch over you can marvel at the solid caseback which includes the original Seahorse emblem, along with special engravings including “THE FIRST OMEGA IN SPACE”, “OCTOBER 3, 1962” and “NUMBERED EDITION No.”
Presented on a brown leather strap, the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch looks very sharp on the wrist and attracted more than its fair share of compliments and stares this past weekend at SalonQP, I don’t mind telling you.
Retail for the Sedna gold Speedmaster Moonwatch model is GBP11,300 (approx. US$17,200), while the original model in steel can be yours for GBP3,400 (approx. US$5,200).
For more information please visit the Omega website.
