Editor's Picks
5 Reasons Everybody Wants the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy
Editor's Picks
5 Reasons Everybody Wants the Omega Speedmaster Silver Snoopy
So in deference to those of you still trying to ascertain how Charles M. Schulz’s beloved comic character (yes, I know he doesn’t actually look like a beagle) the National Aeronautic and Space Association (NASA) and one of Switzerland’s most iconic watch brands got together and through a love fest in a high G centrifuge emerged with one of the most mythical and revered modern sport watches of all time, and why that watch is very possibly both one of the all time coolest Omega limited edition Speedmasters ever and a must-have as a major long term investment, let me break it down to you with the following five reasons.
The incredible story of the Omega Speedmaster and Apollo 13
If NASA didn’t already view the number 13 with circumspection, the saga of Apollo 13 will have forever changed that perception, Apollo 13 was the third mission planned to land on the moon. At 56 hours into the flight, on April 13th 1970, an explosion on the craft caused all electrical systems to shut down, prompting Jack Swigert to utter the now oft-quoted phrase, “Houston, we’ve got a problem.” Looking out the spacecraft, astronaut Jim Lovell saw gas being vented into space. One of the oxygen tanks immediately read zero and moments afterwards, two of the ship’s fuel cells failed. Soon after, they lost the majority of power to the craft.
Using Jim Swiggert’s Omega Speedmaster, the only watch to pass NASA’s rigorous testing to be official astronaut equipment, the crew used the lunar module’s manually controlled descent propulsion engine to create 14-second mid-flight course corrections that allowed them to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere successfully.
It’s a white dial Omega Speedmaster
The detail of the dial
The Silver Snoopy features one of the coolest dials Omega has ever conceptualized and the saliency with which Apollo 13 lore has been woven into its iconography is nothing less than inspired. On the seconds track, 14 small rectangles referencing the frames of the Peanuts comic have been added along with the words “What could you do in 14 seconds?” in homage to the 14-second rocket bursts timed with the Omega Speedmaster that allowed for successful re-entry.
It’s a great combination of history and modernity
The Silver Snoopy was the first Omega to feature a luminous tachymeter engraved to a ceramic bezel.
Every watch is unique!
The coolest element of the Silver Snoopy is not visible from the front of the watch and definitely obscured if you wear it on a NATO strap as I do. Taking inspiration from the silver Snoopy pin that accompanies the award, Omega has created handcrafted silver medallions for every one of the 1,970 watches, each sitting in a bed of blue enamel with flecks of silver representing a starry sky. This stunning artistic element makes each and every Silver Snoopy unique and is kept safe behind a sapphire crystal which does add height to the watch but I think you’ll agree is well worth it.