When we talk about watches and space, one model immediately comes to mind: the Speedmaster. Or rather the Omega Moonwatch, the first model to have landed on the Moon in 1969, on the wrist of Buzz Aldrin.
But since the dawn of space exploration, many brands have drawn inspiration from the cosmos… even if none of their watches have ever left Earth. From the most functional to the most creative, here are some of the most beautiful models that put our heads in the stars… and often have nothing to do with the famous Speedmaster!
5 watches that marked the history of space exploration
The Omega Speedmaster is as reflective of the Apollo 11 mission: a pinnacle achievement. But before the first man and first watch made their mark on the moon on July 21, 1969, other steps were necessary. And for some collectors, the pieces mentioned here are no less interesting than the Moonwatch…
Pobeda, the first watch in space
The story therefore begins on March 9, 1961 in the USSR. On this date, the Korabl-Sputnik 4 mission takes off from the Baikonur base. On board, no astronaut, but a mannequin dressed in a spacesuit (named Ivan Ivanovich) accompanied by mice, a guinea pig and a dog! Or rather a female dog named Chernushka.
Legend has it that a doctor, a certain Abraham Genin, was desperate to get rid of his watch and tied it around the neck of Chernushka. “Unfortunately” for him, the mission went smoothly and the crew as well as the Pobeda watch all returned to Earth safe and sound.
Sturmanskie, the first watch worn by a man in space
We remain in the Soviet Union, but this time, it’s indeed a man who takes this watch into space, and not just anyone: Yuri Gagarin.
On April 12, 1961, the cosmonaut became the first human in space and he wore a Sturmanskie watch on his wrist. It seems that the model at that time was powered by a French LIP movement, but today, the Russian brand continues to produce numerous reissues of “the Gagarin watch”: a 33 mm steel case, a manual Poljot 2609 movement, a beige dial with oversized indexes and 3 hands. Simple, but still effective… like a certain Moonwatch.
Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute, the first Swiss chronograph in space
In the sixties, a fierce battle rages between the USSR and the USA for space conquest. A few months after Gagarin, on May 24, 1962, it’s the turn of American astronaut Scott Carpenter to make his contribution. Aboard the Aurora 7 shuttle, he completes 3 orbits around the Earth equipped with a Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute watch.
If the mission was a success, the final splashdown was fatal to the Breitling, identifiable by its 24-hour dial. History reports that it stopped at 9:46 pm, 66 minutes after its return to Earth. The Navitimer Cosmonaut remains the first Swiss chronograph to have been in space.
Bulova, the other “moonwatch”
One could almost say that it came very close for the Bulova brand to become one of the most well-known in the world. A few years before the launch of the Seiko Astron, the American brand unveiled in the early 1960s the Accutron, an electronic watch based on the tuning fork.
This innovation certainly caught the eye of Nasa’s scientists, with the space agency even equipping the astronauts of the Mercury 7 mission in 1963 with it. Unfortunately for Bulova, Buzz Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface with a Speedmaster, and the Bulova clocks on board the Apollo 11 spacecraft were not enough to immortalise the brand.
If the Accutron remains today the first quartz watch in space, it is with the Lunar Pilot chronograph that Bulova will eventually land on the moon, during the Apollo 15 mission, on August 7, 1971.
Yema Spationaute 1, the first French watch in space
If no French person has set foot on the moon to this date, the French watchmaking industry has certainly participated in the space conquest in its own way. In 1982, Yema initiated a collaboration with CNES, the National Centre for Space Studies. On June 24 of the same year, the astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien took off from Baikonur for a 10-day mission. On his arm, the aptly named Spationaute 1 officially became the first French watch in space.
She will be followed on June 17, 1985 by Patrick Baudry’s Spationaute II as part of mission STS-51G and the first Franco-American orbital flight, then by Jean-Loup Chrétien’s Spationaute III (logically enough!) in 1988, when he heads to the Mir station.
The 5 most beautiful watches inspired by space
If space conquest has given birth to real “tool watches” designed to function in zero gravity, other brands have simply wanted to draw inspiration from these astronauts or pay tribute to these modern-day explorers. This time, the style is radically different from the Speedmaster, but these watches have other assets to stir the sensitive chord of all space enthusiasts.
Awake Mission to Earth, approved by NASA
Founded in 2018, Awake quickly stood out with its bio-designed and upcycled watches. But if the marine world attracts it, the young French brand also has its head in the stars.
Thus, his Time Travelers collection promises a “journey to the confines of the galaxy” with its meteorite dials, while the Mission to Earth allowed Awake to be officially recognized by NASA! As such, the Meatball watch (limited to 250 pieces) was able to adopt the graphics, color codes, and logo of the American agency. Quickly sold out, it still brings joy to collectors on some specialized second-hand watch websites…
Col&McArthur RED 3,721, a watch with real pieces of Mars
Specialized in event and collaborative watches, the brand Col&McArthur has paid tribute to space exploration on several occasions. First with its Lunar 1969 collection, which commemorates the first human step on the Moon and encapsulates a real piece of meteorite set in its dial.
In response to the enthusiasm sparked by this first model, the founder Sébastien Colen used the same recipe with a timepiece designed to pay tribute to the Perseverance mission. And after the Moon, it is now Mars that is honored in this watch that has received “the official support of NASA”. In less than an hour, the crowdfunding campaign was completed to bring this project to life, which ultimately raised nearly 400,000 euros.
Full of details and references to the American mission, this automatic RED 3,721 watch notably contains a fragment of a Martian meteorite, discovered in 2021 in Northwest Africa and named NWA14269.
SpaceOne Tellurium, the neo-futuristic concept
Guillaume Laidet never stops! After founding his first brand William L. 1985, and then reviving the sleeping beauties that were Vulcain and Nivada, he teamed up with Théo Auffret to give birth to the Argon Watches project in spring 2023.
Named SpaceOne, the first unveiled watch clearly stands out with its casing inspired by a spaceship (which is not unlike a certain model from De Béthune). The second model is hardly more conventional because if its casing is more rounded, the dial of this Tellurium does not display the time like the others. The revised and corrected Soprod P024 movement gives life to a Heliocentric Tellurium-type planetary system that offers a representation of the Earth and the Moon in their orbit around the Sun (as well as a date-jumping and sliding month).
Despite its futuristic design, there’s a true poetry that emanates from this new SpaceOne watch, which we will undoubtedly continue to hear about!
MB&F HM 6 Space Pirate, inspired by Captain Flam
Ten years after its initial release, the Horological Machine number 6 from MB&F has not aged a bit! With its extraordinary design, it perfectly embodies the creative and technical boldness that characterizes the Swiss brand Maximilian Büsser & Friends (MB&F). Designed as a tribute to the cartoons and sci-fi series of the 1970-1980s, this watch looks like a futuristic spacecraft.
At the heart of the HM6 is a complex mechanical movement, with 68 rubies and an exceptional architecture that includes rotating turbines to regulate the resistance of the automatic winding. Offering lightness and strength, the case (particularly available in steel, titanium and gold) is composed of several sapphire domes which allow you to admire the movement from different angles.
We told you so: not all space-inspired watches look like the Speedmaster, far from it!
Jacob & Co Astronomia Maestro
We end this selection with a work of horological art, a rare piece at around 700,000 euros. Through its Astronomia collection, Jacob & Co regularly gives birth to exceptional timepieces, more or less inspired by heavenly bodies (as its name suggests).
But his most beautiful tribute to space exploration is undeniably this Astronomia Maestro produced in 18 copies. At the heart of the 50 mm rose gold case topped by a largely curved glass, the JCEM03 Exclusive caliber stages a real spectacle. The triple-axial tourbillon brings to life an earth globe, a star map, and a little astronaut painted by hand, which circulate around the dial in 10 minutes. It almost feels like a scene from Gravity!
Of course, this list is not exhaustive: the Omega and Swatch’s MoonSwatch is undoubtedly THE best alternative to the real Moonwatch from Omega, at least from a stylistic point of view. But from G-Shock watches branded with the NASA logo to the Khaki Field Murph from Hamilton (seen in the movie Interstellar) through the most beautiful moon phase watches, there are no shortage of options to pay tribute to the space conquest with a watch!
💡On the same subject (or nearly) : Watchmaking and astronomy: 7 beautiful watches to have your head in the stars