Throwback Thursday: The Omega Speedmaster

The Speedmaster, or the “Speedy” as it is affectionately known, is the main event at Omega, and has been since it was first launched in 1957. It was the first watch on the moon in 1969, and has made six lunar missions since then. The first model, the CK 2915, contained a manual-wound movement, and it famously had a hesalite crystal, a polymer that resembles plastic. A hesalite crystal is not as inherently shiny as a sapphire  crystal, and has less glare. Another advantage is that if it is broken or smashed, it does not shatter into tiny pieces, something no doubt important to the people at NASA, since tiny fragments of glass floating around in zero gravity would represent a considerable safety risk. This icon, now with a distinctive tachymeter scale, has become one of the top five iconic watch models ever produced.