# Omega Speedmaster
The Omega Speedmaster is a Swiss chronograph wristwatch line produced by Omega since 1957, best known for the Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch that NASA flight-qualified for crewed space missions in 1965 and that was worn on the Moon during the [Apollo program](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-program).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First model | Reference CK2915, launched 1957; the first chronograph with a tachymeter scale on the bezel rather than the dial, powered by the column-wheel Caliber 321[1](https://www.phillips.com/detail/omega/160283) |
| NASA qualification | Declared "Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions" on 1 March 1965[2](https://press.omegawatches.com/60-years-since-nasa-qualification/) |
| Moon history | Buzz Aldrin wore a Speedmaster on his wrist during the 1969 Moon walk, as Neil Armstrong had left his inside the lunar module; the caseback carries the engraving "First Watch Worn On The Moon"[3](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91180066-OPP-59.pdf) • [17](https://history.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/a11.evaprep.html) |
| Current Moonwatch | 42 mm stainless steel, manual-wind Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861, three subdials, no date, 50 m water resistance[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch) |
| Magnetic resistance | Caliber 3861 uses a Co-Axial escapement and silicon balance spring and is rated resistant to magnetic fields up to 15,000 gauss[5](https://decalibre.com/ressources/calibres/omega-3861) |
| 2026 pricing | Black & White Moonwatch ref. 310.30.42.50.01.004 retails at $10,400; the Speedmaster '57 lists at $10,700[6](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-omega-speedmaster-black-and-white) • [7](https://thewatchology.com/articles/watch-reviews/omega-speedmaster-57-review-2026/) |
## Origins, 1957
Omega introduced the Speedmaster in 1957 with reference CK2915, a model credited to Pierre Moinat and Claude Baillod and marketed to "men who reckon time in seconds", a phrase aimed at race car drivers, engineers, and other professionals who measured short intervals[1](https://www.phillips.com/detail/omega/160283). Two design choices defined the line from the start. The tachymeter scale, which Omega then called the Tacho-productometer scale, moved from the dial to the bezel, a first for a chronograph. And rather than developing a new movement, Omega fitted the Caliber 321, a column-wheel chronograph it judged the most robust and reliable option available[1](https://www.phillips.com/detail/omega/160283). Reference 2915 was produced only between 1957 and 1959 in three iterations, and the earliest examples, with their Broad Arrow hands and metal bezels, are among the most collectible Speedmasters[1](https://www.phillips.com/detail/omega/160283).
## NASA qualification and the Moon
As the American space program accelerated, Omega was one of four watch brands invited to submit timepieces for NASA qualification testing[8](https://www.omegawatches.com.hk/en-hk/chronicle/1965-nasa-tests-and-qualifies-the-speedmaster). On 1 March 1965, NASA declared the Speedmaster "Flight Qualified for all Manned Space Missions"[2](https://press.omegawatches.com/60-years-since-nasa-qualification/). Of the three timepieces tested, only the Speedmaster received the qualification for crewed missions and extravehicular activities[9](https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2025/moonswatch-1965). In June 1965 NASA certified it as the chronograph for the Gemini program, and it was purchased for the programs that followed[10](https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/il-2018005001.pdf).
A Speedmaster was worn on the lunar surface by [Buzz Aldrin](https://www.edgepedia.org/buzz-aldrin) during the 1969 Moon walk, as [Neil Armstrong](https://www.edgepedia.org/neil-armstrong) had left his watch inside the lunar module, and the caseback of the [Professional](https://www.edgepedia.org/professional) model carries the engraving "First Watch Worn On The Moon" alongside its flight-qualification status[3](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91180066-OPP-59.pdf) • [17](https://history.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/a11.evaprep.html). The astronaut Harrison Schmitt, the only scientist-astronaut to walk on the Moon, wore a Speedmaster chronograph during the Apollo 17 mission[10](https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/il-2018005001.pdf).
## The Moonwatch today
The Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch remains deliberately close to its 1960s form: a 42 mm stainless steel hand-wound chronograph with a black dial, tachymeter bezel, three subdials, no date, and 50 m of water resistance[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch). Since 2021 the standard movement has been the Calibre 3861, a manual-winding chronograph with the Co-Axial escapement, a free-sprung silicon balance spring, hacking seconds, and METAS Master Chronometer certification[5](https://decalibre.com/ressources/calibres/omega-3861) • [11](https://millenarywatches.com/omega-caliber-3861/). Master Chronometer testing is done on the fully cased watch across eight criteria, including timekeeping, power reserve, water resistance, and resistance to 15,000-gauss magnetic fields, going beyond COSC chronometer testing[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch). The 3861 keeps the cam architecture of the earlier Caliber 1861 while adding the [coaxial escapement](https://www.edgepedia.org/coaxial-escapement), and it was introduced on the Moonwatch in 2019[5](https://decalibre.com/ressources/calibres/omega-3861).
Buyers choose between two crystal options with different trade-offs. Hesalite, the acrylic crystal fitted to the historically faithful version, scratches easily but polishes out; the sapphire version adds a display caseback showing the movement and costs more[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch). The hand-wound movement needs daily winding and stops after about 50 hours if set down[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch).
## Recent releases
In January 2026 Omega launched two "Black & White" Moonwatch references with inverted dials, black main dials with white subdials, in stainless steel and 18K Moonshine Gold, both 42 mm and powered by the Calibre 3861 with a 50-hour power reserve[12](https://www.t3.com/luxury/watches/omega-reinvents-the-speedmaster-moonwatch-with-reverse-black-and-white-dial). The steel version retails at £8,700 / $10,400 and the Moonshine Gold at £41,300 / $49,300[12](https://www.t3.com/luxury/watches/omega-reinvents-the-speedmaster-moonwatch-with-reverse-black-and-white-dial). Hodinkee notes that the steel Black & White ref. 310.30.42.50.01.004 is, as far as it could determine, the first non-limited stainless steel Moonwatch priced over $10,000[6](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-omega-speedmaster-black-and-white).
The wider Speedmaster family has grown well beyond the Professional. The Speedmaster '57, at 40.5 mm with the hand-wound Caliber 9906, lists at $10,700[7](https://thewatchology.com/articles/watch-reviews/omega-speedmaster-57-review-2026/). The Chronoscope, a 43 mm model whose snail-pattern dial draws on Omega's 1940s chronograph dials, uses the manual-winding column-wheel Caliber 9908 with a 60-hour power reserve and the same 15,000-gauss resistance[13](https://thewatchology.com/articles/watch-reviews/omega-speedmaster-chronoscope-review-2026/). In 2026 Omega also refreshed the Speedmaster 38 mm collection with seven references, six powered by the self-winding Co-Axial Calibre 3330 with a date and one by the date-free Calibre 3332[14](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/omega-speedmaster-38mm-moonwatch-makeover/).
## Position in the market
The Moonwatch sits in the same price bracket as the Rolex Daytona but well below it: the steel Black & White Speedmaster retails at $10,400 against $16,900 for the steel Daytona 126500LN[6](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-omega-speedmaster-black-and-white). Reviewers describe the Moonwatch as a specialist's watch rather than an all-rounder, since it is hand-wound, dateless, and rated to only 50 m, and they caution against operating the chronograph pushers in water[4](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch) • [16](https://watchtested.com/review-omega-speedmaster-professional-310-30-42-50-01-001).
## References
1. [Omega, The Geneva Watch Auction: XIV, Phillips](https://www.phillips.com/detail/omega/160283)
2. [60 Years Since NASA Qualification, OMEGA Press](https://press.omegawatches.com/60-years-since-nasa-qualification/)
3. [Omega Speedmaster, USPTO TTAB proceeding document](https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-91180066-OPP-59.pdf)
4. [Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Review, The Chrono Edit](https://thechronoedit.com/reviews/omega-speedmaster-moonwatch)
5. [Omega 3861: fiche technique et entretien, Décalibre](https://decalibre.com/ressources/calibres/omega-3861)
6. [Hands-On: Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Black & White vs Rolex Daytona, Hodinkee](https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/hands-on-omega-speedmaster-black-and-white)
7. [Omega Speedmaster '57 Review (2026), The Watchology](https://thewatchology.com/articles/watch-reviews/omega-speedmaster-57-review-2026/)
8. [1965: The Speedmaster is qualified by NASA for the space program, OMEGA](https://www.omegawatches.com.hk/en-hk/chronicle/1965-nasa-tests-and-qualifies-the-speedmaster)
9. [MoonSwatch 1965, Swatch Group](https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2025/moonswatch-1965)
10. [Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum loan documentation](https://www.nmspacemuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/il-2018005001.pdf)
11. [Omega Caliber 3861 Complete Guide, Millenary Watches](https://millenarywatches.com/omega-caliber-3861/)
12. [OMEGA reinvents the Speedmaster Moonwatch with 'reverse' black and white dial, T3](https://www.t3.com/luxury/watches/omega-reinvents-the-speedmaster-moonwatch-with-reverse-black-and-white-dial)
13. [Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope Review (2026), The Watchology](https://thewatchology.com/articles/watch-reviews/omega-speedmaster-chronoscope-review-2026/)
14. [OMEGA's Speedmaster 38 mm Just Got a Moonwatch-Inspired Makeover, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/omega-speedmaster-38mm-moonwatch-makeover/)
15. [Omega Speedmaster Reduced vs Professional (2026), The Watchology](https://thewatchology.com/articles/omega/omega-speedmaster-reduced-vs-professional-2026/)
16. [Review: Omega Speedmaster Professional 310.30.42.50.01.001, WatchTested](https://watchtested.com/review-omega-speedmaster-professional-310-30-42-50-01-001)
17. [EVA Preparations](https://history.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/alsj/a11/a11.evaprep.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Communications and everyday technology › Household appliances and domestic equipment › Lighting and electrical devices*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license