Omega Watches

Omega and Swatch's MoonSwatch line of fashion wristwatches may not qualify as haute chronologie or a showcase of the watchmaker's craft, but they have managed to introduce what may well be a unique function in the Mission to EarthPhase watch.

In January, Swiss watchmaker Omega announced that it was bringing back its famous Calibre 321. Now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon, the company is releasing its Speedmaster Moonwatch 321 Platinum that features the revived mechanical movement.

Omega Watches set the record for the deepest diving watches as three of its Planet Ocean Ultra Deep Professional wrist watches strapped to a special manned submersible reached a depth of 10,928 m (35,853 ft) in the Mariana Trench earlier this year.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Omega is issuing a new version of the gold Speedmaster watches that were presented by the company to Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in 1969.

A classic of the mechanical watch world has received a new lease on life after Omega announced it would restart production of its Calibre 321, which powered watches worn by US astronauts during the Apollo missions. The new 321 movement was recreated by extensive research and reverse engineering.

Omega watches have flown on manned space missions since the Omega Speedmaster Professional Chronograph was carried on Project Mercury in the early 1960s. Now the latest version, the Speedmaster Skywalker X-33, is seeing service on the International Space Station.