It’s never been a better time to be an Omega fan. While the white-dialed Speedmaster and the Speedmaster Pilot releases of last year would’ve been plenty to tide us over for a while, the brand’s hot streak continues with a pair of Speedmaster Moonphase Meteorite. The new 43-mm hand-wound watch comes with genuine lunar meteorite subdials.
This is no “Moonwatch,” but rather a more complicated take on the typical space-going Speedy. The new model, available in either a black or grey dial, ditches the Moonwatch’s aluminum bezel insert in favor of one in either black or blue ceramic. The tachymeter scale is written out in white enamel—what good would a Speedy be if you couldn’t time reentry burns like you’re in Apollo 13, after all? The dial is where all the action happens: Rendered from a piece of iron meteorite and PVD coated in either black or grey, it features natural striations that effectively make each watch unique.
And while this is a triple-register Speedy in the mode of the Moonwatch, that’s sort of where the similarities end. Take a closer look at the huge 6 o’clock subdual and you’ll realize that it’s actually a special moonphase indicator featuring dual cabochon Moons, each of which is “crafted from genuine pieces of Moon meteorite,” according to Omega. Why two? Because these revolving orbs show the Moon as it appears from both the northern and southern hemispheres and the stars exactly as they were when Apollo 11 touched down way back in 1969 (as seen from Bienne, Switzerland). Very cool.
This Moonwatch is chock full of show-offy complications that required Omega to develop new machinery. In addition to the double-moonphase indicator, there’s also a combination 60-minute and 12-hour recorder at 3 o’clock and a running seconds/date indicator at 9 o’clock, meaning no chronograph functionality has been lost in offering the moonphase. This incredibly complicated dial necessitated the development of a brand-new movement, the Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 9914, which is visible via a flat sapphire caseback. Hand-wound and anti-magnetic to 15,000 gauss, it’s got a beautifully finished three-quarter plate, a 4-Hz beat rate, and a 60-hour power reserve.
