Centuries of Earthly exploration, but humanity’s greatest voyage was departing its planetary bounds and venturing into the celestial void. And while these champion explorers made this interstellar leap, they wore timepieces as chronometric space navigation tools. In the throws of the Cold War was the ‘Space Race’ — a battle for cosmic superiority between the USA and the Soviet Union. Ambitious, bold, and relentlessly innovative, this geopolitical warfare birthed eternal icons of time. Whether born out of technological necessity or by accident, they were destined to shine among the stars. We’re comparing two Space Race icons: the OMEGA Speedmaster and Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute – learning about their origins, contributions to space travel, legacies through time, and current references.
OMEGA Speedmaster’s Journey To The Stars
After WW2, America and the Soviets employed German rocket engineers to build space programmes for their respective nations. With Yuri Gagarin’s Vostok 1 completing an Earthly orbit in ‘61, the Americans were lagging, desperate, and on the clock – they made a bold promise to send a man to the moon by the decade’s end. Three years later, NASA’s procurement and contracts division sourced reliable space gear for Apollo missions, including a chronograph timepiece.

Out of four brands that responded to NASA’s request for proposal, only one subject survived their rigorous tests: OMEGA’s Speedmaster. A watchmaking icon born amidst a daunting space exploration battle with the Soviet Union, hastily measures, and a prayer-bound leap to the skies.

Predating the Space Race by a mere decade, the OMEGA Speedmaster debuted as a triple-register chronograph employed to measure lap times in professional racing. Finally, in 1965, NASA declared the OMEGA Speedmaster as “flight-qualified for all manned space missions”, ready to be sported as space wristwear. NASA’s Gemini 4 mission crewmate Edward White wore the Speedmaster on America’s first spacewalk. Four years later, Sir Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the lunar surface – this spaceflight dawned a new legacy for the OMEGA Speedmaster, cementing its name as the ‘Moonwatch’.
Breitling Navitimer Cosmonaute’s Interstellar Orbit
While OMEGA prepped for its Speedmaster for NASA’s rigorous testing, Breitling’s specially designed Navitimer Cosmonaut had already reached the stars. The Navitimer, introduced in 1952, was already a renowned pilots’ watch, and its revolutionary slide-rule bezel transformed how pilots performed in-flight calculations. As the Space Race dawned, the Navitimer was demanded to leap beyond Earth’s horizons and into the unknown.

In 1962, Willy Breitling received a cold call from NASA astronaut Scott Carpenter with a special request to create a Navitimer for space exploration. Carpenter was introduced to Breitling by a few military pilot friends and was particularly a fan of the Navitimer’s computational slide rule. However, while the Navitimer was making a literal leap to the stars, it also needed to make a mechanical and cosmetic leap. As space travel erases the boundaries of day and night, Carpenter requested a 24-hour dial, a stretch-style metal strap, and an extra-grippy bezel to use the slice rule in space. On May 24, 1962, Carpenter’s Aurora 7 spacecraft orbited Earth three times, and the Navitimer Cosmonaute joined him as a companion in the heavens.

In this historic flight, the Navitimer Cosmonaute became the first Swiss wristwatch in space, etching Breitling’s name among the stars.
Houston, We Have A Problem
Here’s a famous tale from the Speedmaster’s many space ventures with NASA: In 1970, it was an OMEGA that saved the Apollo 13 crew from getting lost in space after a fatal engine disaster. Nearly 320,000 miles away from home and 56 hours into the mission, the crew reports their spacecraft’s oxygen tank has exploded alongside an electric power loss – “Houston, we’ve had a problem” famously exclaimed one of the astronauts.
After aborting the Lunar landing mission, they turned back home – however, to safely re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft needed to precisely accelerate and decelerate. With timekeeping playing a critical role here, the astronauts instinctively ditched their digital gear and went acoustic – using their Speedmaster. These critical fourteen seconds of re-entry earned OMEGA a Silver Snoopy Award. The Space Race with the Soviet Union came to a close in 1975, as the Apollo rocket rocked with Soyuz in space. During this historic handshake, all astronauts wore Speedmasters.
Cosmonaute Splash Lands from Space
Scott Carpenter’s Mercury-Atlas 7 mission was a triumph of human determination and resilience. After completing three Earthly orbits, the mission faced an unexpected challenge — its re-entry trajectory veered off-course, leading to a dramatic splashdown 400 kilometres away from the intended recovery zone in the Atlantic Ocean. In this moment of uncertainty, the Navitimer Cosmonaute, strapped to Carpenter’s wrist, remained a steadfast companion. Designed for space travel, the Navitimer Cosmonaut endured immense G-forces, weightlessness, and searing re-entry temperatures but couldn’t face the ocean’s might. The timepiece was damaged by saltwater, and Carpenter returned it to Willy Breitling. While the dial was destroyed, its saltwater corrosion created a distinct patina – almost like a planetary landscape.
Current Configurations – OMEGA Speedmaster
At Kapoor Watch Company, our OMEGA Speedmaster collection encapsulates the many forms it’s taken over its 67-year legacy. In its most quintessentially celebrated form, the Ref. 310.30.42.50.01.002 features a black triple-register chronograph dial with a tachymeter and small seconds, cased and strapped in 42 millimetres of stainless steel. Embracing its celestial heritage, the Ref. 304.33.44.52.03.001 swaps out its chronograph registers for a moonphase and date indicator. However, if you’re more interested in its technical alter-ego, I’d point you towards Ref 329.30.43.51.02.002, which features not only the staple chronograph but also a timezone indicator, Pulsometer and Telemeter. In terms of case size options, the Speedmaster ranges between 38 millimetres and 44.5 millimetres with options of stainless steel, black ceramic, and Moonshine Gold
Current Configurations – Breitling Navitimer & Navitimer Cosmonaute
The Cosmonaute Ref PB02301A1B1A1 slates in 42 millimetres of stainless steel and platinum housing a manual-wound Calibre B02 with a 70-hour power reserve. The bezel runs bi-directionally, featuring a slide rule, a non-screw-locked crown, and two chronograph pushers. The dial is a complicated thing of beauty, plucked right off a cockpit and strapped on the wrist. It features a triple-register chronograph, a 24-hour function, and a date window at six o’clock.
The larger Navitimer collection has polar points of complexity: time-only and the classic triple-register chronograph aesthetic. Sizing in options of 32, 35, 36, 41, 43, and 45 millimetres, they’re cased in stainless steel, rose gold, pink gold, and more. If you’re looking for timelessness, opt for the Ref. AB0137211B1P1, which features the metallic shine and technical brilliance of a classic Navitimer. If it’s modernity and practical elegance you prefer, consider the Ref. U17326121M1P2 features a chic burnt grey dial with a date window at six o’clock, running automatic and cased in stainless steel/pink gold.
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