It was for the part that the Speedmaster played in space history and the crucial piece of equipment that it proved itself to be for the harrowing adventure that was Apollo 13, NASA awarded the Omega watch company with the Silver Snoopy award. The award certificate itself was signed off by all three Apollo 13 astronauts.

What is the Silver Snoopy Award, and why is it so significant for Omega? Find out, here.

April 11, 2020 marked 50 years since the Apollo 13 flight. Already in celebrating their receiving the Silver Snoopy award, Omega first put out the 2003 Reference PIC 3578.51.00, Blue Snoopy.

The Blue Snoopy featured Snoopy in a blue astronaut suit, on a black dial, in an edition of 5441 pieces — in reference to the length of the Apollo 13 mission — 142 hours, 54 minutes and 41 seconds. These easily command £12,000-£15,000. Not far behind is the white-dialed Silver Snoopy of 2015, issued in an edition of 1970 watches, with prices already reaching £10,000.

Secondary market prices aside, it is the white dial 2015 ref. 311.32.42.30.04.003, Silver Snoopy that really takes the cake. Possibly one of the most collectable watches in recent memory, it is one of the most charming timepieces in existence and trading at well above four times retail price on the aftermarket.

This amazing tribute features a luminous Snoopy in the running seconds sub dial, declaring “FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION,” while the seconds track at the perimeter of the dial reads “WHAT COULD YOU DO IN 14 SECONDS?” referring to the 14 second bursts that astronaut Jack Swigert timed on his Speedmaster. The best bit on the dial side has to be the ceramic bezel with luminous tachymeter.

The Sliver Snoopy lapel pin therein, is commemorated in the Silver Snoopy Speedmaster with a hand carved Snoopy figurine set against a backdrop of dark blue enamel found on the watch’s caseback. CEO, Raynald Aeschlimann once shared with Revolution about the watch saying, “Of course it’s not the objective but when you see how sought-after these watches are, how much they are trading for on the secondary market and how these prices are set in an organic way by buyers and not by market manipulation, it makes us feel as if we are creating the right kind of timepieces.”

The Silver Snoopy Speedmaster was, as mentioned above, made to mark the Apollo 13 mission’s 45th anniversary. And while April the 11th 2020 has long past, there’s still much left to the year to the unveil the Speedmaster created to mark the Apollo 13 mission’s 50th anniversary: Introducing the Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” 50th Anniversary, ref. 310.32.42.50.02.001.

The watch is a 42mm stainless steel piece in the form of the fourth generation of the Speedmaster with a Dot over Ninety” (DON) bezel with markings rendered in white enamel on a blue ceramic bezel insert.

As has been the theme for all Snoopy Speedmasters, the famed beagle takes center stage on the new watch as an embossed silver medallion on the blue subdial at 9 o’clock. Here he is space suit clad in the same stance that he takes on the Silver Snoopy pin.

The dial itself is in solid silver and features two more blue subdials — chronograph 30-minute and 12-hour counters — as well as blue PVD angle-shaped hour markers and hands.

Like the 2003 and 2015 launches, the 2020 launch too features a special rendering on the caseback. This time round Omega has outdone themselves. The scene at hand depicts a view from the moon of the earth, at a distant, in constant motion, a turn per minute to be exact, in sync with the watch’s running seconds. Which means that the earth disc and running seconds hand are co-axially mounted on either sides of the watch.

But the real magic happens when the chronograph is activated on the watch. Snoopy is showcased seated in his Command and Service Module (CSM) whizzing by, an animation that’s sure to make for a source of wonder for countless Speedmaster fans. Which means that the arm carrying Snoopy in the miniature form is co-axially mounted on the chronograph seconds hand.

The quote placed above the entire scene, “Eyes on the stars,” is an extract from a quote commonly attributed to former US President, Theodore Roosevelt. The complete version of his line is said to have read: “Keep your eyes on the stars, but your feet on the ground.”

Omega says further that the back of the watch is secured using NAIAD LOCK, a technology that helps keeps all caseback engravings in the correct, upright position, including the date in 1970 that Omega received the Silver Snoopy Award, as well as a tribute to the doomed Apollo 13 mission that same year.

The quote placed above the entire scene, “Eyes on the stars,” is an extract from a quote is commonly attributed to former US President, Theodore Roosevelt. His complete version of the line is said to have read: “Keep your eyes on the stars, but your feet on the ground.”

Omega says further that the back of the watch is secured using NAIAD LOCK, a technology that helps keeps all caseback engravings in the correct, upright position, including the date in 1970 that Omega received the Silver Snoopy Award, as well as a tribute to the doomed Apollo 13 mission that same year.

The last bit of Apollo 13 detailing for the watch is on its nylon fabric strap, which has the trajectory of the Apollo 13 mission, embossed on the lining.

But the best bit is possibly that the Speedmaster “Silver Snoopy Award” 50th Anniversary will not be produced as a limited-edition timepiece, but as a regular production piece.

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