Given the strong and interesting provenance of the luxury fake Omega Speedmaster Professional, the Moonwatch – as it is often affectionately termed – is an obvious choice as well.
Whilst it was originally produced as a sports or racing watch, its association with astronomy was only established a few years later, when NASA selected the best 1:1 replica Omega Speedmaster for both its Gemini and Apollo missions. Its position in the history books was cemented on 21 July, 1969, when Buzz Aldrin wore his AAA super clone Omega Speedmaster as he exited the spacecraft and took his first step on the moon.
Similarly, the cheap replica Omega Moonwatch is a versatile watch that is extremely popular with the executive crowd. The fact that it is a manual-winding timepiece adds to the appeal as well. The new Swiss movement fake Omega Speedmaster Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph is priced at S$9,750, and this is a great watch for any collectors – especially if one is looking to get his or her first luxury timepiece.
Apollo 13 and the Omega Speedmaster All three astronauts were wearing their cheap fake Omega Speedmaster Professional 105.012 watches, supplied by them to NASA. It was the first “Professional” Speedmaster model that Omega produced. This made it slightly different from the Speedmaster that NASA had qualified in for manned space missions in 1965. Back in 1964, perfect replica Omega UK submitted the Speedmaster 105.003 (third generation) to NASA for testing by NASA engineer James Ragan. Unlike the watches that Rolex, Longines-Wittnauer, and (later on) Bulova supplied to NASA, the Speedmaster withstood all tests.
However, at the same time, Swiss made fake OmegaUKalso developed the “Professional” model with crown guards. This was the fourth generation of Speedmasters and had reference number 105.012. The caliber 321 inside of it was the same and remained in use until 1968. A 14-second burn On April 13th (10:08 PM EST), an accident occurred on board the Service Module. An oxygen tank exploded, leading to the abortion of the mission. This is where the famous “Houston, we’ve had a problem” quote comes from. The command center in Houston worked hard to get the crew back home safely. Swiger, Haise, and Lovell needed to relocate to the Lunar Module and, together with the command center, worked on several solutions to fix the problem(s) and save as much energy as possible. The 1995 movie Apollo 13, featuring Tom Hanks as Lovell, Kevin Bacon as Swigert, and Bill Paxton as Haise, brings you the full story of the accident and the problem-solving steps. If you haven’t watched it (yet), make sure to do so. I’ve noticed that Apollo 13 is always available on at least one of the usual streaming platforms (Apple TV, Amazon Prime, or Netflix).
Life-saving timekeeping After fixing the pressing issues onboard the spacecraft, the next challenge was to get it back on the right course. It drifted off course by roughly 60 to 80 nautical miles during the problem-solving events. This would result in the module re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere at the wrong angle, with fatal consequences. The astronauts would need to manually control the spacecraft, readjusting it to the correct course. For this, a 14-second burn of fuel was required.
The timing of exactly 14 seconds was crucial. However, Jack Swigert could not rely on the digital timers onboard the spacecraft. Instead, he had to use his luxury replica Omega Speedmaster Professional 105.012-66, serial number 69, to time 14 seconds using the chronograph function. Needless to say, it worked, and the crew returned safely, splashing down in the South Pacific Ocean on April 17th, exactly 142 hours and 54 minutes after the launch on April 11th.
Now, it might seem that just any watch can time 14 seconds flawlessly. Remember, though, that only the AAA fake Omega Speedmaster survived NASA’s test, which simulated the abuse the high quality replica watches would receive during use in space.
