The new Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch: the watch that went to the moon

"One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind": with this emotional comment the world learned live on the air that astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human being to walk on the moon.

On his wrist, at that legendary moment, was a watch that had become equally legendary: the Omega Speedmaster 'Moonwatch'.

Now that this watchmaking icon has just undergone its official restyling (the model from 1996 has remained essentially the same for 25 years), one would be inclined to say "One small step for a watch, one giant leap for Moonwatch enthusiasts".

Indeed, the changes made to the new collection are in the overall sign of stylistic continuity.

The most substantial novelties, however, concern prominent elements such as the movement and the bracelet, while aiming not to alter the unmistakable aesthetic imprint that makes this celebrated chronograph always recognisable at first glance.

It should be said straight away that the new Moon is available in steel, rose gold and white gold. The steel model is also offered in two versions: with sapphire crystal or in esalite, with vintage effect. The former also has sapphire on the case back, letting you admire the new movement (more on that later), has the Omega logo applied to the dial and the bracelet with the two small shiny links.

The bracelet can be exchanged for a leather strap - as with the noble metal models.

The second, with the glass esalite, has the logo printed on the dial and not applied, the caseback is in steel and the links are all satin-finished; the strap available as an alternative to the bracelet is in nylon.

Moreover, showing great consideration towards the enthusiasts of this timepiece, the aesthetic enhancements to the dial cite typical and appreciated details from some Omega models of the past, and in some cases denote painstaking philological accuracy, such as the restoration of the 'don', i.e. the 'dot over ninety': the small round index of the tachymeter scale is not flanked by the number ninety, which instead remains symmetrically lower, hence the term 'dot over ninety'.

And another homage to vintage stylistic features is also the 'step dial', the not entirely flat dial, which in the vicinity of the outer chapter ring is lowered, giving three-dimensionality and depth to the whole.

While the hour and minute spheres remain unchanged, that of the seconds sees a small but elegant change: the wide part moves towards the end of the sphere, giving greater momentum and harmony to the whole.

Omega then does not succumb to the modernist temptation of ceramic , as in the Snoopy Award model, and the bezel insert remains in aluminium.

But let's come to the two big changes: the bracelet has been reshaped in the slimmer line of the links and in the ratio between the width at the case attachment, 20 mm, and at the clasp (decidedly more accurate and robust), where it becomes only 15 mm wide, thus tapering downwards, with a lighter line and more elegant.

And here we come to the beating heart of the watch: the movement. Abandoning the 1861 and 1863 calibres, the Moonwatch is equipped with the 3861 calibre, which, while sharing 50 per cent of the components of the previous two and maintaining the frequency of 21.600 a/h, it finally brings to this Speedmaster standard the legendary escapement Coaxial, Omega's pride and joy, with silicon balance spring, which gives it a resistance to magnetic interference of 15000 Gauss and an accuracy certified by Metas, the Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology, of 0/+5 seconds per day: reliability and precision far better than previous calibres.

And to set the watch at its best, the calibre 3861 rightly also provides for the previously absent stopwatch.

The enthusiastic reactions of fans of the Moonwatch prove that Omega has once again hit the mark with this new model, which combines a substantial renewal with fidelity to the original spirit of a legendary watch.