For Omega, traditional watches are no longer of much interest. The brand focuses seriously on creating a galactic watch, in the true sense of the word. In fact, it is nothing unusual for a brand that took its watch to the Moon, to create a watch for the Mars planet. No, it’s not science fiction. It is as true as it can be and Omega is the brand that will supply time-keeping accessories for the team that plans to explore this planet. Everyone is talking about the ambitious project to colonize Mars. Well, Omega will be the first watchmaking brand to “colonize” the planet alongside people.
This brand never ceases to fascinate me with its ambitions to conquer the universe. I want to share today everything I know about these Omega plans with you. Personally, I am very curious to know what a watch should have in it to face the pressure, temperature, and specific conditions of another planet. It seems that the watch industry is entering a new interplanetary era. And Omega seems to be the first brand to step into it.
Omega Speedmaster X-33 Marstimer
This is the official name of the watch that will reach Mars. It won’t be an ordinary watch, for sure. Most likely it will be something completely different from what we know about the concept of a watch. First of all, you must know that Omega does not do everything on its own. The brand collaborates closely with ESA (European Space Agency) to know the exact space requirements that must appear in this watch. After the model is ready, those who will enjoy it will be the ESA employees as well as the astronauts who are going to explore the planet in different missions.
The technical specifications of this model are downright impressive. At least we, here at AAAReplica, were amazed by the details and functions of this watch. From another point of view, it cannot be otherwise, considering the amplitude of this watch’s purpose.
What makes this watch special?
Let’s begin with the Marsitimer watch design. The first impressive element standing out in this watch is the rust color of the bezel. The color is not incidental actually; it is reminiscent of the reddish surface of the Mars planet. The dial of the watch comes in an intense black color and houses several digital features that we will cover a little bit later in this article. The only thing I can say now is that the watch is significantly different from a technical standpoint in comparison to its previous Moonwhatch.
It would be so much easier for the brand to just replace the bezel of the Moonwatch with a rust-colored one and voila: here you have a great watch alternative for Mars exploration missions. But Omega has preferred to wait until the time comes to explore the new planet and integrate into the watch those features that the mission requires.
Another curious aspect is that the watch has not yet been fully approved for Mars missions. Everything is still in the negotiation process. For now, ESA has confirmed that the watch concept meets all the necessary requirements. It is still necessary for some other agencies involved in this mission to confirm the matching. All we know at the moment is that the Omega brand feels prepared and confident that the watch is ready for its next historical space mission.
Specific details about the watch
As I mentioned from the beginning, the watch is going to be completely different from what we know about watches so far. To begin with, the technical department had the challenge of creating a special mechanism for this watch. First of all, it is about a mechanism that would resist gravity and space pressure challenges, once it leaves the Earth’s orbit. Secondly, the fact that the watch must adapt to 2 different zones had also to be taken into account. And it is not about the traditional change of zone between one country or another, but about the change of zone between 2 planets. How unreal and fabulous it sounds, isn’t it?
In response to these requirements, Omega opted for a quartz mechanism. But not an ordinary one, of course. It is about a very special mechanism, known as the 5622 movement. It successfully integrates and operates various functionalities that have been controlled and patented by the ESA license. Down below, I’ll mention some of those:
- -Earth’s universal time coordinated & two earth timezones;
- -Mars time coordinated and two martian time zones; this one shows, among other indexes, the martian days recorded since the landing on the planet;
- -true solar time on both Mars and Earth, calculating and displaying the solar time between them;
- -perpetual calendar for both platens, obviously;
- -indexes for the remaining time of the mission shown by the MET;
- -indexes to show the phase elapsed time (PET);
- -alarms, chronographs, countdown timer.
Design aspects
In spite of the multitude of functions, the dial of the Marstimer doesn’t look too “heavy”. Designers have made a great job in combining both digital and analog time indexes so that they don’t look confusing and hardly legible. On the contrary, the watch’s face displays a purposeful and logical view. Of course, the number of functions in this watch will make anyone spend some time understanding how all the settings work. On the other hand, it seems engaging to navigate through the lots of functions, and most probably, a user will need a Marstimer manual to get well instructed about the watch. Don’t forget that this watch is meant to accompany professional staff on special space missions. Therefore, it’s highly likely that a regular watch enthusiast might find it a bit intricate.
For the bracelet, the brand has thought about two options: a nato strap and a titanium bracelet version. So, considering that the timepiece has a generous 45mm case, it is impressively lightweight due to the straps’ materials. Since this watch is unlikely to have anything in common with water surfaces, its water resistance profile is barely 30 meters.
Final thoughts
Many customers are curious to know how much this watch costs. Omega-authorized dealers offer it for about 6,500 USD. While it might seem too much for a quartz timepiece at first glance, be sure that the technical specifications of this construction totally justify its value. Personally, I find this model very exciting. And I don’t know yet what amazes me the most: its technical overwhelming profile or its possible landing on Mars.
Either way, even if I have no chance to ever reach Mars, I’d be more than happy to wear this marvel on my wrist due to its historical charisma.