Une montre sur la Lune

The extraordinary story of the Omega Speedmaster

One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind… and an extraordinary destiny for a watch that accompanied man’s first steps on the Moon, thus becoming the greatest icon in the history of watchmaking: the Omega Speedmaster “Moonwatch”.
Introduced to the public by Omega in 1957, the Speedmaster was initially designed for sporting purposes, such as motor racing. However, its destiny took a completely different turn in the early 1960s. Astronauts, some of whom wore Speedmasters privately, wanted to be officially equipped with a reliable, precise, and robust watch. This is why NASA launched a series of rigorous tests in extreme conditions in 1964 to select the best chronograph to accompany them on their space missions. The Omega Speedmaster won these tests and was officially certified ("Flight Qualified for All Manned Space Missions") by NASA on March 1, 1965, for the Gemini project. It was in July 1969 that it truly made history, serving the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins) as they took their first steps on the Moon.
This book retraces this extraordinary saga and the evolution of a unique and timeless watch which, from its beginnings in 1957 to the current models, has never ceased to fascinate.