June 12, 2025 
Back in April (I know I’m late on this but ya girl has been traveling!), I made my first-ever visit to Omega’s headquarters of Bienne, Switzerland, for a very special occasion: the 60th anniversary of NASA’s official qualification of the Omega Speedmaster for manned spaceflight. The trip was brief—just less than 48 hours—but it packed some major horological highlights for me. Very kindly invited by Omega, I joined a small, intimate group of fellow journalists for what felt more like a personal tour than a normal press trip. You bet I had on my Omega White Dial Speedmaster on the wrist. The drive from Geneva to Bienne set a beautiful tone, with crisp spring skies and rolling Swiss landscapes easing me into this cool town at the base of the Jura Mountains. Once the tour kicked off at the Omega Museum, the focus was clear: honoring the Speedmaster’s unmatched legacy as the first—and only—watch flight qualified by NASA for all manned missions.
Inside the (quite massive) museum, you could tell the anniversary was top-of-mind for all of Omega employees. The excitement was tangible. Not only were we guided through the Speedmaster’s deep archive, we were given the rare privilege to go hands-on with some of the most iconic examples we’ve all come to love. Holding the actual Speedmaster worn by Ed White during the first American spacewalk was genuinely surreal. For me, as a longtime Speedmaster owner and fan, it was one of those unforgettable moments, feeling the weight of history in your hands. We also saw the Speedmasters presented to President Nixon (and famously declined), along with dozens of mission-flown pieces that have returned from the harshest environments a mechanical watch could ever face. Fun fact, even though the Speedmaster was NASA qualified on March 1st 1965, Omega didn’t know the Speedmaster had passed the rigorous test or had been chosen by NASA until they saw photographs of Ed White wearing the Speedmaster during his spacewalk in June of that same year.
After our museum stay, Omega gave us a behind-the-scenes and extremely rare I might add, look at the Calibre 321 workshop—a space even most press guests never enter. There, we saw the intricate work that goes into resurrecting one of horology’s most legendary movements. Sadly, no photos allowed but it’s easy to see why. There’s some secret sauce and extra heart going into making these movements. Just down the hall, we walked through Omega’s METAS testing lab, where modern Speedmasters are certified for accuracy, magnetic resistance, and overall durability. It’s amazing to watch modern watchmaking being held to such high standards, just a stone’s throw from where their history is preserved—bringing the whole story full circle. For those super Omega nerds (like me) out there, you’ll be happy to know that Omega does full immersion water testing on every single watch they produce. So don’t fret about that modern Speedy in the rain, it can handle much much more!
What stood out most from my visit wasn’t just the exclusive hands-on or the heritage, it was the reminder that the Speedmaster was, and still is, a tool. Designed for astronauts, racers, engineers, and explorers, it wasn’t built to sit in a display case. It was made to be used. That hit me hard as I started down at my own wrist admiring my white Speedmaster. Yes, these are certainly luxury items, but they shouldn’t necessarily be treated as such. They are meant to survive both earth and space adventures and I don’t think that will ever not be cool. Even after 60 years, the Speedmaster hasn’t lost a step (yes, pun intended). It’s still the watch that earned its way to the Moon—and it’s still built to go wherever you take it.
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