Watch brands celebrate the first timepieces in outer space
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

It may feel as though it is a subject that sits more comfortably in Sixties comic books or Seventies TV shows but this year the Space Race is back. The USSR's Yuri Gagarin's (opens in new tab) triumph as the first man to orbit the earth in April 1961 and subsequent US explorations a year later sparked a parallel mission - the fight to put a named watch on an astronaut's wrist. That spat has flared up once again this year as the three key watch brands associated with the Space Race - Breitling (opens in new tab), TAG-Heuer (opens in new tab) and Omega (opens in new tab) - release celebratory watches marking their watches as space 'firsts'.
Of course, none could claim to beat Gagarin's Russian-made Sturmanskije chronograph as the first watch in space. But as with any explorer, it highlighted the need for an astronaut to be able to measure time. Hence, brands were keen to be the next to get their watches into orbit.
It was only in 2006, after a watch fan spotted a watch in a museum, that it came to light that John Glenn - the first American to orbit the Earth - wore his own Heuer stopwatch (which he strapped over his space suit with big, makeshift elastic bands) on the US Friendship 7 Flight in February 1962. This, according to the brand, makes Heuer 'the first Swiss watch worn by man in space'.
Just two months later, in May 1962, American Scott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times on the US Aurora 7 mission with a Breitling Navitimer (opens in new tab) pilot's watch strapped to the sleeve of his fabulous silver suit. With its scale system allowing the wearer to determine day from night, it became the 'first spacegoing wrist chronograph' and was renamed the Navitimer Cosmonaute.
In October that year, Wally Schirra, on the Mercury Atlas 8 US mission, wore an Omega Speedmaster (opens in new tab) that he had bought for himself from a Houston jeweller. This year the brand celebrates the 'first Omega in space' with a handsome re-issue.
Whether they needed to flag up that somewhat tenuous link is a moot point, considering that, just three years later, the Omega Speedmaster would beat all the top watch brands of the era to secure full Nasa approval as its rigorously tested watch of choice for US space exploration. Especially as it was during the famed Apollo 13 mission in 1970 that Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Neil Armstrong, faced with massive technical failure, turned to their Omega Spacemasters to manually maneuver their spacecraft safe back down to Earth.
The original 1962 'first Omega in Space' Speedmaster watch, worn by US astronaut Wally Schirra on the Sigma 7 Space mission in October 1962
Reflecting details of astronaut Willy Schirra's original watch, The Omega Spacemaster 'First Omega in Space' Limited Edition chronograph has Super-Luminova-coated hands and a caseback engraved with the words 'The First Omega in Space' and the date of Schirra's mission: 'October 3, 1962'
Breitling's 2012 edition Navitimer Cosmonaute is equipped with the brand's new in-house movement and boasts a caseback inscribed with the 1962 Aurora 7 Mission insignia on the caseback
-
Odile Mir: exploring the creative life of a self-taught polymath
Nonagenarian French artist Odile Mir is back for an encore, thanks to her granddaughter’s role in reissuing her modernist designs
By Amy Serafin • Published
-
Samuel Ross on the architectural influences and optimistic ethos behind his Acqua di Parma collaboration
Samuel Ross discusses the inspiration behind his redesign of Acqua di Parma’s iconic Colonia fragrance
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Spain’s Casa Primitiva is ruled by simplicity
The pared-back Casa Primitiva by Hanghar fits in perfectly in its semi-rural Spanish context
By TF Chan • Published
-
Samuel Ross unveils his Hublot Big Bang watch design
Samuel Ross brings a polished titanium case and orange rubber strap to the Hublot Big Bang watch
By Pei-Ru Keh • Published
-
Playful design meets chic heritage in the Hermès Kelly watch
The new Kelly watch from Hermès rethinks the original 1975 timepiece
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Discover the tonal new hues of the classic Nomos Club Campus watch
The Nomos classic wristwatch Club Campus now comes in two new collegiate colours. The perfect graduation gift from the Glashütte manufacture
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Bulgari unveils the thinnest mechanical watch in the world
The new Bulgari Octo Finissimo Ultra watch is a record-breaking feat of engineering
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Breitling and Triumph unite on a racy new watch and motorcycle
1960s design codes are infused with a contemporary edge in the collaboration between Breitling and Triumph
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Gerald Genta’s mischievous Mickey Mouse watch design is rethought for a new era
The Gerald Genta Retrograde with Smiling Disney Mickey Mouse watch pays tribute to Genta’s humorous design codes
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Shinola honours Georgia O’Keeffe with a new watch
Shinola Birdy watch stays faithful to the minimalist codes of Georgia O’Keeffe’s painting, My Last Door
By Hannah Silver • Last updated
-
Bulgari’s new book celebrates women and high jewellery
Bulgari Magnifica: The Power Women Hold, published by Rizzoli New York, takes a closer look at the female muses who inspired the spectacular Magnifica high jewellery collection
By Hannah Silver • Last updated