How the Moonwatch got its name

THE NATION

 On July 21, 1969 at exactly 2:56 GMT (9.56am in Thailand) Neil Armstrong stepped off the bottom rung of the Apollo lunar module. Joining him on the surface of the moon 19 minutes later was Buzz Aldrin, who was wearing his Omega Speedmaster "Moonwatch" designed specially for the mission.

 Armstrong had left his watch behind as a reliable backup to the Eagle's faulty electronic timing system.

 Exactly four decades later, Omega are celebrating the adventure with the launch of their limited-edition Apollo 11 "40th Anniversary" Professional Moonwatches, one in stainless steel and silver (7,969 editions), the other in platinum and 18-carat yellow gold (69 editions).

 The watches are powered by Omega's calibre 1861, which shares its lineage with the calibre 321 used in the original Moonwatch.

 The black dial also recalls that of the Moonwatch but has some key differences. The small seconds counter (sub-dial) is a medallion which features an adaptation of Apollo 11's famous mission patch: an eagle descending to the lunar surface with an olive branch representing peace in its claws. In the distance, far above the horizon, the earth is visible. The patch was designed by Michael Collins who piloted the Apollo 11 capsule orbiting the moon while his colleagues Armstrong and Aldrin took off to the surface in the lander.

 Beneath the words "OMEGA Speedmaster PROFESSIONAL", the dial carries the legend 02:56 GMT, emblazoned in red. Protecting the dial is hesalite, the same shatter-proof acrylic crystal used in the Apollo astronaut's watches to ensure there was no chance of a breakage that would mean potentially dangerous fragments floating around the ship.

 The Apollo 11 "Eagle" mission patch is stamped on the case back along with the words, "THE FIRST WATCH WORN ON THE MOON", the limited edition number (0000/7969), and "July 21, 1969".

 The 69 platinum editions of the watch feature a platinum outer ring engraved with the words, "The first Watch Worn on the Moon", "PT950" - a reference to the watch's platinum content -- and "July 21, 1969".

 The limited-edition number (00/69) is engraved at the base of the small mission patch on the dial.

BOX

Omega's 'Moonwatches' flew on all Nasa'a Apollo missions (1963-72) then became a part of the Space Shuttle programme that followed.

Astronauts wear the watch outside their space suits with a long Velcro band.

On April 1970, a Moonwatch was used to manually time the secondary rocket burns to bring the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft back to Earth.