Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XIX

1 0 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I OMEGA Speedmaster to the Power of 10 For a watch originally designed to be marketed to car enthusiasts and race car drivers, the OMEGA Speedmaster has become a legend in the horologic world. In fact, it holds the vaunted position as the only watch to make it to the moon. However, the acclaimed Moonwatch isn’t the only Speedmaster worthy of legend. Accordingly, we thought we’d look back at the ten most representative Speedmaster models. First Generation, 1957 In 1957 OMEGA unveiled a new line of watches that would forever change the trajectory of the brand and the face of the watch world: the OMEGA ‘Professional’ line, which included the Seamaster 300, the Railmaster, and the first Speedmaster. Of course, when the Speedmaster was originally created, the OMEGA designers didn’t have such heavenly aims for the timepiece. Rather, they intended to see the CK 2915 strapped to the arms of petrol heads and Formula 1 drivers. Its sporting intentions weren’t the only thing to differentiate it from other timepieces before it. For the first time, OMEGA placed the Speedmaster’s tachymetric bezel outside the dial and crystal and designed it to form part of the exterior case design. Pushing the watch from noteworthy to instant bestseller, it boasted the now-legendary manual-wound 321, which was defined by the graceful line of the symmetrical case. Second Generation, 1959 Only two short years after it first introduced the Speedmaster, OMEGA revised the blockbuster for 1959. Now codenamed the CK 2998, OMEGA fitted it with new ‘Alpha’ hands, replacing the original ‘Broad Arrow’ design. Additionally, the CK 2998 standardised the black aluminium tachymeter bezel that has survived to the modern Speedmaster. It is also notable about the CK 2998 that Mercury astronauts Walter “Wally” M. Schirra and Leroy G. “Gordo” Cooper purchased it in 1962 as their personal watches. Schirra wore his Speedmaster during his Mercury-Atlas 8 (Sigma 7) mission, making it the first OMEGA worn in space. Notably, this was a full two years before NASA selected the Speedmaster as its timepiece of choice for manned space exploration. s s