EVENT: Celebrating the Omega 50th Anniversary Speedmaster

Andrew McUtchen

Last weekend, Omega treated their faithful VIPs to a night with eyes trained to the stars, and the moon, in their lush boutique at Chadstone, the Fashion Capital. It was to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of humankind touching down on the moon – and the fact that this defining moment in the history of our species had an Omega watch at the centre of the action. And not just to look back on the epic Calibre 321 Speedmaster Professional that has looked down on earth from the moon, but also the watch that is commemorating the anniversary, the equally epic 50^th Anniversary Limited Edition.

We were honoured to be invited to speak at the event. The story went pretty much as follows. Omega was the first brand to offer Time+Tide a truly special event opportunity in our very early days, way back in 2014. It was ‘A Night of Omega Firsts’ – and it involved the Museum Manager (at the time; he now enjoys the loftier title of Brand Heritage Manager), Mr Petros Protopapas, bringing 12 irreplaceable Omega Watches to Vue de monde in Melbourne to tell their stories. One of those watches was a pre-moon Cal 321 Speedy. While last weekend’s event marked 50 years since the moon landing, it also fell approximately five years since that auspicious night.

From there, I expounded our highlights in partnership. Time+Tide and Omega. The last of which was an experience last year – when I was trusted to hold in my hand the last watch to walk on the moon. The watch belonged to American astronaut Gene Cernan. When he was reunited with this watch later in his life, he recounted a story of looking back on earth from space at the time his daughter was being picked up from school and feeling awestruck. That it was happening at the same time as he stood on the moon. That he was so far away, and yet felt so close.

This small anecdote sums up a big point. Watches are more than just two or three cubic inches of steel. They are little machines, little vehicles, that carry our achievements, our dreams and the reminders of our loved ones with them (and what they’re doing at different times of the day). While the 50^th Anniversary Speedmaster watch is quite a triumph in itself – the moonshine gold, the ample nuances to remind the wearer of Apollo 11, the index for 11 being only one – it is more what it represents that resonates. The ambition of humankind to escape these earthly trappings and to stand on the rocky surface of our closest neighbour, the moon.

The night was shared by Omega and watch fans in general, who shared their own stories of their watches. Thanks to Omega, and to such a generous crowd, for a night that marked a special day in history.

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