Some watch brands sometimes show limitless imagination to bring a touch of originality to their watches. At Omega, on the other hand, daring can take a decidedly more mundane form. The Speedmaster, which has been revisited many times, is back in a brand new version that has fans in a flurry. Its particularity: it sports a … white dial!
White hands, black dial: the “real” Speedmaster
How to reinvent the most iconic chronograph on the planet (according to Omega) without distorting it? Sometimes it’s all in the details. The color of the dial for example.
Historically, the 1957 Speedmaster sported a traditional black background, with white hands and indexes. This makes sense when you know that the designers were primarily looking to create “a watch with remarkable readability”. Regularly revisited for nearly 70 years, the mythical Moonwatch has most often remained faithful to its glorious predecessor, despite some stylistic deviations, like the latest Dark Side of the Moon.
But in the autumn of 2023, the ambassador of Omega, a certain Daniel Craig, was seen in New York with a particular variation of the Speedmaster. Without knowing all the details, one element captivated the attention of fans: the white dial. Genuine daring or a crime of majesty? The mystery is now lifted…
A white dial that still refers to the history of Nasa
If readability guided the Omega designers in the development of the first Speedmaster, the inversion of colors does not question this work. In its 42 mm diameter steel case, this new watch thus houses a white dial (as we have understood), but this one also benefits from a lacquered finish, a first for a Moonwatch. This glossy surface offers a striking contrast with the applied indices (in a revised shape), some black details, and the name “Speedmaster” added in red.
More than a mere whimsy, Omega manages to justify the choice of this color by offering a new tribute to space exploration! Firstly, because this black and white style is reminiscent of astronaut suits, especially those worn during extra-vehicular outings. Moreover, the Swiss brand explains that this new variant refers to a “secret project” from 1969.
In its desire to develop a watch capable of going into space and on the Moon, and before proposing the Moonwatch as we know it, Omega had indeed created the ALASKA I prototype. This concept stood out for its white dial, “which had an optimal thermal reflection coefficient” (and had already been subject to a limited edition of 1970 copies in 2008).
As for the rest, this new Speedmaster does not neglect its look: you can choose to dress it with a steel bracelet made up of 5 curved rows or a black micro-perforated leather bracelet with red stitching or even a rubber model whose lining is decorated with a design representing the surface of the Moon in positive relief. And because some things are immutable or almost, we find again the manual winding Co-axial Master Chronometer 3861 movement, the most recent version of the historic caliber 321 that accompanied the astronauts to the Moon, as well as the iconic point above the number 90 on the black aluminum bezel. All this for a price of 8900€. Whether white or black, the Moonwatch remains an icon of watchmaking, let it be known!
