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In July 1969, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the Moon. When Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface, an OMEGA Speedmaster was secured over his spacesuit. That moment made it the first watch worn on the Moon.
A watch chosen for a mission
The Speedmaster did not reach the Moon through advertising alone. NASA had tested wrist chronographs for the extreme conditions of crewed spaceflight. According to the Swatch Group’s OMEGA archive, the Speedmaster survived the test programme and was declared flight-qualified for all crewed space missions on 1 March 1965.
For Apollo 11, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were each officially equipped with a Speedmaster. The mission-era references included the ST 105.012 and ST 145.012, powered by the hand-wound calibre 321.
Why Aldrin’s watch became the Moonwatch
Armstrong was the first person to step onto the Moon, but he left his Speedmaster inside the lunar module as a backup for its electronic timing system. Aldrin followed him onto the surface wearing his watch. The Speedmaster therefore became the first wristwatch actually worn on the Moon.
The role was practical: a mechanical chronograph could measure elapsed time independently of the spacecraft’s electronic systems. That combination of engineering, testing and history is why the Speedmaster remains one of the most recognisable chronographs ever made.
A lasting watch icon
The Speedmaster returned on later lunar missions and its association with NASA became central to the model’s identity. More than half a century later, the Moonwatch still links watchmaking with one of humanity’s defining achievements.
Editorial note: This article is an independent watch-history feature. SEKUND.STORE is not affiliated with Buzz Aldrin, NASA or OMEGA, and this article does not state that the featured watch is stocked by SEKUND.STORE. The accompanying artwork is an AI-generated illustration.