Omega Speedmaster Pro Moonwatch 3570.50.00
Omega Speedmaster Professional (ref. 3570.50.00) is the only watch
ever worn on the moon. In 1965 NASA purchased five reputable chronographs
(one of which was the Speedmaster) from several jewellery stores in Houston.
NASA then proceeded to abuse the watches with tests of extreme environmental
conditions. Their aim was to determine if a suitable watch was available
for their Space Program.
The final three contenders for the
"Official" NASA chronograph were a Rolex, Longines Wittnauer and the Omega.
The reasons for the Rolex's departure were that it stopped running on two
occasions during the Relative Humidity Tests and subsequently failed during
the High Temperature Test when the sweep hand warped and was binding against
the other hands on the dial. No other tests were run with the Rolex
Chronograph. As for the Longines Wittnauer, the crystal warped and disengaged
during the High Temperature Test. The same discrepancy occurred on a second
Longines Wittnauer during the Decompression Test. No further tests were
run.
Although its opponents were clearly
unsuitable, the Omega didn't come out of the tests unscathed. The Speedmaster
gained 21 minutes during the Decompression Tests and lost 15 minutes during
the Acceleration Test. The luminescence on the dial was destroyed during
testing, but despite these setbacks, it passed satisfactorily. Furthermore,
NASA was going to modify the Omega with two changes -- replace the bezel
with a rotatable 24 hr bezel and add additional luminous markings to the
elapsed time dials, but these changes didn't take place due to time constraints.
NASA began using the watch. Omega
only found out what NASA had been doing with their watches in April 1966,
well after Edward White was the first American to "walk in space" (wearing
a Speedmaster on the outside of his suit). To commemorate its success at
NASA, Omega added the word "Professional" to the title of the Speedmaster
in October 1966.
Meanwhile, since 1965 Lemania had
been re-designing the movement. The chronograph function was simplified
and the balance wheel frequency was increased from 18,000 bph. This calibre
was released in 1968 as Lemania 1873 (Omega 861).
NASA continued using the Speedmaster
Professional for all its manned missions including those to the Moon. Then
in 1978, prior to the start of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA ran another
series of even more extreme tests - this time on 30 different watches.
The Speedmaster Professional was the only watch which passed. |
